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Author
Topic: My game company
Ghost of Forums Past
Pancake
posted 03-13-2012 10:16:22 AM
If there's one thing that most of you probably know about me it's that I like building things that make people happy.

I've been talking about starting my own game company for quite some time and it reached the point where I need to just make it happen. There were a lot of barriers in my life preventing this seemingly ambitious task, but in the end it was a matter of priorities and my dreams won out.

A lot of things are happening at once right now, though most of them are boring business stuff that I won't bore you with. What I need from all of you is constant feedback and beta testing. Why does this have a flame tag? Because I want you to be honest with your feedback.

You can watch the progress of the company as it grows here. Right now the site is total shit and the text is poorly written, but that will change over the next month or so. It's good enough to get the basic point across, so why wait when i can start getting feedback now?

When Liar's Dice is finished I will post another thread with start times to try out the games. Right now the interface is total shit and if anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them.

Once the HTML version is done the 3d flash version that lets you use your phone as an optional controller will be released (shake your phone to roll your dice, use it to bet so multiple players can use one screen, walk around and see x-box like avatars of other players in a simlife like house, etc). I'll be throwing google analytics on to track basically everything to see how people react to stuff.

So what are you waiting for? Take a look (keeping in mind this isn't as pre-alpha as you can get) and tell me what you think of the overall idea. Try a game of liar's dice and throw out some suggestions to make the interface better. Tell me ways you think would be best to attach this to facebook so people can compete against friends. Got some industry contacts that can help me out by offering advice? Please do so! I'm already going to be asking some of the folks from Turbine Games and Zynga for advice, as feedback from people who have success under their belt is invaluable - the more the better.

tldr; go to http://boardgame.at/ and give me some feedback

Ghost of Forums Past fucked around with this message on 03-13-2012 at 10:23 AM.

Ghost of Forums Past
Pancake
posted 03-13-2012 10:19:03 AM
Progress: Joined the Microsoft Partner Network, though I'm still waiting for acceptance to the bizspark program. Going to talk to some of the Microsoft peeps in person tonight to try to expedite stuff.

edit:

More progress: Got another great developer on-board, a good marketing guy, a game designer with games already fully designed (which means that we can just hit the ground running), access to as many additional game designers as we can handle, and a bunch of business mentors. Still need a UX expert (badly).

Ghost of Forums Past fucked around with this message on 03-13-2012 at 10:22 AM.

Tarquinn
Personally responsible for the decline of the American Dollar
posted 03-13-2012 12:21:43 PM
Why the Austrian domain?
~Never underestimate the power of a Dark Clown.
Ghost of Forums Past
Pancake
posted 03-13-2012 12:37:07 PM
quote:
Tarquinn's account was hax0red to write:
Why the Austrian domain?

"Where the boardgame is at"

But mainly it's a placeholder until I get the trademark thing taken care of. I plan on doing some old fashioned A B testing to see what domain gets the best hits.

Ghost of Forums Past
Pancake
posted 03-13-2012 01:29:07 PM
Progress: Dave (the guy we chose to be the face of Apocoplay) is starting to work on a promo video to replace the elevator pitch placeholder.
diadem
eet bugz
posted 03-19-2012 06:45:00 AM
Progress: I approved Dave's general script for our elevator pitch.
Progress: I began the entry process to MassChallenege. Even if we lose, we win, as we'd be given valuable insight from industry experts as to how we can improve if we do. If we win, even better.
Progress: Logo development is underway. I'm going with these guys because I like their work and think it would be appropriate for my company. Once logo development is complete the site will be redesigned, centralizing along the look/theme of the logo.*

*Edit: This is a little bit of an ambitious move, as there is always a chance the trademark search will show this is wasted effort. That said, it's a risk of minimal cost and trivial time with the reward of being able to hit the ground running once all my ducks are in a row.

diadem fucked around with this message on 03-19-2012 at 06:51 AM.

play da best song in da world or me eet your soul
diadem
eet bugz
posted 03-20-2012 08:57:44 AM
For the record, here's the script Dave is working on;

Apocoplay - Bring your game to everyone's table

Decide on the next big game. Vote on the one you like, we make it, you play it. It's that simple.

How it works:

1 Vote

Hobbyist developers come to us with board games or phone games they want developed. That's where you come in and vote on favorites.

2 Play

Play the game online with your friends for free, for the first 20 hours each month.* Submit feedback and be part the game as it is created. Earn points, as well as special recognition for being a top contributor.
Physical prototypes of the boardgames will be available immediately for an additional charge, using Apocoplay's onsite 3d printers.

3 Bring it home

When the game gets popular, we launch it into a professional and finished form.

*Play unlimited for $X.XX a month. Earn points as you play. Points or money can be used to buy additional customization for your avatar.

play da best song in da world or me eet your soul
Addy
posted 03-20-2012 12:49:35 PM
Give me a job!
diadem
eet bugz
posted 03-20-2012 10:57:06 PM
quote:
When the babel fish was in place, it was apparent Addy said:
Give me a job!

I'll need as much feedback and help as I can get as this thing gets developed!

We are still in bootstrapping mode, however, so i can only pay you in beef jerky, thanks, and free games at the moment.

play da best song in da world or me eet your soul
diadem
eet bugz
posted 03-20-2012 10:59:51 PM
Progress: I should have office space soon. I'll give more details if (once) it's complete (hopefully tomorrow morning).
Progress: The folks at Microsoft are helping me push through blocking issues. Good people.
Progress: The logo folks should show me a selection of logos to choose from based on my criteria in 3-4 days and the work should be complete early April.
Progress: Our first 3d printer will be in by the end of April. I'm going to get quotes from http://pandagm.com/ and http://www.grandprixintl.com/ to see how much it would cost to professionally produce a couple of prototyped games in bulk shortly. Note that we are using the lean startup model so this is purely informational at this point in time.


bottleneck: one of our core staff members has jury duty

diadem fucked around with this message on 03-20-2012 at 11:09 PM.

play da best song in da world or me eet your soul
Tarquinn
Personally responsible for the decline of the American Dollar
posted 03-21-2012 03:16:12 AM
Not trying to be snarky or anything, but have you thought about starting a blog? You obviously care a lot about sharing your experiences and EC isn't really a big or overly interested audience.
~Never underestimate the power of a Dark Clown.
diadem
eet bugz
posted 03-21-2012 05:33:36 AM
quote:
This insanity brought to you by Tarquinn:
Not trying to be snarky or anything, but have you thought about starting a blog? You obviously care a lot about sharing your experiences and EC isn't really a big or overly interested audience.

Oh, most defiantly. In fact, public exposure even at a pre-alpha stage is pretty critical for the business model I'm following. The more valid metrics i can pull from the public in regards to what they are willing to spend their money on before I use my own resources (time, money, etc) the better.

Expect a news section on the site on Sunday . I'm starting with EC because that's how ConnectiCon started.

Also, there are a couple things I have to wait to be finished finished on the legal side that until I start talking about this on a larger scale.

diadem fucked around with this message on 03-21-2012 at 05:38 AM.

play da best song in da world or me eet your soul
Mortious
Gluttonous Overlard
posted 03-21-2012 05:43:52 AM
You could hire me to be that dev who only gives infuriating answers and directs all the player hate at himself.

There's always one.

diadem
eet bugz
posted 03-22-2012 08:50:03 AM
Progress: Thanks to some amazing mentors and a wonderful startup community, I should be getting temporary office space on Monday. I'll post pics when I move in, but let's just say it's a little more upscale than working in a basement.

edit: 'till then, here's a picture of what the walking commute would look like when I get off the T (subway)

diadem fucked around with this message on 03-22-2012 at 08:55 AM.

play da best song in da world or me eet your soul
Tarquinn
Personally responsible for the decline of the American Dollar
posted 03-22-2012 01:01:30 PM
That's a nice vista.
~Never underestimate the power of a Dark Clown.
diadem
eet bugz
posted 03-22-2012 09:13:08 PM
quote:
Tarquinn's unholy Backstreet Boys obsession manifested in:
That's a nice vista.

The office itself is on the 14th floor by the water and has a panoramic view of the financial district of Boston on one side while overlooking the ocean on the other. The actual address is One Marina Park Drive, Boston MA.

Amenities include use of conference space, very high end printer for presentations to a list companies, small photo/film studio, a foosball table, and more. The most important resource, however, is the networking with the top talent of the Boston entrepreneurial community.

Note that this is just a temporary space, though a very generous one.

play da best song in da world or me eet your soul
diadem
eet bugz
posted 03-22-2012 09:44:55 PM
Progress: I applied to Bizspark through the normal channels and was rejected for an unknown reason. I then talked to my local Microsoft and Bizspark contacts and they rapidly rectified the issue then proceeded to help in ways that exceeded my expectations.

I now have support from Microsoft including free software licenses (Visual Studio Ultimate, Windows Server, SQL, etc), hosting, and more.

diadem fucked around with this message on 03-22-2012 at 09:45 PM.

play da best song in da world or me eet your soul
diadem
eet bugz
posted 03-22-2012 09:57:14 PM
Progress: Scheduling sit downs with mentors experienced in the entrepreneurial space and gaming space. They will help guide me in the right direction, help me fill in any knowledge gaps, and point out any flaws I may not be aware of.

Blocking: Was unable to gain additional contacts at this events because I was working late at my main job yesterday. I will probably join "MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge" so it won't be a total loss.

Progress: I was given a lead to contact some people at Zynga for advice.

play da best song in da world or me eet your soul
diadem
eet bugz
posted 03-22-2012 10:08:19 PM
Progress: I got to watch early stage companies pitch to real venture capitalists tonight at Microsoft NERD and hear honest feedback from the vcs. Was unable to attend the after-party due to obligations at my current job (the last day of which is the 23rd).

On the topic of nice views, the training area that Microsoft provided for the event wasn't too shabby either.

Pic's from today's event at Microsoft:

Getting off the elevator...

View from the windows

Closer look downstairs

play da best song in da world or me eet your soul
diadem
eet bugz
posted 03-22-2012 11:17:01 PM
Progress: Got 90 days of free pluralsight training for the other coder (I'm already a pluralsight addict). Thanks Microsoft Bizspark!

Progress: Got $100 credit at elance. Thanks again Microsoft Bizspark! For context, I'm paying $150 for the logo package.

Progress: Got $100 credit at odesk. Also thanks to Microsoft Bizspark.

diadem fucked around with this message on 03-22-2012 at 11:19 PM.

play da best song in da world or me eet your soul
Drysart
Pancake
posted 03-22-2012 11:17:53 PM
That is a fantastic view.
Blindy.
Suicide (Also: Gay.)
posted 03-23-2012 07:56:54 AM
I'm jealous of you right now.
diadem
eet bugz
posted 03-23-2012 09:01:32 AM
quote:
Blindy. wrote this then went back to looking for porn:
I'm jealous of you right now.

If you are interested in doing something like this yourself, Stanford is hosting a free online class that is open to the public. The only catch is that registration ends today.

http://venture-lab.org/
http://eesley.blogspot.com/2012/03/what-lies-ahead.html

play da best song in da world or me eet your soul
Falaanla Marr
I AM HOT CHIX
posted 03-23-2012 06:58:36 PM
quote:

Progress: I was given a lead to contact some people at Zynga for advice.[/QB]

I will save you time and tell you what they will say.

"Find something popular. Copy it, then sell it as your own because you have some popular games. Watch as your version skyrockets with little work."

Seriously, though -- that looks like a great space for an office! My office, unfortunately, doesn't have a window. But hey, I work for a software company and don't have to sit in a cubicle all day. This makes me happy.

Tarquinn
Personally responsible for the decline of the American Dollar
posted 03-24-2012 02:57:14 AM
quote:
diadem thought this was the Ricky Martin Fan Club Forum and wrote:

View from the windows

This kinda makes me regret going to Cape Cod instead of Boston, the day I was in the area.

Tarquinn fucked around with this message on 03-24-2012 at 11:34 AM.

~Never underestimate the power of a Dark Clown.
diadem
eet bugz
posted 03-25-2012 10:24:28 AM
Progress: Quit my old job. Friday was my last day.

Progress: Contacted Hetzner (my current host) to see if I could use the Bizspark licenses to convert my CentOS server to Windows.

(tech stuff) The current plan is to use this for rapid development using entity framework to test/prove viability. Should this be successful probable long solution would most likely be to utilize RavenDB so I could have cheap constant power with dedicated servers and hybid expandability into the cloud should I get a sudden reddit-syle boost in traffic. (This solution actually happening depends on how real life usage of traffic and bottlenecks actually pans out).

quote:
Tarquinn wrote, obviously thinking too hard:
This kinda makes me regret going to Cape Cod instead of Boston, the day I was in the area.

Oy, screw opportunity cost. Did you enjoy Cape Cod?

diadem fucked around with this message on 03-25-2012 at 10:25 AM.

play da best song in da world or me eet your soul
Tarquinn
Personally responsible for the decline of the American Dollar
posted 03-25-2012 11:54:32 AM
No. It was pretty much a wasted day for several reasons.
~Never underestimate the power of a Dark Clown.
diadem
eet bugz
posted 03-25-2012 01:39:07 PM
Progress: Good stuff is happening on the boring business and legal side. Will elaborate when I can.

diadem fucked around with this message on 03-25-2012 at 01:39 PM.

play da best song in da world or me eet your soul
diadem
eet bugz
posted 03-26-2012 01:43:55 PM
Moved into the 14th floor of the Fish and Richardson building.

View of the Logan:

View of the Harbor:

View of the city (from my cube's window)
(closed blinds)

(closer view)

play da best song in da world or me eet your soul
diadem
eet bugz
posted 03-26-2012 08:48:33 PM
Progress: Installed XEN on the server. This means that I'll be able to install multiple instances of windows on the machine once I get an ISO that Microsoft provided up there.

The goal is to get TFS, SQL Server 2008, and two IIS instances up as soon as possible. Oh, and a Minecraft and Terraria instance .

Once the infrastructure is up I'll work on polishing the about us page and hammering out Liar's Dice.

On top of that, the big goal for tomorrow is to get the incorporation and trademark process underway. Once that happens we can get a merchant account and prove viability.

play da best song in da world or me eet your soul
diadem
eet bugz
posted 03-28-2012 08:24:19 PM
Progress: We have ins with various licensing deals.

Progress: We are looking into acquiring an online ccg that has 160,000 users.

Progress: Got various mentors.

Progress: Got a producer on-board who worked on some projects you may have heard of like Rurouni Kenshin.

blocking: still waiting from legal for incorporation

diadem fucked around with this message on 03-28-2012 at 08:24 PM.

play da best song in da world or me eet your soul
diadem
eet bugz
posted 03-28-2012 09:51:26 PM
Progress: Got a c level exec at a well known indy game company as a mentor

Progress: Got a well known google engineer as a mentor

play da best song in da world or me eet your soul
diadem
eet bugz
posted 03-29-2012 06:56:57 PM
Progress: Yggdrasil (our main server) was updated to Windows 2008 R2. One of my co-founders is going to install virtual machines on this thing (TFS servers, SQL servers, IIS servers, sharepoint server, etc). By the way, this means the Terreira server will come shortly . Since everything's VM based we can easily tweak stuff based on resource usage.

TFS will be a boon because it's absolutely critical for proper collaboration between devs

Progress: Legal stuff is making headway

Progress: Got my application for masshcallenge ready (as a rough draft) but I'm working my ass off to do market research. I need to excel in this if I want to have a chance at winning a prize. If anyone has information on case studies of marketing social and mobile apps, speak up!

Progress: Another one of my co-founders is gathering more top end industry contacts.

diadem fucked around with this message on 03-29-2012 at 06:58 PM.

play da best song in da world or me eet your soul
diadem
eet bugz
posted 03-30-2012 08:50:08 AM
Talking with a bunch of advisers today. I may make a small pivot. My team is the some of the best at what they do with massive contacts and there are legitimate companies that desperately need a model like ours. We may shift away from the hobby market (aside from friends who I'll still be helping out) to focus on major publishers.
play da best song in da world or me eet your soul
diadem
eet bugz
posted 03-30-2012 02:18:55 PM
I'm liking the walks in the new place better than burlington...

diadem fucked around with this message on 03-30-2012 at 02:19 PM.

play da best song in da world or me eet your soul
diadem
eet bugz
posted 03-31-2012 09:50:18 PM
Progress: got one of the best developers in the northeastern united states as a mentor
play da best song in da world or me eet your soul
diadem
eet bugz
posted 04-01-2012 04:07:35 PM
Progress: We should get our trademark search and incorporation done around Wednesday, barring extenuating circumstances.
play da best song in da world or me eet your soul
diadem
eet bugz
posted 04-07-2012 07:11:02 AM
A lot of progress so far. I'll post what it is when I have a second to breathe, which hopefully will be around Tuesday.

For now, here's the corporate side of our site, in progress.

play da best song in da world or me eet your soul
Rodent King
Stabbed in the Eye
posted 04-07-2012 11:07:49 AM
This is amazing work! You're making a ton of progress in less than a month!
My inner child is bigger than my outer adult.
Mortious
Gluttonous Overlard
posted 04-07-2012 11:27:10 AM
I wouldn't have the patience to do something like this, mad props to you diadem.
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