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Customer Service As A Milestone Deliverable
Game development is a very intense process and it is natural for the tactical focus on project execution to pull resources and mindshare away from strategic planning and marketing for the studio as a whole.
Developers who believe it is enough to let the merits of their titles speak for themselves are not practicing good partner relationship management, and they frequently lose repeat business relationships because of it. Others who believe price alone determines their competitive advantage set themselves up for failure by under-resourcing and under-delivering.
At FOG, we look for clients who understand that their ultimate potential is fully realized only by taking a holistic approach to not only great game development, but also great customer service, marketing, and relationship management.
Let’s do a little exercise. Take the total number of development contracts you have done, then subtract one for each publisher relationship you did not repeat because you would not ever work with them again (assuming the difficulty in working with them was far and above their fault, and not prompted by your own actions or inactions). Group the ones that remain by publisher. If 50% or more of the total are repeat relationships, you are doing a good job of retaining your customers. If your percentage is less than that, it is time to figure out why. As a manager or director of the company, you may not have had ongoing insight into the day-to-day operations and communications between your producer and their counterpart at the publisher customer. That should be the nexus of your investigation.
Project management systems and formal post-mortems are valuable tools, but being able to track how many features and assets were implemented — or how many bugs were corrected in a certain block of time — are metrics that can address and improve problems in your process, but not in the people within that process necessarily. Certainly, it is easy to identify if a particular person is the source of late deliverables, but what are the deliverables of the producers and project managers themselves? I would argue that …
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Location: Santa Cruz, California
Focus: Independent developer of mainly licensed console and handheld games.
Facts: Created HBO Boxing, Midway Arcade Party Pack, E.T.’s Interplanetary Mission, Shaun Murray’s Pro WakeBoarder, 101 Dalmations II: Patch’s London Adventure, Dora The Explorer: Barnyard Buddies, Spiderman, Shark Tale: Fintastic Fun, Madagascar: Island Mania, Fantastic 4, Superman Returns, and ClickStart My First Computer.
Launched in 2001 by principal partners Mark “Beno” Bell and Diego Link, Santa Cruz Games started with a small PSOne title — E.T.’s Interplanetary Adventure — and grew to be a successful independent developer with 14 titles under its belt.
Today, the company specializes in licensed games, mostly for consoles and handhelds and especially for the Nintendo DS and Wii and for the Sony PSP. There may be some Xbox 360 content in Santa Cruz’s future but the company is holding off on PS3 work “until the market matures a bit.”
Most recently, the company created a new division, SCGKids, which specializes in low-end, plug ‘n’ play TV games for the younger demographic. Current clients include Hasbro and Jakks Pacific with licenses from LucasArts and Marvel.
The big year-end news at Santa Cruz is that it will be shipping “Godzilla Unleashed” for the Nintendo DS this winter. And it currently has on the shelves games for LeapFrog Enterprise’s ClickStart My First Computer.
On the drawing boards are two “highly confidential” projects, one for Eidos and one for Hasbro, neither of which have been announced.
“Having recently brought FOG Studios onboard,” says development director “Beno” Bell, “our intention is to grow the company with bigger and better games, most of which will probably be licensed titles for consoles and handhelds.”
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Infinite Interactive’s “Puzzle Quest: Challenge Of The Warlords” Wins Five Awards “Down Under.”
“Puzzle Quest” was named the “Best Game of 2007” at the Game Development Association of Australia’s annual awards which honor the best Australian-developed games of the year. In fact, “Puzzle Quest”” won all five awards for which it was nominated: Best Game, Best Console Game, Best Handheld Game, Best PC Game, and Best Gameplay. We’ve got the photos and the full report. Meanwhile, the classic puzzle game with the epic story of good versus evil is up for the title of “Best Handheld Game” of 2007.
See the four Spike Video Game Award nominees.
Skalden Studios signs on to exclusive representation with FOG Studios.
“Bubbins,” the highly anticipated action arcade title from Nordic game developer Skalden, is going beta and is on track to be available for full distribution in February. FOG Studios exclusively represents Skalden and is seeking digital distribution and co-promotional partners for “Bubbins,” as well as licensees or publishing partners for Nintendo DS, Wii, XBLA, PSN, and mobile versions of the new game.
For immediate assistance, contact Adam Spencer.
Over 5000 Facebook members say “Ultimate Frisbee” should be made into a video game.
See for yourself … check out this screenshot from FaceBook!
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Ping us by clicking on the appropriate link. We are currently looking for the following:
- Requests For Proposal: Racing game developer capable of producing 60 frames-per-second quality output for off-road racing title. Inquire with resume of past experience and references.
- Requests For Proposal: Work-for-hire opportunities for mobile; full development and/or porting.
- Requests For Proposal: Work-for-hire opportunities for PC, handhelds, consoles; full development and/or porting and conversion.
- Requests For Proposal: Tests for art and animation outsourcing, cinematics, or similar projects.
- IPs/Brand Owners seeking development partners and/or representation.
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FOG Studios, the leading agency for interactive rights since 1979, helps:
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Independent developers find publishing partners and other avenues to market. |
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IP owners maximize their return when licensing in the interactive marketplace. |
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Publishers develop relationships with world-class brands and top developers. |
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A Friend Of FOG
We here at FOG have been very impressed with the leadership that Mary Margaret Walker has provided to independent developers in finding job placements across the industry. As the leading headhunter in this business, MaryMargaret.com is a friend of FOG and independent developers everywhere. |
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For more information on a specific opportunity, click on the appropriate link: |
| Glyphic Entertainment |
Geometrix for Nintendo DS. |
| Santa Cruz Games |
Hooked! for Nintendo DS. |
| Skalden Studios |
Bubbins for Nintendo DS and Wii, XBLA, PSN, and mobile. |
| Cauldron |
Revolution for PC, PS3, and X360. |
| High Voltage |
Roller Derby for PC, PS3, and X360. |
| Velvetelvis Studios |
Worst Case Scenario for PC, PS3, and X360. |
| Velvetelvis Studios |
Kick-ass Girl for mobile and Nintendo DS; worldwide rights. |
| Anino Games |
Jakers! Piggley’s Summer Adventure for Nintendo DS; worldwide rights. |
| Nibris |
Raid Over The River for Nintendo DS; worldwide rights. |
| Nibris |
Double Bloob for PC, XBLA, and Nintendo DS; worldwide rights. |
| Humagade |
Young Thor for Nintendo DS; worldwide rights. |
This is not a complete listing of the opportunities available through FOG Studios. To request more information on any of the featured opportunities, discuss other opportunities exclusively represented by FOG Studios, or to determine the availability of any of our Developer or Service Provider Clients for your upcoming projects, please click here.
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Santa Cruz Games