Recruiting for SBG Commercial Project
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2014 4:57 pm
Hey all, SBG_Eric here. Over the past month or so I have been working towards organizing my company, Sunbridge Games (SBG), as an LLC with the intent of making commercial game releases. Originally my plan was to avoid digital media but my love for visual novels ended up winning in the end, despite the lack of a significant market. Currently I'm working with a local lawyer, having him help write up the contracts; EULA; Articles of Organization; etc. Now that everyone has the briefest of backgrounds about the project and where I'm at currently, let me go a bit more in depth about everything.
About Me:
So, I bet plenty of you are wondering who exactly I am. My name is Eric, founder and owner of Sunbridge Games LLC., a small development company located on the east coast of the United States (specifically out of Connecticut). I'm also currently a senior, getting ready to graduate with my degree in Business Management and Entrepreneurship, numerous years after beginning my education as a Computer Science major. I do extensive independent game design, and have multiple games that are currently in various phases of testing. I also have experience with writing, particularly with poetry and fiction, and spent a few years doing editing for others.
Open Positions:
Animator
Filled Positions:
Team Positions:
Project Lead: SBG_Eric
Coder: SBG_Eric
Musical Composer: Ole Sole
Writer 1: King Oliver
Writer 2: Raithfyre
Writer 3: Kmarsel
Artist 1: Tooaya
Artist 2: Demetis
FMV Animator: Dretchlord
Project:
This project is designed to be a collaborative effort on the part of all team members, no one should be working in isolation. Interested individuals should be familiar with both the Dropbox and Skype programs, as these will be used regularly for team-wide communication. Ideally the team will hold bi-weekly conferences to discuss progress and distribute new resources and ideas. All members of the team are expected to participate in multiple aspects of the project. Are you doing art and have free time before a meeting? Read one of the scripts beforehand so you can give feedback and criticism to the author. Listen to that new song idea the composer posted into Dropbox yesterday. Does it fit the scene(s) it's intended for? Does the tempo or feeling of the song need more variation? These are all things that we want to work out earlier, rather than later, and a team effort is paramount in making this all happen efficiently. The goal is to make the best product possible.
Project Goals:
The goal of this project is to create a visual novel, over the next year to year and a half, intended for commercial release on a SBG managed site and on Steam. The project also will use Kickstarter, raising funds and awareness for the game. Eventually SBG hopes to make this a regular part of the company's (and the Ren'Py community's) activities, keeping a continual 1-2 projects in development at all times.
Payment:
-Summary-
I'm going to avoid going into a lot of detail on this right now, as the contracts haven't been finished as of yet, however I will give a brief description of how payment will likely look to those participating in the project. Members of the project's team, as defined by an individual's contract, will each receive a percentage of the final product to be paid in royalties. Contracts will also include a buyback clause.
-Royalties-
Royalties that are kept, or remain outstanding after buybacks, will be paid off of annual profits (revenues - costs/taxes/etc). Initial royalty distribution will be done in such a manner that, should the Kickstarter attempts to raise funds fail, all members of the team have a fair and adequate share. Obviously I'm avoiding making any specific numerical promises for now, as this will be a topic for further discussion between myself and individuals interested in working on the project.
-Buybacks-
The contract will include a buyback clause at the end, allowing the company to purchase back some of these royalties on the condition of a successful Kickstarter project. These buyback prices are intended to lower the risk of working on the project, especially for those contracted by the company, by having buyback prices set slightly above the projected valuation of the royalties being purchased. For the company, these buybacks are intended to ensure that when the final product is released SBG will make enough money to cover our continued costs (legal, marketing, etc) as we move towards our next project and to also ensure that I'm actually able to pay myself for my own work once everything else is concluded.
Are You Interested?
It may sound like a lot of work for a small visual novel project, but remember, our timeline is projected to be up to a year and a half. Obviously this isn't what most people would define as their "main job", so not everyone is going to be able (or willing) to spend every waking hour on the project. If you feel like this is a project that you would be interested in working on then please get in touch with me either using the lemmasoft forums or via e-mail (this will be given out only to interested parties who contact me first, as per lemmasoft forum regulations). If I take a look at your linked work and think you could be a good fit for the team I will schedule a time with you when we can talk on Skype, and things will go from there. I'm looking forward to working with everyone here, hopefully for a long time to come!
When Will The Project Start?
The project will start as soon as all of the positions are filled and the team has been fully organized. Ideally this won't take more than a month after the contracts have finished being drafted. For those interested in looking at a sample timeline, I posted one here: http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewto ... 47&t=24881 (post #11, attached image). I'll be keeping tabs on this thread in the meantime, if you want to get in touch with me early, but positions will likely begin being filled in about 2 weeks or so. I will be continually updating and editing this post as positions are filled and as needs arise over the course of the project.
EDIT: This image has been posted into this thread as well, 2 posts down, per request and confusion regarding the goals of the project.
Will The Game Include Adult Content?
Yes and no. Explicit adult material (sex, nudity, etc) will not be put into the game. Adult themes (teen pregnancy, drugs, violence, etc) are fine. The final say on content simply comes down to one question: "Will this content force us to get an ESRB rating to put the game onto Steam or other similar services?" If the answer is yes, then it's a no-go.
About Me:
So, I bet plenty of you are wondering who exactly I am. My name is Eric, founder and owner of Sunbridge Games LLC., a small development company located on the east coast of the United States (specifically out of Connecticut). I'm also currently a senior, getting ready to graduate with my degree in Business Management and Entrepreneurship, numerous years after beginning my education as a Computer Science major. I do extensive independent game design, and have multiple games that are currently in various phases of testing. I also have experience with writing, particularly with poetry and fiction, and spent a few years doing editing for others.
Open Positions:
Animator
Filled Positions:
Team Positions:
Project Lead: SBG_Eric
Coder: SBG_Eric
Musical Composer: Ole Sole
Writer 1: King Oliver
Writer 2: Raithfyre
Writer 3: Kmarsel
Artist 1: Tooaya
Artist 2: Demetis
FMV Animator: Dretchlord
Project:
This project is designed to be a collaborative effort on the part of all team members, no one should be working in isolation. Interested individuals should be familiar with both the Dropbox and Skype programs, as these will be used regularly for team-wide communication. Ideally the team will hold bi-weekly conferences to discuss progress and distribute new resources and ideas. All members of the team are expected to participate in multiple aspects of the project. Are you doing art and have free time before a meeting? Read one of the scripts beforehand so you can give feedback and criticism to the author. Listen to that new song idea the composer posted into Dropbox yesterday. Does it fit the scene(s) it's intended for? Does the tempo or feeling of the song need more variation? These are all things that we want to work out earlier, rather than later, and a team effort is paramount in making this all happen efficiently. The goal is to make the best product possible.
Project Goals:
The goal of this project is to create a visual novel, over the next year to year and a half, intended for commercial release on a SBG managed site and on Steam. The project also will use Kickstarter, raising funds and awareness for the game. Eventually SBG hopes to make this a regular part of the company's (and the Ren'Py community's) activities, keeping a continual 1-2 projects in development at all times.
Payment:
-Summary-
I'm going to avoid going into a lot of detail on this right now, as the contracts haven't been finished as of yet, however I will give a brief description of how payment will likely look to those participating in the project. Members of the project's team, as defined by an individual's contract, will each receive a percentage of the final product to be paid in royalties. Contracts will also include a buyback clause.
-Royalties-
Royalties that are kept, or remain outstanding after buybacks, will be paid off of annual profits (revenues - costs/taxes/etc). Initial royalty distribution will be done in such a manner that, should the Kickstarter attempts to raise funds fail, all members of the team have a fair and adequate share. Obviously I'm avoiding making any specific numerical promises for now, as this will be a topic for further discussion between myself and individuals interested in working on the project.
-Buybacks-
The contract will include a buyback clause at the end, allowing the company to purchase back some of these royalties on the condition of a successful Kickstarter project. These buyback prices are intended to lower the risk of working on the project, especially for those contracted by the company, by having buyback prices set slightly above the projected valuation of the royalties being purchased. For the company, these buybacks are intended to ensure that when the final product is released SBG will make enough money to cover our continued costs (legal, marketing, etc) as we move towards our next project and to also ensure that I'm actually able to pay myself for my own work once everything else is concluded.
Are You Interested?
It may sound like a lot of work for a small visual novel project, but remember, our timeline is projected to be up to a year and a half. Obviously this isn't what most people would define as their "main job", so not everyone is going to be able (or willing) to spend every waking hour on the project. If you feel like this is a project that you would be interested in working on then please get in touch with me either using the lemmasoft forums or via e-mail (this will be given out only to interested parties who contact me first, as per lemmasoft forum regulations). If I take a look at your linked work and think you could be a good fit for the team I will schedule a time with you when we can talk on Skype, and things will go from there. I'm looking forward to working with everyone here, hopefully for a long time to come!
When Will The Project Start?
The project will start as soon as all of the positions are filled and the team has been fully organized. Ideally this won't take more than a month after the contracts have finished being drafted. For those interested in looking at a sample timeline, I posted one here: http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewto ... 47&t=24881 (post #11, attached image). I'll be keeping tabs on this thread in the meantime, if you want to get in touch with me early, but positions will likely begin being filled in about 2 weeks or so. I will be continually updating and editing this post as positions are filled and as needs arise over the course of the project.
EDIT: This image has been posted into this thread as well, 2 posts down, per request and confusion regarding the goals of the project.
Will The Game Include Adult Content?
Yes and no. Explicit adult material (sex, nudity, etc) will not be put into the game. Adult themes (teen pregnancy, drugs, violence, etc) are fine. The final say on content simply comes down to one question: "Will this content force us to get an ESRB rating to put the game onto Steam or other similar services?" If the answer is yes, then it's a no-go.