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The Game Proposal, Part One: The Basics
“If a million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.” It is a safe bet that most of you will not ink a deal based solely on a good game proposal - you will have to have a running demo. But it is an almost certain bet that you will never ink a deal based on a bad proposal, even with a great demo. This is because publishers are usually not looking for awesome talent and great game ideas alone; they are looking for the developer that can complete a marketable game. Part one of this two-part article examines the process of putting together a game proposal. In this article we will only look at the basics of the game proposal (what it is intended to accomplish) as putting together a complete game proposal is very involved. What the proposal is intended to accomplish is very similar to that of a business plan. Keep in mind that we are not going to talk about the design document. The design document and the game proposal are often confused and they are two very different things. The game proposal is the complete package you go to the publisher with, proposing they give you a lot of money to develop the game and than spending even more money on your game to market and promote it when it is finished. The design document only details your game and that document is only part of the game proposal. As a result of the process of building the game proposal you will clarify your game idea, your goals for the production of the game, and the expectations you should have of your proposed title in the market. You will, in the course of generating these documents, know what it will take in terms of time, talent and resources to make your game and if your game idea is feasible (sellable in the marketplace) and which publisher you will be the most successful approaching. Ultimately your goal with a Game Proposal is to communicate to the most appropriate publisher for your title that you have a great game idea, the ability to actualize the game you propose, and that the game you propose will sell. Please note that proposal (selling) documents are geared towards the procurement of a publishing deal but they do not replace other business documentation generated in the day to day functioning of a business such as detailed budgets, schedules, and other business processes. In the early days of game development, while there is a lot of exciting brainstorming and note jotting, keep the proposal in mind and keep focused on the goal of creating an effective proposal. Keep asking the questions; is this a truly unique idea, can we pull this off, what will it take to pull off, and most importantly, will this idea sell? How do you answer these questions? That requires a combination of project management, marketing knowledge, and more. The good news is that you can do a solid job answering these questions on your own using even the most basic of books on these topics. A proposal also differs from a design document in the fact that while the proposal will fall to the side once a deal is obtained the budgets, schedules and game design specs developed for the proposal should be refined right up to the point you officially start development, then consulted and updated at regular intervals. In fact, while it may be normal (even desired) to have deviations during a two-year game development cycle you must keep legal obligations and promises of performance in mind and that means paying attention to the documents the publishers invested in. And another point on deviations - the design document must be updated regularly to reflect those changes. You need to see the effects that any deviation will have on other areas of the game. An added menu may create more work for artists, programmers, writers, and almost anyone on the team. The tremors sent down the schedule by even a small change may snowball. Before we talk about the specific parts of a game proposal you must know one thing: No one can tell you exactly what should be in your game proposal, and those who think they can are wrong! The Internet is a vast repository of tools and resources, but it is also filled with bad advice. There are a lot of armchair game developers that have never developed a game that tend to really hammer their views on people. All the newbies that comb the net looking for answers may end up with an ear full of bad advice if they are not careful. Often they are referred to documents that are not very useful, out of date, or simply may not contain information that is applicable to the game they are trying to develop. You can't just fill in the blanks for a Design Document, Business Plan, or a document that defines anything as fluid and substantial as a game development effort - it has to evolve from your core game idea. Form Follows Function "Form follows function" is the fundamental principle of professional design in any field. Whether you are putting together a business plan, a proposal for a computer game, the design document for the game, or any thing meant to perform a certain and unique function you must first examine what the end result will be - what is your goal? What goal (function) you want to reach with a document dictates the form of that document. If you want to write a movie (function) the form would be a movie script. If you want to detail a game proposal for a team that just developed a blockbuster hit the form of the proposal should be changed to highlight that fact. What are the market strengths of your title? What is the substantiality of your name or team? What is the value of any other assets such as a licensed property or a truly unique design, stunning artwork, or breakthrough technology? The answers to all these points will determine what prominence they have in the game proposal. Only when you have formulated a clear idea of your game, the development team, and other factors needed to make a game can you go about assembling and ordering your proposal. You should then use the format you have decided on consistently throughout your proposal. The choice of structure, fonts, language, marketing focus, - everything aspect of the game proposal will be in the decided format. In other words, if you decide that your strength is your design, artwork, and marketing research then that should be the focus of everything you say or do pertaining to the title and put first in the proposal. If, for example, later in the proposal you begin to discuss the awesome and groundbreaking technology you developed, but you fail to mention that upfront in your cover letter and introduction, you need to rewrite to include that fact. Letting the form of your proposal be dictated by the function it needs to serve, and then staying focused, will help you sell your vision to the publisher. Convincing the publisher that you can make the game you propose and that the game is worth making is always the main goal. The final form that your game proposal takes will be a product of you,
your game, and your situation and not a fill-in-the-blank template.
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Form
Follows Function 
Features
