[casual_games] "Don't Roll Over" Casuality Slides

[Brian Robbins]

As a new and unproven developer there may be times when you need to
take a lesser deal in order to meet the needs of your business. That's
okay and expected, but you should have a broad idea of what that
lesser deal should entail.

This discussion is the first step that I was hoping to accomplish with
my talk. The reality of today's market is that there is a fair amount
of room for developers to work with and even the newest players to the
market have some amount of leverage not to just blindly accept
whatever has been offered.

Very few people in this space can demand the highest royalties rates,
and there are valid times when a developer should take a deal that has
lesser terms. If a developer is truly starving then that is an
excellent example of a time when they will probably trade royalty
share in exchange for a development advance.

What should never happen is for any developer to just accept an offer
without realizing what is in the realm of possibility. If they are
going to take a lesser deal, they need to actively choose to take a
lesser deal, rather than think that's the only option available.

As Margaret said, the relationships in this space are all very
symbiotic, and every deal and negotiation should be approached as if
you are looking at some sort of partnership. If one side isn't getting
a positive result from the deal, then it is one that probably
shouldn't happen.

--
Brian Robbins
Director of Games, Game Trust
http://www.gametrust.com/
Chair, IGDA Casual Games SIG
http://www.igda.org/casual/