Some general questions about business

[-Ben]

Okay, so I've been making games just for fun for a long time, but in this past couple of weeks I've been reading every bit of information I can get my hands on about how to create and sell html5 games.

 

I've fully completed one game so far with more to come.  When I finished this first game I started thinking about logistics, and I realized that there's a lot of stuff I don't know when it comes to basics of the business that could make me come off as horribly inexperienced to a prospective sponsor.  I also would like to avoid some potential embarrassing and costly mistakes if I can.

 

So with the goal to not seem too green and avoid some stupid mistakes here are my questions

 

1) Should I do anything to protect my games, legally. Is there anything I should be doing to make sure the publisher/sponsor doesn't just take my game and run with it?

 

2) Do I need any kind of license to sell games? like a business license?  What should I put for my "company name" on various forms?

 

3) With Game Maker (and a small bit of code savvy) am I going to be able to cope with publisher APIs and whatnot?

 

4) Should I have a portfolio of games and a website before I talk to sponsors?

 

5) I haven't used ads before.  I'm planning on using leadbolt.  Do I need to do anything to let a distributor share ads with me? Rich's article mentioned something about "hidden divs"

 

6) If there are any other things that I might know that you think might come back to bite me, like with using Game Maker, legal issues, or standards of professionalism, I'd love to hear about them.

 

Thanks for your time, all help is enormously appreciated

[rich]

1) If you use GameMaker your code is already heavily obfuscated. Doesn't stop someone nicking it and putting it on their site though, but then nothing can stop that so I wouldn't sweat it. Generally it's not worth the time worrying about.

 

2) No, you don't need a license. Sell them as an individual (unless you really are going to register a legal entity, but if you're not then don't pretend, especially not on contracts)

 

3) No idea, but there are lots of GM users here who can answer.

 

4) No, you just need one good game. Make sure it is actually good though - nice graphics, well polished and runs well on mobile.

 

5) Not sure re: GM, someone else can answer

 

6) Nope, there are lots of GM games on html5 portals - it will usually make no difference to the sponsor at all, they just want a good game and rarely care less how you made it. The only time it may be an issue is if you want to make games directly for clients, in my experience they almost always want the raw source, so a GM project is useless to them. But unless you plan on specifically doing this kind of work you don't need to even think about it.

[-Ben]

Wow thanks for the quick reply!

 

I'm pretty confident in my game's quality, but then I'm a pretty bad judge of my own work.  I'll share it on the game showcase to see what other people think.

 

I guess that puts me a lot closer to selling than I thought.

 

 

Some more information from people using GM would be awesome, regarding ads and implementation of publisher/sponsor APIs and whatnot

[Vidsneezes]

Sorry for kinda highjacking your thread. But..

how can i get involved in making games directly for clients?
i am mostly looking for information if anyone could answer.
 

[totor]

2) depends on the country your are living in. probably better to have one for taxes especially if you are dealing with companies out of your country.

[-Ben]

I live in the US and it seems like most sponsors are based in Europe or China or all over the place basically... 

 

what are the tax implications of having one verses not having one?

[totor]

I'm from France, in my country you must have a business licence to do business (sounds logical) but is also a legal requirement to send an invoice. It also gives you access to an international VAT number and with it you can fill business papers to comply with tax treaties between country. If you don't have that number, you may have tax witholdings.

It's very country dependant so you may better check with your local chamber of commerce, accountant,etc

[Funkyy]

In Ireland you do not need tax license while selling products unless you pass the €20K in revenue within one tax year. Check laws in your country as there is many laws supporting small traders and business.

[Ryguy]

You don't NEED one, but a website is a great idea. I would recommend getting a free WordPress account and using it as your portfolio. You don't need to use it as a blog if you don't want to. That way you might receive emails from people you've never heard of. I get emails all the time from people who have come across my WordPress site. You can click through my signature if you want to see what I'm talking about.

As Rich said, you don't need a full portfolio to begin pitching the games, but I would recommend that you have a handful of games as soon as possible. You really can't put all of your hopes in one game. You never know what publishers will want, or how long it will take them to close a deal with you.

Also, as far as registering a business is concerned, you can always change the agreement or invoice to "individual" instead of "company." Claiming to be a company when you're not can get really sticky.