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MMORPG Death March
MMORPG Death March
| Name: | Chris Burk | |
|---|---|---|
| Date Posted: | Jan 02, 2006 | |
| Rating: |  3.0 out of 5 | |
| Public: | YES | |
| Comments: | YES | |
| RSS Feed: |  or Subscribe with  . | |
| Profile Page: | View profile page for Chris Burk |
Blog post
Hello reader,
With this inaugural posting of the MMORPG Death March I suppose I should introduce myself and what I'm attempting to do to everyone out there.
First: I'm the head of Schwarz Engel Productions Incorporated. We're a C-Corporation that is currently in a drive for funding to produce the 'next big thing'. Somehow, through copious use of alcohol and a dedicated tarot reader, we've decided the 'next big thing' will be a MMORPG. (*more on this later). I have a massive office with a wonderful view of my front yard. In my spare time I enjoy being gainfully employed making slightly less than most migrant workers and muddling my way through college.
When I say we, I'm referring to myself, the corporate marketing manager and the corporate community manager. I've managed to pool talent from the MUSH administration environment as well as a small team of dedicated coders and artists (still expanding in this area) to begin work on the MMORPG Death March. No, that's not the title. It's a thinly veiled reference to to work conditions that the Japanese inflicted on American POWs during WWII.
Yes, our first project is a MMORPG. *gasp* I realize how heretical and unorthodox I am to say such a thing. Currently, the magic 8 ball says I have no chance to succeed. Fortunately, I've never been one much to listen to such dire portents. What makes me think we can do it? Over 30 years experience in the care and feeding of virtual worlds. MMORPGs are nothing more (on the front end) than MU*es with pretty pictures. Our team has the experience to handle something of this size. Two things stand in our way, a fully fleshed out team, and full funding. Both of these items can be overcome with perseverance, proper planning, and smart business acumen.
This is where TGE and GG comes into play. We're going to demo up our design using the TGE to search for funding. With two coders, a designer, and a small team of artists, we're beginning the death march. Make no mistake, while there is no pay for the project at this stage, the rewards of such an undertaking are the holy grail of game design. I believe everyone on our team is interested in making thier mark on the gaming community and helping to shape it into how we would like it to be. With any luck, we'll actually advance the craft of game design and inject some innovation into the offerings on the market. At the very least, we'll all have gained the experience that only comes with 'doing it yourself'. Wish us luck.
With this inaugural posting of the MMORPG Death March I suppose I should introduce myself and what I'm attempting to do to everyone out there.
First: I'm the head of Schwarz Engel Productions Incorporated. We're a C-Corporation that is currently in a drive for funding to produce the 'next big thing'. Somehow, through copious use of alcohol and a dedicated tarot reader, we've decided the 'next big thing' will be a MMORPG. (*more on this later). I have a massive office with a wonderful view of my front yard. In my spare time I enjoy being gainfully employed making slightly less than most migrant workers and muddling my way through college.
When I say we, I'm referring to myself, the corporate marketing manager and the corporate community manager. I've managed to pool talent from the MUSH administration environment as well as a small team of dedicated coders and artists (still expanding in this area) to begin work on the MMORPG Death March. No, that's not the title. It's a thinly veiled reference to to work conditions that the Japanese inflicted on American POWs during WWII.
Yes, our first project is a MMORPG. *gasp* I realize how heretical and unorthodox I am to say such a thing. Currently, the magic 8 ball says I have no chance to succeed. Fortunately, I've never been one much to listen to such dire portents. What makes me think we can do it? Over 30 years experience in the care and feeding of virtual worlds. MMORPGs are nothing more (on the front end) than MU*es with pretty pictures. Our team has the experience to handle something of this size. Two things stand in our way, a fully fleshed out team, and full funding. Both of these items can be overcome with perseverance, proper planning, and smart business acumen.
This is where TGE and GG comes into play. We're going to demo up our design using the TGE to search for funding. With two coders, a designer, and a small team of artists, we're beginning the death march. Make no mistake, while there is no pay for the project at this stage, the rewards of such an undertaking are the holy grail of game design. I believe everyone on our team is interested in making thier mark on the gaming community and helping to shape it into how we would like it to be. With any luck, we'll actually advance the craft of game design and inject some innovation into the offerings on the market. At the very least, we'll all have gained the experience that only comes with 'doing it yourself'. Wish us luck.
Recent Blog Posts
| List: | 01/04/06 - MMORPG Death March - 1st Casualty 01/02/06 - MMORPG Death March |
|---|
Submit your own resources!| Tim Muenstermann (Jan 02, 2006 at 21:36 GMT) |
-Tim
| Jason Swearingen (Jan 03, 2006 at 00:02 GMT) |
| David Montgomery-Blake (Jan 03, 2006 at 03:04 GMT) |
| Chris Burk (Jan 03, 2006 at 12:40 GMT) Resource Rating: 5 |
-Yes, an S-Corp provides many benefits to a small indie studio. However, for the potential funding of the company, an S-Corp severely limits our options. You have a maximum number of shareholders, as well as a limit on the number of shares that may be traded, effectively nixing any possibility of going public. These are all things that keep funding away from a company, not draw it. The choice for a C-Corp was to allow us to both be able to draw the largest pool of potential funding sources as well as allow us to effectively manage the amount of money we'll be needing. MMORPGs are massively expensive and most run in excess of $10,000,000 for the development budget alone. Ours is no exception.
| Alan H (Jan 03, 2006 at 18:24 GMT) |
I'm glad I don't have a 10 mil budget, I wouldn't know what to do with it except to inocorporate in Fiji :) . I've spent about $2500 so far (not including time and labor of the team).
So how much funding are you shooting for? $100,000, $1,000,000, or the whole $10,000,000. Does EA even spend ten mil on a game? I know 4-6 mil is common with the unimaginative and over incumbered big boys.
| Chris Burk (Jan 04, 2006 at 01:42 GMT) Resource Rating: 5 |
-I suppose that depends on what you consdier an indie game. So long as we aren't funded by a publisher, that leaves the responsibility for publication and distribution in our hands. There's a number of other issues that delve into the minutiae of business administration which are likely boring to all and sundry that I won't delve into. At this point, we're looking for $13 mil over 3 - 4 years to complete our product and pad us a bit post-launch.
A regular game's budget weighs in between 2 - 10 million depending on talent involved, IP licensing and the staff required to make it happen. MMORPGs are 2 - 10 times as large, complex and expensive as those games. Therefore, they take longer, cost more, and are harder to create, launch and manage post-launch. For anyone interested in this side of game production, I heartily reccommend "Developing Online Games" by Petrovsky and Mulligan from New Riders. It's damn near essential to anyone looking to build a MMORPG.
| Brian Peal (Jan 04, 2006 at 22:28 GMT) |
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