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UOK Games
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« on: March 15, 2010, 11:28:43 PM »

I was reading through the posts and it struck me that people think they our small. Look guys just because your company is small and fighting a up hill battle. This does not mean your small. You have big ideas and big dreams. My company has about 12 workers and I still have my day job at Apple Inc. But when people ask me what I do for a living. I look them dead in the eye and say "I own my own company".

Having pride in what you do, will make a world of difference in your company. If you project pride in what you do. People will want to work for you. This will provide a oppertunity for your comapany. Creating a "in demand" company. Leads your business to success. If you have not made a dime since you started. Keep the faith. This simply means rethink your stragy and look for new oppertuneitys. Pardon my grammer its 3 am lol Anyway, seriously guys take rpide in your work. Not one of my workers is down and out about alack of sales lately.

In fact, were all looking forward to rebuilding our entire web site. Not for more sales. But for the enjoyment it brings. We do this for profit. But we all also started doing this because we love doing. Never forget those two things. You enjoy it and you want to make some extra money. If you go broke doing it. At lest you had fun doing something you belived in for a short period.
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Christian Knudsen
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« Reply #1 on: March 16, 2010, 04:10:32 AM »

My company has about 12 workers and I still have my day job at Apple Inc.

Taking a look at your company website I can't help but laugh at your claims. For god's sake, you misspell your company motto on a bunch of your pages! "Chalenge Everyone" indeed -- including proper spelling! (Nice of you to rip off the EA motto, by the way!) What exactly do these 12 workers in your company do? Certainly not spellchecking and certainly not moderating the massive 11 posts in your forums.

Having pride in yourself and your company is one thing. Trying to blow smoke up people's asses is another...

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« Last Edit: March 16, 2010, 04:18:59 AM by chrknudsen » Logged

Laserbrain Studios
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« Reply #2 on: March 16, 2010, 08:38:48 AM »

Trying to blow smoke up people's asses is another...
I laughed.. too hard.. Thank you. Smiley
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UOK Games
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« Reply #3 on: March 16, 2010, 09:21:06 AM »

Well the comment for ripping of EA lol No the idea for the that came from along time ago. When we started this idea of game creation. Alot of people did not think it would work. So the idea of challengeing everyone arose. It means were here to challenge the world. As for EA not sure where they got there idea.

Now for the web site. Yeah that was all me. I have no idea about web creation. However, I had to do something. Our web dev was sick and we needed another look. Those wondering. We did not know if he was going to live. So I had to learn web design over night. Were in the process of redoing it again. But for now it works. It also brought about a bunch of new ideas for us to review.
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Christian Knudsen
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« Reply #4 on: March 16, 2010, 09:30:37 AM »

What do the 12 people you have working for you do and what do you have to show for it besides a very amateurish website?
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« Reply #5 on: March 16, 2010, 10:25:52 AM »

Me:Lead Programer for all games and projects, marketing Sales, Concept (general) aka jack of all trades
Brandyn:Sr. Web Designer aka another jack of all trades and my right hand man
Shweta:Sr. Artist, mostly textureing
Brian:Sr. Artist, 3d models and animation
Marc:(yeah its spelled right hes from another country) Sr. Programmer aka the Mr. Fixit guy. If its broke, marc will fix it.
Daud:(from India) 3d models and minor animation, concept art
Drew:Research, Beta Testing, aka my idea guy
Rich:Research, Beta Testing aka guy who finds all the bugs
Victor:Programmer
Tom:3d Models currently on bed rest for a hit and run accident
Jeremy:VB Scripting and minor programing
Mark:Programing (currently in college getting a BA)
Nick:Programing an another jack of all trades (Also has his own company on the side)
Sean:Forums Administrator aka the guy who keeps the forums clean of spam and helps beta test
Fredrick:Intern basicly a concept artist
Alex:Minor Web Design (still learning but not a Intern)
Chris: 3d model artist (Currently attending to personal matters)
Aaron:Beta Testing
Bridgett (my wife):Accountant aka does all the paper work etc aka pays Uncle Sam



This list is current, however some of the people listed our not presently working because personal matters. Almost everyone on the list above has a 4 year degree or higher. An did freelance work prior to work for us. This may seem like a large team but keep in mind we all have other jobs. So we work maybe 20 to 30 hours a week on projects and 40+ on "Real Life" jobs. I personaly work about 80 to 100 hours a week total. My day starts at 7 am and ends at 11:30ish pm everyday.

Now do we make a profit? Sometimes. I have alot of people I employee and alot of expenses. So its not really about how much profit we turn. Its more of a labor of love at this point. I mean yes we make alot of sales. But I also pay the staff very well. So I personaly dont see alot of gain. But Im content. Plus we do alot for our staff. So that dips into profits. Great exsample would be when Brandyns computer took a dump. That was 1200 bucks for a nice new one. BTW that was just parts. He built it his self. Just small things like that we do for our staff. An all staff knows if they ever need anything. They just simply need to ask.

Since I work for Apple Inc. Im also able to get our art team some nice machines as needed. Cost me little to nothing. But it really helps them excel and work toward there goals of working for a better company at some point. I often reffer to us as a steping stone in the right direction. I never promise fame or fortune. But I do offer the ability to move up and move on. The goal is spend a year or two on a major project to build your profilo or reel. Then I find them a better job with a bigger company.

You may think thats insane. But it really pays off in the end. Because I have done this, we have been able to work out small deals with larger companies. Because previous staff have recommend us for projects. An when I need staff, it also helps alot. However when the econmy is crap like right now. Its hard to request help from friends. So here we our lol Like us love us hate us. Im not worried. Everyone has alot to say about UOK Games until they work for us.

The founder of Sony once said dont do what everyone else is doing. Make something new and unique. Well I run my business like no other. Its small and makes very little profits. But thats the way I like it. Im not trying to compete on a global scale.

Now I know most of you our attempting to compete on this scale. Well all I can say is good luck. Its a long way to the top. An once you get there. You have no place to go but down. So enjoy the rise and fall. Ill stay in the middle. As we have for several years. 
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Christian Knudsen
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« Reply #6 on: March 16, 2010, 10:28:06 AM »

I see a lot of words, but I don't see any examples of stuff you've actually made...
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« Reply #7 on: March 16, 2010, 11:00:29 AM »

Lol your about to have a heart attack over there. So here is the company history;

2001-Enlistment in Marine Corp Ends - Job hunt begains
Late 2001-Job hunt fails - Begain college
2002-Holmes PC Repair Founded
2004-Sales Drop - I meet Brandyn Abel
2004-Online Based Tech support begains
2005-Idea Fails Begain researching and looking for new business oppertunitys. Rich Leaves to work for GM.
Late 2005-Idea to create games and UOK Games Founded. Rich Returns.
2006-Orginal Team Formed 4 members (Me, Brandyn. John and Rich)
2007-First Game created and it is to buggy to release
Late 2007-Second game created buggy but sellable however placed on shelf to rework.
2008-John leaves to work for Disney new team formed
Late 2008-MMO Progress begains "Red Knights of Chaos"
2009-Good times roll Team grows and project first stage finished
Late 2009-Brandyn gets sick and is in hospital. I stop production on MMO to help Brandyns Family. Web site crashes. I begain attempting to fix something I have no clue how to fix. Manny leaves to work for Blizzard.
Present-Site Works but looks terriable. Brandyns back and healthy. Several FPS games created 90% bug free. Area 51 Unleashed 98% completed. MEch Warfare 1 80% Finished. Roughly 12 Free Games created for new site. Ideas flow. Flash project picked up. Go Green starts.


Summary:
This is a breif history. Alot of other staff has come in gone through out this process. However, I only listed the Sr. staff that moved on. An those wondering. Because a few select left to go to other companies. Others were able to follow. However, they were not Sr. Staff and did not make any huge impacts on the comapany. So I did not list them. As for modern times. Alot of progress has been made since Brandyns return. Those wondering he has a diease effecting his leggs and blood. Some kind of rare but deadly issue. Yet it never seems to phase him.

Now here is the really insane part. Brandyns a certified genuis and 17. An just happens to be at this point a Co founder. He started as a regular player on a game. We were helping a priv server owner fix some issues. The game was called UO or Ultima Online. A few other founders came from some games as well. The others were by online resume. However, the best ones seem to have stemed from our tech support days.


By the way Holmes PC Reapir is still going. It helps us fund UOK Games. But makes tax time hell. Word of advise. Dont try to run two compaines at once and work a regular job.


  
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Christian Knudsen
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« Reply #8 on: March 16, 2010, 11:04:29 AM »

Heart attack still pending...

I asked you for stuff your company has made, not your bio. So let's cut out the clutter:

Several FPS games created 90% bug free. Area 51 Unleashed 98% completed. MEch Warfare 1 80% Finished. Roughly 12 Free Games created for new site.

Where can we see screenshots/videos of these games or download demos to try out? There was a link to a YouTube video in your other thread, but that video only had text, no in-game footage.
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« Reply #9 on: March 16, 2010, 11:11:14 AM »

Well you could just go read our forums board an click where is says sign up for Beta testing. An get a free copy of the game. But the game is still buggy and needs a adjustment on monster. I think I made it a bit to strong. But as for screeny. Games beta still. I mean its almost done but beta. I dont like to release something un finished to people then fix it later.

As for Mech Warfare. I think I have one sinple player level to finish. But I wanted to add more multi player maps for players. So it might be a few more days before I finish it and get it ready for beta testing. As for current games. Go to www.uokgames.com then go to players an then the store. 99% of the games posted right now our free to DL and play. However, mostly multi player. The only single player game we have is just a humor game. Basicly sounded funny on a drunken Sat. Night. Not that no one has ever made those before hmm. Anyway feel free to check the stuff out.
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« Reply #10 on: March 16, 2010, 11:17:02 AM »

Huh. All that huge list and I don't see that magical number "100%" anywhere in the 8 years of development.

Well, you are thinking big, there's no dispute there.

Also:
Quote
Several FPS games created 90% bug free.
You are aware that "90% bug free" means that you will have 1 bug on average in every 10 lines of your code, right? That means roughly 10.000 bugs for any decent-sized project...
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« Reply #11 on: March 16, 2010, 11:20:47 AM »

I'm currently downloading the only single player game on the website, but it's taking forever.

I like how all the multi player games seem to be various levels of the same game...
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« Reply #12 on: March 16, 2010, 11:21:09 AM »

I dont think you understand the types of games we make. These our not 5 min point click you win games. Before we even start making a game, we spend months researching markets, ideas etc. As for your magic number. Go look on the site. You will see several completed games. So I suggest you visit the site and read before you mock. BTW whats your web sites URL. Id like to see what you have made.
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Christian Knudsen
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« Reply #13 on: March 16, 2010, 11:23:39 AM »

drChengele isn't claiming to be running a succesful business with 12 employees. You are. By the way, how does your company earn money when all the games available are free?
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« Reply #14 on: March 16, 2010, 11:28:51 AM »

Games dont make money silly lol Selling model packs is where money is at. Theres about 10 million kids with hopes and dreams of making the next big game. well those models have to be made by someone lol Games our a way to simply pay the bills. Models our the money makers. I mean look at this forum. What about 1k of you all wanting to make games etc. At some point you will need models. Or you will need code for your game. So in short your welcome.
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Christian Knudsen
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« Reply #15 on: March 16, 2010, 11:29:39 AM »

Where can your model packs be bought?
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« Reply #16 on: March 16, 2010, 11:46:59 AM »

dot dot dot
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« Reply #17 on: March 16, 2010, 01:48:02 PM »

I am very glad that you have a positive outlook on your business.  However I believe a healthy critical approach to what oneself has produced is important.

<wall of text>
Your website is the primary (only?) route for people to get to know about your games.  Sadly you do a poor job of displaying them.  For your single player and in-development games you have no screenshots available at all, and only the most vague short paragraph description of a single game.

Your general quality of written English is very poor, which gives an immediate negative impression to anyone visiting the site.  I had assumed English was not your first language, but it sounds like you're American.

Mech Warefare 1 (it's spelt Warfare, if you're meaning to refer to war/battle/combat rather than wares/goods/merchandise) claims to be a remake of a NES (I think you mean SNES) version of Mechwarrior.  Mechwarrior has had several sequels since then, and has another currently in development.  This makes me suspect that you do not have the license needed to legally produce a Mechwarrior game.  No need for a license to make a game about stomping robots of course, but the four sentences of information you give makes it sound like there's a direct relation to that franchise which seems to be begging for a cease-and-desist.

You encourage people in this thread to look at your forums.  Sadly only a post giving stencils for customising hardware is visible to a guest.  Casual viewers are generally unlikely to sign up for a forum account (even if it is free and relatively quick) so it is unwise to hide anything there that hopes to attract business for you.  If you're overly worried about spam, allow guests to view the forum but require signing up for posting rights.

You have an arcade of syndicated Flash games.  I'm not sure why?  You have no hope against the giant portals of it helping drive traffic to your site.  The games don't seem particularly handpicked, so why not just link to a real Flash portal that does the job much better?

I get the feeling that you're developing using either Blitz3D or DarkBasic?  Certainly nothing wrong with using these kinds of pre-made engines.  However you need to be aware that any potential player that has managed to find your site is likely to be pretty savvy and will recognise models and textures that appear to be from generic packs.  The screenshots of your various multiplayer games all give me the feeling that they've been made using virtually identical engines and with generic texture and model assets.  That may not be true, but it's the impression I am given.

Nice idea to have a "Green" section of your website.  Sadly it is insane.  Recycling a computer case isn't much of a waste at all as it can be easily disassembled to a sheet of metal ready for melting.  Suggesting that instead you repaint it and reuse it is interesting.  If your aim is to be green, why not just reuse it as it is rather than incurring the environmental cost of manufacture and transport of the paints?

Producing model and texture packs is a fair enough business plan, and I'll take your word that you've completed market research that shows this to be a viable alternative to hiring yourselves out as asset producers for a specific project.  If there's no real money in making games, I do wonder why you have (approximately) five programmers on your payroll.  Making short games could be a useful marketing tool for your assets but your staff seems a little oddly weighted if that is your plan.  I can only assume you're not going to try to sell random snippets of code.

Sadly your website currently doesn't display any of the assets that you have created and offer for sale.  The only content I could find in the Developer section were an series of website layouts.  As you have openly admitted your web design skills are sorely lacking, so I find myself wondering why you offer such things as examples of your work.

The generally ugly appearance of your site as a whole gives the air of a business which does not care much for the visual quality of its products.  If you are aiming to sell model and texture packs then it is just such an air of visual quality that you must create.  As it is you give the impression that you do not much care for how your own product looks, which implies that you will care even less for how your client's product looks.
</wall of text>


In summary, the whole thing looks like something made in the late 90s by a teenager who's really keen to be a game developer but isn't quite sure how to go about it.  That's fair enough and kind of charming.  What isn't charming is you potentially bullshitting your employees (or yourself) as much as it looks like you're trying to bullshit this forum.

My hope is that UOK Games is a tax scam: offset the profits made by that computer repair business against the expenses (new games computers for all!) and complete lack of profits from UOK. 

Alternatively it's a masterful troll. In that case congratulations and consider yourself very well fed.
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« Reply #18 on: March 16, 2010, 02:29:42 PM »

BTW whats your web sites URL. Id like to see what you have made.
Sure, if it will help you sleep tonight Well, hello there! , you can find some screenshots of my games in this forum post. I would tell you more but you know how it is, I like to keep details secret in hope it will boost the revenues from my (freeware) games. Now you know I can code, can I continue posting in this topic now mr. UOK Games?  Beg
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« Reply #19 on: March 17, 2010, 06:11:28 PM »

I get the feeling that you're developing using either Blitz3D or DarkBasic?  Certainly nothing wrong with using these kinds of pre-made engines.

"kind of pre-made engine"?  Sad
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