The content warns independent game developers about the significant risks and potential exploitation involved when working with game publishers, particularly highlighting predatory practices and unfavorable contract terms.
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there are horror stories about Indie
devs working with the publisher and
those Publishers scammed them I never
work with Publishers because I have no
trust in them or its system this is how
Publishers work in the realm of the game
development either you the game
developer contact the publisher because
you need funding or the Publishers
themselves contact you through email
Twitter Discord Facebook whatever to get
in contact with you sometimes Publishers
will hire a contractor pretty much some
marketing dude that has years of
experience in the game industry space
could be anything Community Management
public relations social media marketing
the list goes on when a publisher
becomes interested in your game they'll
talk to you and set up an appointment
what they are mostly interested in is
how big of a wish list the game has
because that's what Publishers want to
see how much money they can make that's
all they care about that's fine it's business
business
once they get what they want to hear
they ask when the game's going to be
released because they want to hear how
soon they can get paid again that's fine
it's business the next step after all
the talks the niceness the smiles the
negotiations happen and this is where I
see a problem with the Publishers right
now indie game developers should be
extremely wary of Publishers that offer
a 50 50 split when they only offer to
Market your game traditionally
Publishers take on a 30 split they give
you a large sum of money for Milestones
that the game has accomplished and they
market for you as well but Indie
developers don't get that at all and
they only get marketing and the
Publishers will sweet talk to you about
this is a great deal they will try to
convince you that that's all you need
because they have the network they have
the resources they're taking risk to
promote your game that's not true at all
these publishers aren't taking risks at
all because marketing is a zero dollar
budget in today's game industry
everything is online if you want to
Market post a YouTube video post it on
Instagram or Twitter make a tick tock
video but it'll take a while for you to
get your desired community and you have
to be consistent with your marketing
this is what Publishers would do if you
sign a 50 50 split in just marketing and
most times you can't even check if
they're doing their job it's not worth
it a good publisher will translate your
game and hire a professional translator
find your game Market your game using
paid ads Port your game to other
consoles at their expense and help you
participate in conventions or festivals
a good publisher should provide support
to help the Game grow further a bad
publisher would work on promises they
will translate your game using free
software or free community labor
basically unprofessional they would not
give you a single dime to your game they
will promise you that they will Market
your game but won't tell you exactly how
and will give you a grand speech of
trust me I know people I've been doing
this for years the Publishers will feel
uncomfortable giving out their clients
details to do a background check on them
to see if they're legit the Publishers
won't State what they will promise in
their contract and they will hide
whatever else they are doing from you
from your back basically misinforming
you until you sign the contract your job
is to figure it out and the best
indicator is to check the Publisher's
game list on Steam if they don't have
any games under their belt that's a red
flag if they don't have a lot of reviews
on the games they've published that's a
red flag look at the community in each
game the publisher has worked on and see
what the community has to say about the
game talk to the developers directly as
well because he or she could give you a
really good insight about working with
this publisher I know two horrible story
stories that have signed up with bad
Publishers one is the outbound ghost
which is an indie game that has been
released recently and another one is
called the sinking city which is almost
like a triple A game both of these games
had DMC their own games in order to
prevent the Shady Publishers from
stealing their work and profiting off of
them the story is crazy but it happens
it probably happens more times than we
know since a lot of the Indies out there
don't have a strong voice to ask for
help they get buried from the fear of
Publishers or nobody cares about that
particular developer this is pretty much
why I never work with Publishers there
are too many bad Publishers out there
and the deals they want to make are
never in favor for the Indie developers
it's always in the favor of the publishers
publishers
the Indie developers don't know that
because they get suckered in they don't
have the experience or guidance from the
other experienced game developers I've
been through these experiences and this
is why Harvest island is self-published
is to protect me from damages caused by
bad Publishers and to protect the gamers
when a publisher tries to take advantage
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