as damocles suggested in the german morbius thread dealing with making games as your main job it would be a good idea to make something like a publishing thread. so lets get started here.

what i think would be good is to discuss the pros and cons of the different publishing models here and when the thread is finished translate it into a german/english tutorial summarizing the collected ideas.

it would be very nice if some of those who already finished and published a game with 3dgs can throw their experiences in.

damocles had 4 good points.

#1 how to make advertisements for your project. how much to invest for that. where to put the ads?

#2 payment systems. wich are the best for customers. wich work with 3dgs, wich 3dgs version do you need for that.

#3 where can you upload your demo to. wich casual game portal is best suited.

#4 what legal issues do you have to take care of including licenses, taxes, laws and so on.

i think it would be good if anyone who wants to contribute answers those 4 questions so we can discuss.

ill just start and see what happens next...

#1 set up a game site with short but good information about your game. register a domain with your product name (of cause after you know the name is okay for the publisher;) put few but good screenshots there or offer a demo/video (video should be available in youtube too). optimize your site - keyword SEO
put ads on your game site in a prominent place.

costs ~ 5€ hosting per month + 2 weeks setting up the site.

#2 i cant currently say what work with 3dgs and how much they cost you. i only know you need them to put your game on casual portal sites. i also know that demonica and other little games made with a6 pro run under one of those DRM systems.

#3 where can you upload your demo to?

download.com
gamershell.com
3dgamers.com
demonews.de
...

#4 i know that there are exclusive and non exclusive contracts. its probably better to look for more non exclusive so you keep a door open. maybe you should sign an exclusive contract if you get offered a good deal and trust the publisher that he doesnt stop advertising or selling your game.

dont sign something where you have to buy back shipped items from stores.

never ever use something 3rd party. always double check that the ressources you use are royalty free. especially sound and music/samples.


thats all i can think of now. please lets discuss this further.

Some of the developers here, who placed a product on the market
(publishing or selfmarketing),
Please state your experiences.

a few words on self-publishing, as i think it is a issue here:

- self-publishing takes a lot of time and experience and contact to the right people
- a good game will most certainly find a good publisher (if you define "good" as follows: market oriented with large target audience, well implemented with good gameplay)
- if you develop a good game there is no need to self-publish, if you product gets rejected better improve it and try it again with the publisher before spending your time with self-publishing

another tip i can give:
there is the argument that a good gameplay is not dependent on good graphics. that may be true, but be aware of thinking a good gameplay does not need good graphics. on the market you simply need the best graphics you can get!

#1 how to make advertisements for your project. how much to invest for that. where to put the ads?

Learn how to write a good press release.

Learn how to write a good press release.

Learn how to write a good press release.

(Or hire someone to write one for you.) This advice was given to me some years ago, and it was so good that it's worth pasting three times. A well-written press release sent to the right parties is worth its weight in gold; we've had magazines, television shows, and newspapers talk about us in the past, and it's all because of these doofy one-page bits about our games and our studio. Here's a good place to start:

http://www.dpdirectory.com/1howtowr.htm

Of course, writing a press release can be difficult. I've been writing the draft of the Galaxy Rage announcement release for 33 years, which is longer than I've been on the planet. So far, I've got, "Dejobaan Games announces Galaxy...", but I'm not sure what comes after "Galaxy."

Someone suggested "Rage," but that's silly.

From my experience most of the larger portals will offer non exclusives, but they usually require at least 75% of the cut. With Retail and wholesales we have had more luck with profits, but its a hard sale to them.

Sweet Link Ichiro.

I got some buddies that I am going to recommend use this service.

You should get a referral spiff.

Ken

great information really, i have added a link to the thread to my Blog too. iam trying to find out some legal information soon, especially for germany.

Then it would be better to start a thread in german.
How would you define "Umsatzsteuervoranmeldung" or "Industrie und Handelskammer" in english?

There are to much specific laws in different countries.

If you are going shareware (which from the nature of your question would seem to be the case), advertising is expensive, and you can't compete with the publishers.

Don't spend a lot of money advertising on the download sites. They'll ask you when you submit your software to them. Most people will buy directly from your web-site, so make sure you submit it to as many search engines as possible. Certainly, send a PAD file to every download site you can, but mainly as a way to get more links back to your own site and be easier to find on Google.

Download.com gets about as many downloads as all the rest put together, so if you are going to spend money advertising on any download site, that would be the one.

Good articles and reviews are a much better bet, and don't cost you anything. Listen to Ichiro. Remember to post your product on any news groups or forums that might be interested as well.


For payment systems, Paypal is more popular than credit card.


There are hundreds of download sites you can upload to. Make sure you create a PAD file: link: http://www.asp-shareware.org/pad/ .There is also software that you can use to auto-submit. For example: http://www.develab.net/


For legal issues, you should look for legal advice in your juristiction. You might be able to get free legal counsel at a local community centre or office.




And good luck. Throwing your software out as shareware can be like throwing it in the bin. It's also very hard work. Go for corporate/ publisher funding, that way not only will you probably make money, you won't have to worry about marketting and distribution either.