作者：Craig Chapple

过去几年里我们见证了独立发行商的不断崛起。

几乎每个月都会出现一个全新发行商承诺去帮助你发行你的新游戏并帮助它进行市场营销。

当然了，为你的游戏发行获取支持或找到合适的公司去资助你那具有创造性的全新理念都是非常重要的。但是在一个出现了越来越多像Devolver Digital，505 Games，Team17，Curve Digital，Kiss，Versus Evil，Sold Out，Green Man Loaded等发行商的市场中，你该如何找到适合自己的发行商呢？

就像曾帮助独立游戏《逃狱》创造了1000万美元收益的发行商Team17的总经理Debbie Bestwick便表示，对于开发者来说最重要的便是确保发行商能够为自己带来更多价值。这种价值的范围很广，即包括来自媒体，市场营销，销量，后端测试，本土化或控制台提交等等价值，也包括帮助开发者获取额外开发资源去优化游戏。

增值

她说过：“如果你所接触的任何发行商都不能为你的游戏增添价值，那请径直走开。”

Curve Digital的发行总监Simon Byron也补充了发行商的一些基本价值，即包括提交，认证，支持，PR，市场营销和社区支持。而根据协议，这同时也应该包括开发支持，即不管是基于创造性还是基于经济。

不过当你进入这种协议时你还有许多需要考虑的内容。你必须确保自己并没有被别人反利用了。

Sold Out商务拓展总监Garry Williams说道：“认真审核那些你想要一起共事的人，询问那些和他们工作过的开发者—-他们是否能够及时支付费用等等？”

“想办法避开那些只是想要获取你们的IP或将你们公司作为自己占领市场的棋子的发行商。最理想的情况便是寻找那些能够像水龙头一般可控制开关的发行支持。开发者必须确保发行搭档能够通过生命周期管理技能和真正的发行支持而为游戏带去更多价值。”

Byron表示开发者还应该清楚发行商在看到游戏发行后表现不如意时会有怎样的表现。毕竟并不是每一款游戏在一开始都能卖得很好。

他说道：“当然了，我们都希望自己的游戏能够卖得很好，但你必须清楚如果一开始事情并不如想象中那么顺利，你们就必须为此制定一个长期计划。”

艰苦的谈判

他还补充道，在协商期间，开发者应该做好充足的准备。即清楚自己想要获得什么以及能够接受什么。他表示，真正优秀的发行商是不会想方设法去诱导你签约的。相反地他们会提醒开发者小心那些可能强加时间压力在他们身上的人。

505 Games全球品牌兼市场营销高级副总裁Tim Woodley表示，开发者还必须了解潜在发行搭档与平台所有者和数码市场领导者（游戏邦注：如Valve，苹果，索尼，任天堂，微软和谷歌等等)之间的关系。你必须确保你所合作的发行商与你目标平台上的巨头们拥有紧密的关系。

他解释道：“它们是全新的‘零售商’，并且现在出现在商店前方与我们在沃尔玛，乐购等超市销售盒装产品其实一样重要。所以你必须询问你的发行商与相关第一方零售商之间的关系，他们会多久见一次面以及他们是如何‘销售’产品。”

确保你清楚自己希望从发行商那里获得什么只是准备步骤之一。开发者还需要通过对潜在合作伙伴的了解去有效宣传自己。

Bestwick便表示开发者其实不需要有过多的担心。如果你们的游戏足够优秀，达成合作自然不难。但同时她也提供了一些有帮助的建议。

她说道：“我想分享的最佳建议便是去调查与你所制作的游戏相关的信息。即着眼于每一款与你们相似的游戏并清楚你们游戏在哪方面优于市场中的其它游戏。”

自信

Williams认为开发者不仅需要展现出优秀的游戏以及对于该项目的满腔热情，同时也必须表现出自己充足的准备和明确的规划。

他解释道：“尽管像SWOT（优势，劣势，机会和威胁）分析一开始听起来会有点无聊，但是关于为什么你对这类型内容充满热情，你想要如何执行项目以及你计划如何将游戏呈现在消费者面前等内容都是非常重要的。”

“虽然这听起来再基础不过，但事实上人们总是将更多时间花在所谓的‘概念’和同行的想法上，而在计划表，成本，市场营销等方面却未能投入足够时间。“

Kiss的市场营销总监David Clark表示，他希望能够快速且简单地理解游戏是关于什么以及它和其它游戏的区别。

他说道，“如果连我们都不能理解的话，消费者该怎么办？”他还表示一份长达400页的设计文件只能说明你的写作水平不错而已，对的，仅此而已。

Clark建议道：“尽量保持设计文件足够简短，这能让你专注于描写那些关键细节并删除所有不必要的背景信息。显然架构是非常必要的，我们也会对此作出最热情的反应。”

你必须清楚发行商每周都会收到各式各样的宣传。Woodley便表示505 Games经常会根据团队来自哪里去评估一个项目。

如果团队规模更大，那么发行商对于他们所准备的宣传细节便会有更大的期待值。他还表示，发行商也理解新人开发者和独立开发者因为缺少经验而很难进行完美的宣传，所以对于这些开发者的期待值也就不会放太高。

他说道：“对于较小的工作室，我们会与那些没有多少经验的人讨论发行是如何运行的。我们会通过询问他们一些他们可能会忽略的问题而帮助他们更好地准备官方的greenlight。”

合适的时间

并不是所有发行商都能理解糟糕的宣传，所以你最好仔细阅读这里所提到的建议或在开始讨论所有重要协议之前好好问自己这些问题。

一旦你完成了对于发行商的了解并掌握了宣传过程，你便会想那么什么时候是接近潜在发行搭档的最佳时机呢？不同发行商身上所适用的答案是不同的，这也是为什么你必须花时间去找出最符合自己需求的发行商。

Bestwick说道：“尽管我们曾凭借截图和愿景签过一款游戏，但通常情况下我们都会认真看看，并且更重要的是会玩玩游戏，即使它还只是一个原型。”

“当你前往和发行商的最初会面时你还必须带上有关你们的制作愿景以及团队的详细介绍—-要知道团队和游戏是一样重要的。”

Woodley也认为原型对于成功宣传的重要性。尽管他相信“一个优秀的理念很重要”，但是他们也会着眼于任何游戏不管它是否完成还是只处于概念阶段。

他解释道：“这便说明开发者对自己的想法有信心并且相信这一理念。其次，这也能告诉我们那些在纸上看来很不错的理念在代码中的表现。我们所收到的最成功的宣传通常都带有某种形式的游戏原型。”

Williams还补充道，呈现能够测试游戏概念外观和感觉的代码也能够帮助之后的市场营销。

他说道：“不要太晚才将这一内容呈现出来，因为尽快制定市场营销计划是好事。我们相信能自己够为你的业务增添技能并最大化游戏收益，所以在早期阶段获取反馈能够帮助我们节省下不少时间和精力。”

全新发行商

尽管在产业中有关开发者和发行商的合作还会传出一些不好的新闻，但是这里已和5或10年前的情况不同的。如今，多亏于独立发行，开发者手上所掌握的权利变得更多了—-尽管发现性始终是一个不容小觑的问题。

Woodley表示，如今的发行商更加尊重开发者“是我们产业必不可少的人才，没有了他们就什么都不是”的事实。他还说道，并不会对因为过去那些新闻而导致越来越多独立发行商涌现出来感到惊讶，这些发行商大多数也是开发工作室，如Team17和Curve，他们甚至剥夺了一些大型发行商的特权。

他说道：“如今的发行商必须变得更加多元化且更加灵活。我们产业的改变节奏丝毫没有放缓的迹象。”

“不管是不是在像消费者市场营销这样的特殊领域，行为改变几乎每周都会在消费者交流方面上演着，或者从更广泛的业务模式和分销渠道来看，现代发行商必须基于身边的变化重新评估并改变自己。”

揭开发行面纱

Byron表示如今的真正变化便在于笼罩在发行商身上的面纱被揭开了。现在真正优秀的发行商都是有责任，开放且诚实的。

他也列举了向开发者隐藏版税报告是非常可耻的事。而随着社交媒体的发展以及越来越多发行商的出现，那些糟糕的发行商很快便会发现自己经常上头条并越来越不受开发者的待见。

Byron还补充道，因为承受着来自所有平台的发现性挑战，现在的发行商需要更努力去争取开发者。

他说道：“几乎所有人都能够编写游戏便说明了只是出现在数字或实体商店是远远不够的。”

“我们还需要更努力去说服搭档和我们共事。真正优秀的发行商必须成为创造性过程中的阳光而非乌云。”

（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转发，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

How do you find the right publisher for you?

By Craig Chapple

The last couple of years have seen the rise and rise of the indie publisher.

Barely a month goes by without the announcement of a new publisher that promises to help you get your brand new game off the ground and market it to a discerning audience.

It can be critical, of course, to get support for your game’s release, or find the right company to help fund development of your innovative and exciting new idea. But in a market increasingly full of publishers like Devolver Digital, 505 Games, Team17, Curve Digital, Kiss, Versus Evil, Sold Out, Green Man Loaded and more, how do you find the right publisher for you?

As far as the basics go, Team17 MD Debbie Bestwick, whose company has helped indie hit The Escapists make some $10m, says the most important thing is to make sure a publisher adds value. This can range from media, marketing, sales, backend testing, localisation or console submissions, through to helping add polish with additional development resources.

Value-add

“If any publisher you are talking to can’t add value, simply walk away,” she says.

Curve Digital publishing director Simon Byron adds that some the basics can include anything to do with submissions, certification, support, PR, marketing and community support. Depending on the agreement, this may also include development support too, either creatively or financially.

But there’s a lot to look out for when taking part in those tricky negotiations. And it’s important not to get taken advantage of.

“Check out the people you intend to work with, ask around and question the developers who have worked with them – did they pay on time, and did they deliver?” says Sold Out business development director Garry Williams.

“Avoid any who seek your IP or shares of your company as part of any deal to get to market. Ideally look for publishing support that can be turned on and off like a tap – as and when needed. Be certain that the publishing partner can add value to your game with lifecycle management skills and genuine publishing support.”

Byron says developers should also look out for how a publisher reacts to a game that performs poorly after release. After all, not all games will sell well from the off.

“Sure, we all want our games to sell as well as they can – but you need to know that if things don’t work out initially, that there is a longer-term plan beyond a shrug of the shoulders,” he says.

Tough talk

He adds that during negotiations, developers should be prepared. Know what you’re asking for and what you’re willing to accept. He says that a good publisher shouldn’t need to go out their way to make sweeping demands to convince you to sign, while also warning devs to be wary of anyone putting on time pressures.

505 Games global brand and marketing SVP Tim Woodley says another thing to make sure you ask your potential publishing partner is about their relationships with platform holders and digital marketplace leaders, like Valve, Apple, Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft and Google. Making sure your publisher has close ties with the major players on your target platform is crucial.

“They are the new ‘retailers’ and getting front of store is no less important now than it was when we were selling boxes into Walmart, Tescos or Micromania,” he explains. “Ask your publisher about their relationship with the relevant first-party retailers, how often they meet and their approach to ‘selling-in’ their titles.”

Making sure you know what you are looking for from publishers is only part of the preparation, of course. Developers need to deliver a successful pitch for their due diligence on the right partner to matter.

Bestwick says developers need not always worry too much. If the game is good enough, it will always get a deal. But she has some useful tips to keep in mind.

“The best advice I can share is please research the game you are making,” she says. “Look at every similar game and know why your game is going to stand out above what’s in the market now and also at the time your game will actually be released.”

Self-belief

Williams believes developers need to show not only a great game and clear enthusiasm for the project, but also evidence of clear preparation and planning.

“Although things like SWOT (Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis start to sound boring, an idea of why you have a passion for a genre, how you intend to deliver the project and your plan to place this game in front of consumers are all really helpful,” he explains.

“It may sound basic, but too many people get caught up with the ‘concept’ and the thoughts of their peer group, and spend too little time considering schedules, costs, marketing and planning to reach market with impact.”

Kiss head of marketing David Clark says he wants to understand as quickly and as easily as possible exactly what the game is about and what sets it apart from others.

“If we can’t work it out, then how will the customer?” he says, adding that sending across a 400-page design document will only highlight how good you are at writing, “but not a lot else”.

“Keep it short – it forces you to focus on the key details and removes the unnecessary background info,” advises Clark. “Obviously a build of some kind is essential and we react best to enthusiasm and originality.”

It’s important to note that publishers receive pitches of all shapes and sizes every week. Woodley says that 505 Games often evaluates a project according to where the team has originated.

If it’s a larger team, its expectations for a thoroughly prepared pitch with a high level of detail are greater. He says, however, that the publisher understands how new and lone developers may not have the experience to deliver the perfect pitch, so expectations for this stage of proceedings may be lowered.

“For smaller, micro-studios – say at MCV and Develop’s Interface events, for example – quite often we’re talking to people who have no experience or expectations as to how publishing even works,” he states. “We will help them get their pitches into a better state for the official greenlight discussion by asking them some of the questions which perhaps they haven’t considered.”

The right time

Not all publishers may be so understanding of a poorly delivered pitch however, so reading up on advice given here or asking for it yourself may be a smart move before commencing discussions for that all-important deal.

But once you’ve done your research on publishers, and understood the pitching process, when is the best time to approach a potential partner? The answer seems to differ between publishers – another reason why it’s important to spend time finding the best fit for your unique requirements.

“Even though I’ve been known to sign a game based only on screenshots and a vision, ideally we would always like to see, and more importantly, play, code, even if it’s a just a working prototype rather than a polished level,” says Bestwick.

“Other important things to bring to the initial meetings are details of your production vision and detail of the team you have in place – the team is as important as the game being made.”

Woodley agrees that at least a prototype is required for a successful pitch. While he believes “a good idea is a good idea”, and will take a look at any game whether it’s close to completion or at the concept stage, a proven idea is ideal.

“It shows that the developer has the courage of their convictions and genuinely believes in the idea,” he explains. “And two, it shows us that what looked like a good idea on paper is starting to manifest itself in code. I would say that the most successful pitches which come to our greenlight table more often than not have some sort of prototype already developed.”

Williams adds that showing a generous amount of code to test the look and feel of a game’s concept can also help when it comes to marketing later on.

“Don’t wait too long delivering this look and feel as we all really benefit from planning marketing into the concept as soon as is possible,” he states. “We genuinely believe we add skills to your business and will help maximise returns, so feedback at an early stage can often save a lot of wasted effort later down the line.”

A new brand of publisher

While there are still horror stories that make their way around the games industry of developer’s burned by bad publishing deals, the sector is certainly different to the landscape of five or ten years ago. More power is now in the hands of developers, thanks for the opportunities in self-publishing – though discoverability is not an issue to be taken lightly.

Woodley says today’s publishers are more respectful of the fact that developers “are the life-blood talent of our industry, without them we are nothing”. He says it’s no surprise from those older horror stories that more indie publishers have sprung up in recent years, often from development studios themselves, such as Team17 and Curve, to disenfranchised individuals from major publishers “looking to put right some of the wrongs of the past”.

“Publishers of today also have to be a lot more dynamic and flexible than the publishers of the past,” he says. “The pace of change in our industry is showing no signs of slowing.

“Whether it’s in specific areas of, for example, consumer marketing, where changing behaviours are throwing up new best practises in consumer communications almost every month, or more broadly in terms of business models and distribution channels, it is important for the modern-era publishers to keep re-evaluating and re-inventing themselves as the changes happen around them.”

Lifting the publishing veil

Byron says the real difference these days is that much of the mystery around publishing has been removed. Good publishers are accountable, open and honest, he states.

He cites tales of developers never seeing royalty reports, which he labels “absolutely disgraceful”. And those bad deals raise a good point, with the prevalence of social media and so many publishers in competition – a bad publisher will quickly find themselves in the headlines and out of favour with developers.

Byron adds that publishers now also have to work harder for these developers, given the tough discoverability challenges they face across all platforms.

“The ability for almost anyone to write a game means that it’s no longer enough just to be featured in a digital or physical store,” he says.

“We also need to work harder to convince partners to work with us – there’s often the assumption that the results from going it alone or with a publisher will be the same, albeit keeping all the money. Good publishers should be the sunshine energising the creative process rather than a dark cloud sucking up whatever per cent of revenue they’re screwing you for.”（source：develop-online)