[IGDA_indies] next steps

[Ben Sawyer]

Brian,

I think your points are fine.  I definitely suggested things that may be =
out
of reach.

In general the purpose of my post was to explore and instigate people to =
see
if there are items other than information sharing that can be done by =
the
SIG.  Information sharing I agree is the #1 piece of help but grassroots
actions tend to need to graduate beyond that to actionable elements if =
they
want to eventually continue their progress.

That said, a "Member of IGDA Indie SIG" logo might not be bad for=20
people to put on Web sites so that awareness of the SIG itself is=20
raised, which I think benefits the whole industry.

I think Member of IGDA Indie SIG is a bit obtuse to some people other =
than
other developers.  I'd say developing some sort of official like "Indie =
Game
Developer" logo might be better.  It should be a consumer branded idea =
to be
the most effective.  It might even link back to a simple awareness Web =
site
on the indie games scene and provide links to other developers, etc.

> What I think might be a good model to observe are some of the=20
> family-farming cooperatives and other artisan cooperatives that=20
> operate throughout the world.

It's called "open source" =3D)

While I agree some open source models are useful my point in =
highlighting
farm cooperatives and artisan cooperatives is that they tend to band
together more to improve their distribution, cost of goods, marketing, =
and
customer sales.

- Ben

-----Original Message-----
From: indies-admin@igda.org [mailto:indies-admin@igda.org] On Behalf Of
Brian Hook
Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2004 10:52 AM
To: indies@igda.org
Subject: RE: [IGDA_indies] next steps


Ben,

I appreciate your enthusiasm, but the cynical side of me feels that a=20
lot of what you're suggesting just won't happen simply because of the=20
amount of resources necessary to pursue them.  Custom software, PR=20
people, etc. etc. cost a lot of money and time, which few indies have=20
to spare.

> * Maybe we can invent a simple way to lower the cost of advertising in =

> some magazines by creating a simple way for multiple developers to buy =

> a single page?

My argument would be that indies shouldn't be in magazines, they=20
should be using much lower cost avenues for marketing and advertising=20
(like Web sites).

> * Perhaps we should create a "buy idependent" branding campaign - sort =

> of like "made in the USA" type thing to raise awareness of idependent=20
> developers.

This positions indies as "vs. mainstream", and I'm not sure trying to=20
emphasize a competitive point of view is really what we should be=20
doing.  Indies are an _alternative_ to the mainstream, not a=20
competitor.

That said, a "Member of IGDA Indie SIG" logo might not be bad for=20
people to put on Web sites so that awareness of the SIG itself is=20
raised, which I think benefits the whole industry.

> * We should look for ways to get every tool company in existence to=20
> have a low-cost option to their toolsets for qualified independent=20
> developers.

It's not worth their time or effort.  The reward is minimal for them. =20
That said, a lot of them offer downloads/reduced feature set versions=20
of their tools for personal use and/or for mod development.

>* Should we advocate that companies provide a means for
> people to charge for their mods and total conversions if they want  to =

>do that?

Very few companies are willing to let individuals make money off of=20
derivative works without compensating them and/or signing away a lot=20
of rights.  I don't see this changing any time soon, simply because=20
there's no compelling reason for this to change.

> * Can a group of idependents ban together to fund a part time PR=20
> person who could work to get the general independent game scene more=20
> mainstream media coverage?

Probably not.

> What I think might be a good model to observe are some of the=20
> family-farming cooperatives and other artisan cooperatives that=20
> operate throughout the world.

It's called "open source" =3D)

The biggest thing I think indies can help each other with is=20
information and advice.  That makes the biggest difference by far.

Brian


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