Dos and Don’ts for making money on multiple platforms

Ivo WubbelsCEO Engine Software

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About Engine Software

• Founded in the early 90s.• Developed over 100 games.• Worked mostly for Nintendo platform.• Worked with big Ips from companies such as

Disney, Nickelodeon, Marvel.• Many casual game conversions to Nintendo

platforms for BigFish, Popcap, iWin, Mumbujumbo, Playrix and many more.

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About this presentation

• Why you should consider multiplatform development

• Why you shoud be aware of multiplatform development

• Experiences from our team• More information on working with publishers

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Why thinking about multi platform?

• More platforms means more visibility• There is no one big platform anymore• Conversions should be easy to do• If your casual title is successfull: you will be

contacted!

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How to handle a conversion

• Do it yourself• Work with a partner developer• Have another developer do the job• Just hand over the assets (sublicense the IP)

Choice may depend on the deal you're looking for

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What did we see in the last years?

• Most casual games had no GDD• No documentation how to build the game • Missing files or libraries in the archive• No original assets• Many games were created as PC-only• Missing sourcecode• Developer said “We didn't want to go multiplaform”

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What to be aware of for multi platform development

• Different screen resolutions• Two screen• Different graphics capabilities• Touch screen vs dpad control• Online features• Platform holder guidelines• Memory usage• Savegame features

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When developing your game

• Think about your game engine• Make sure to create documentation• Make sure all materials are well archived• Make your code platform independant• Think about memory and CPU usage

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What deal to make: publishers ask you

• Do you want to be involved in the process?• Do you want to invest yourself?• Royalties vs flat fee• Make sure you have approval rights!

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What deal to make: without publisher request

• Self publishing or working with a publisher?• How to finance the production• Publishers want a big piece of the cake• Rev split with partner developer

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Thank you for listening

If you want more information, or you have a game you want to be converted to other platforms, get in touch!

e-mail: ivo@engine-software.nl