[casual_games] gamelab :: changes
dan chao
dchao at mastermindgames.net
Mon Mar 20 20:22:23 EST 2006
this isn't really a problem specific to gamelab's new investor biz
model. All studios face this. there's always the obligatory NDA, but
beyond that I think it's just being careful. don't send unprotected
executables, etc. plus, this may just be my naivete but I don't think
people often steal unfinished ideas. however, they may get inspired by
them and make a game with a similar theme.
dan
Ryan Sumo wrote:
> Pardon my naivete, but let's say gamelab pitches a game to a publisher
> that likes the game but doesn't like their price. What's to stop the
> publisher from declining gamelab's offer and looking for a less
> expensive gamedev studio to make the game for them?
>
> In short, what kind of protection do you have so that your game ideas
> aren't stolen?
>
> */Peter Lee <mice3nyc at yahoo.com>/* wrote:
>
> The project based model is similar to the film funding
> model. Unfortunately, there is only one funding model
> in US, which is publisher-developer model. But, it is
> very common is Asia to explore different funding
> models including the film style project based funding.
>
> Here is a something more on what is happening at
> Gamelab.
> http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2006/03/gamelab_finds_w.html
>
> -------------------------------
> Seung Taek Lee (AKA Peter)
> Co-Founder/President
> Gamelab
> tel: 646.827.6644
> fax: 646.827.6645
> 368 Broadway #210
> New York, NY 10013
> -------------------------------
>
>
>
> --- Matthew Ford wrote:
>
> > In case you are not on this mailing list; this is a
> > significant development.
> > Good on them!
> >
> > I wonder if this means they will eventually pull
> > distribution from their
> > other channels?
> >
> > And who knows more about the "project-based
> > investment" pattern mentioned
> > below? I *think* I know but I may not have it right.
> >
> > _____
> >
> > From: gamelab [mailto:info at gmlb.com]
> > Sent: Friday, 17 March 2006 8:59 AM
> > To: gamelab
> > Subject: gamelab :: changes
> >
> >
> >
> > BIG CHAN GES ARE HAPPENING AT GAMELAB
> >
> > The inventive game development company you've grown
> > to love through titles
> > like Diner Dash, BLiX, and LEGO Junkbot is busting
> > out in all directions. We
> > are becoming a game publisher, starting a new
> > partnership with Curious
> > Pictures, pioneering a new form of game financing,
> > receiving a major
> > research grant from the MacArthur Foundation, and
> > we've got great new games
> > to boot!
> >
> > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
> >
> > -Gamelab the publisher-
> > That's right: Gamelab is becoming a game publisher.
> > We'll be financing and
> > distributing our own work. For a creatively-driven
> > company, this is an
> > important and necessary step in our evolution: there
> > are new audiences to
> > reach, new stories to tell, and new forms of
> > gameplay to explore. Initially,
> > we'll be focusing on t hree downloadable games - the
> > same business model as
> > Diner Dash - but multiplayer and handheld games are
> > also on the horizon.
> >
> > -Curious Pictures partnership-
> > Gamelab is teaming up with Curious Pictures, a
> > leading NYC-based animation
> > studio known for award-winning series like Kids Next
> > Door and Sheep in the
> > Big City. Curious and Gamelab are creating a
> > narrative property that we'll
> > publish as a downloadable game and bring to a
> > variety of other media.
> > Code-named BRENDA'S BRAIN, the project brings a
> > Hello Kitty pop sensibility
> > to the adult world of psychological quirks.
> >
> > -A new funding model-
> > It's one small step for Gamelab, one giant leap for
> > independent games.
> > Taking a page from the film industry, Gamelab is
> > funding titles through
> > project-based investment. Not a traditional game
> > publishing de al and not
> > venture capital, project-based investment has been
> > bandied about the game
> > industry for years - and now it's here. We already
> > have one project underway
> > funded through this model, a downloadable game about
> > office life that we'll
> > publish ourselves. More games funded on this model
> > to come.
> >
> > -It's genius-
> > And now for something completely different. The
> > MacArthur Foundation is
> > awarding a major grant to Gamelab and the Academic
> > Co-Lab at the University
> > of Wisconsin, Madison. The $1 million+ award will
> > fund the research and
> > development of Game Designer, innovative educational
> > software that will
> > teach junior high through university students about
> > game design by letting
> > them create and modify games. The Academic Co-Lab,
> > headed by leading game
> > scholar Jim Gee, will work closely with Gamelab
> > th roughout design and
> > production. Game Designer is part of The MacArthur
> > Foundation's ongoing
> > support for research and innovation in digital
> > media, youth, learning, and
> > education.
> >
> > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
> >
> > -Play games now-
> > Of course, Gamelab is still making great games!
> > We've got two downloadable
> > titles just out on the web, both published by
> > PlayFirst. Plantasia is an
> > action sim about gardening, featuring a romance
> > story about a hard-working
> > fairy restoring the gardens of a dilapidated estate
> > and a handsome
> > groundskeeper with a tragic past. Egg vs. Chicken is
> > a comedic action-puzzle
> > romp through time, as the player helps a rag-tag
> > team of eggs fend off
> > marauding chickens as they battle over which came
> > first. Both games feature
> > approachable and addictive gameplay, chock-full of< BR>> music,
> story, and
> > luscious visuals.
> >
> > -More games soon-
> > We've got several more original games coming out
> > over the next few months.
> > LEGO Fever, a project we're publishing in
> > partnership with our favorite toy
> > company, is one part wild LEGO brick building and
> > one part hip nostalgia.
> > Shopmania, published by iWin, is a frantic parody of
> > consumer culture that
> > puts the player behind the retail counter of a mega
> > superstore. Two pop
> > culture games with VH1 are also in development. Last
> > but not least, Gamelab
> > is continuing a partnership with NYC nonprofit
> > Global Kids, in which we
> > collaborate with high school students to make a game
> > about a social issue.
> >
> > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
> >
> > -Anything else?-
> > Gamelabbers are busy as usual outside our office. At
> > the Game Developers
> > Conference next week, catch talks from Nick
> > Fortugno, Peter Lee, and Eric
> > Zimmerman. Eric also just launched The Game Design
> > Reader, an anthology
> > co-edited with Katie Salen and published by MIT
> > Press. Greg Trefry
> > continues to write smart game reviews for
> > PopMatters.com and Nick Fortugno
> > pens design essays for gamezebo.com. Jacqueline Yue
> > created a series of
> > information graphics for Metropolis Magazine. Nick
> > Fortugno, Catherine
> > Herdlick, Peter Lee, Mattia Romeo, and Greg Trefry
> > are hard at work on Come
> > Out and Play, a festival of street games running
> > this fall in NYC. Lauri
> > Berritta is getting her Manhattan-based Dirt Theater
> > Company up and running.
> > Beom Shim's award-winning animations are appearing
> > in festivals in New York
> > City, Paris, Rome, and Stuttgart. Ranjit Bhatnagar
> > continues to exhibit his
> > wack y robot musicians, at the Flux Factory gallery
> > in Queens and the
> > Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley, CA.
> >
> > -What is Gamelab?-
> > The New York Times says Gamelab is a company with a
> > "penchant for smart
> > experimentation." But decide for yourself. The
> > current Gamelab crew includes
> > Lauri Berritta, Ranjit Bhatnagar, Naomi Clark, Tim
> > Conkling, Josh DeBonis,
> > Nick Fortugno, Heath Goldman, Catherine Herdlick,
> > Yun Kyung Huh, Dauna
> > Jeong, Peter Lee, Carolina Moya, Seok Min Oh, Peter
> > Nicolai, Kyron Ramsey,
> > Mattia Romero, YunHo Seo, Shim Beom Sik, Khoeun Tep,
> > Greg Trefry, Howard
> > Wakefield, Jonah Warren, Jacqueline Yue, Stephanie
> > Yue, and Eric Zimmerman.
> > Audio stylings by mixmaster Michael Sweet and his
> > crew at Audiobrain.
> > Gamelab TEENS include David Dai, Joel Esquite, Jane
> > Friedhoff, Riley Gay,
> > Ben Hayes, and Aaron Santigo.
> >
> > Contact Eric Zimmerman for more information about
> > anything mentioned above:
> > 646 827 6644 / eric at gamelab.com.
> >
> > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
> >
> > Gamelab: www.gamelab.com
> > Curious Pictures: www.curiouspictures.com
> > MacArthur Foundation: www.macfound.org
> >
> === message truncated ===>
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--
Dan Chao
415.860.7157
CEO - Mastermind Games
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