The Art of Tactics, Open Call Project Outline
I propose we band together my game engine with your art or
music.
Together we form a completed game.
Together we share the profit made from the completed game.
I maintain ownership of the individual pieces I make.
You maintain ownership of the individual pieces you make.
OR
I can commission you to create art or music and obtain
ownership of it.
Shell of a Game
The Art of Tactics(Tactics for short) in its present state
is a shell of a game. With both its programming and design work complete
it is now a near perfect map of each piece of art, graphic, music, and sound
effect it needs before being sold on market.
Open Call
This is an open call available to anyone who is interested
in producing the specific components Tactics needs.
The beta copy, the “shell of a game” of The Art of Tactics
should be used to determine if you are interested in this project.
The asset list table will provide you with a list of each
specific art, music, graphic, and sound effect (each asset) needed for
completion.
The beta copy along with community postings will help you
understand exactly how each asset will fit into the game as a whole.
Creation
First you must decide to participate in the creation of
Tactics. Then select an asset from the open call you would like to do and
then contact me with the request and your portfolio.
Inclusion
Once an asset is completed it must be added to Tactics and
we must decide how to engage in business. I have two different business
offers:
1- I can offer you a product royalty in
exchange for a non-exclusive license of your asset(s) both of which are limited
in duration to the edition of Tactics being developed*. This means the asset(s)
you make are still yours and I would need to license them again from you for the
next edition, in this way we engage in a licensed partnership.
2- I can entirely and indefinitely acquire
ownership of your asset in exchange for pay, which is like me contracting you.
*I plan to produce a new edition of Tactics every 3+ months.
The Plan
I want to introduce you to two key project milestones before
talking about how interested creators can get involved with the project.
0 Edition “Deviant Prototype”
The objective of this edition is not to make profit but
instead to serve as a means to reach the masses, creating exposure with the
consumer, prosumer, and would-be creator. The plan is to sell a $1 XBLA
Indie Games download for the XBox 360 and offer a free Windows copy online.
I have already approached and non-exclusively licensed much of the needed art
assets from artists on deviantart.com, which although generic and mismatched
still produces a game that’s “pretty to look at”. I also plan to
non-exclusively license audio assets from various (new) websites that provide
the service. These non-exclusively licensed assets provide a secure
affordable method to produce an initial market release with the ambition to be a
catalyst for creative dialog.
First Edition
Development of the “First Edition” (the second market release) will begin
immediately after the release of the prototype. This edition will aim to
achieve product placement as a digital download for the PC with service
providers like Steam and will also be released for the Xbox 360 either on XBLA
or XBLA Indie Games. The art in this edition will be much more ambitious
than the prototype, having each of its 400ish cards specifically made under an
artistic direction. The gameplay itself will reflect the refinement of
both forum suggestions and the work of a fuller design team.
Compensation
To compensate you for your creative efforts I can either
purchase or license your asset(s) from you. In the case of the purchase
option we can negotiate a price, if the asset(s) you make are of a high enough
quality then I may commission you again to do more work for future editions.
The licensing deal has a larger list of details and opportunities.
The Licensing Partnership
We collaborate by non-exclusively attaching the asset(s) you
create with the shell of a game I made, together and with many other asset
contributors we make a market-ready edition of Tactics. We share the
profit from the sales of that edition as pre-defined with each of us maintaining
ownership of our individually created pieces.
The next step then will be to make a newer better edition of
Tactics! The programming and design will undergo refinement to a new
standard and so will each asset it incorporates. Where each new edition will
leave behind old assets it will also create a bigger demand than before for the
new.
The non-exclusively licensed asset(s) you create are in no
way bound to Tactics alone. I am interested in promoting the asset(s) you
have created and your level of interest towards game development to other game
developers, specifically the independent game development community.
I have completed my shell of a game, satisfying my role as a
designer and programmer. Now I must find artists and musicians whose
creative efforts will develop, grow, and over the course of a few editions
become an integral part of the Tactics world.
Community
I expect a range of motivations and interests to bring the
Tactics community together, specifically the:
Portfolio Builder – A person looking for exposure.
Free Agent – A person who wants profit.
World Builder – A person who is looking for a place to
manifest a world, or just a reason to flesh out some ideas.
Hobbyist – A person who thinks developing a part of Tactics
on the side would be fun.
As Tactics grows its market presence and is redeveloped into
a higher quality product “Free Agent” interest will become more viable, for now
a collection of the other interests will have to bring us together.
Crowdsourcing Breakdown
Pseudo Freeware Profit Breakdown, Prototype Edition
40% Art, 40% Design, 10% Music/Sound, 10%
Myself(Programming, Concept, Pregnancy)
Full Product Profit Breakdown
28.3% Art, 28.3% Design, 28.3% Programming, 5% Music/Sound, 5% Management, 5%
World/Story
Extended Goals
Personally Owned IP
Free Agent Exposure
Free Agent Involvement/Relationships
Functional Momentum
Global Participation