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TIGSource ForumsDeveloperBusinessHow to Network?
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michaelplzno
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« on: October 26, 2022, 07:56:55 AM »

Hi,

I'm trying to figure this one out. It seems like networking is sort of a dark art. I meet people who have tons of contacts, even people like Rami who I'm told "knows everyone." I talk to them. I ask them for advice. They always say "you need to network."

What does that mean? They aren't going to introduce me to the people in their network, I'm told to suggest that someone should hook me into their own network is tantamount to treason. Contact lists are prized and secret. Proprietary.

So given that no one will introduce me to anyone they know what am I supposed to do? Create my own completely independent network? That's been my approach, but it seems like this is sort of getting set up so that there is no way for me to win.



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Ramos
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« Reply #1 on: October 26, 2022, 11:27:33 AM »

Plenty of ways you can do networking.

But before you start I highly recommend you prepare something that a person would be interested in meaning a good game. After you have a good game it is easier to do networking.

Or you can interact with people's tweets and aim to have a conversation with them /follow up, again for this to work you need to have a potential of interest on their side.

this is highly connected to human relations/ networking in any market, with the same principles.

For example, if you are connected with me, if you were to make a TD game you would drop me a message"hey Cris, I have a TD game you know anyone who would be interested?" - and if the game is good(because I don't want to ruin my recommendation credentials) I would hook you up with a youtube friend who does TD games, this way you get some exposure and a new contact and I get more credential from you + more credential from the youtube for recommending him.

it is a sort of parasitic relationship but it needs to be a win on all sides involved


Hope this helps Mr crazy  Gentleman
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michaelplzno
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« Reply #2 on: October 26, 2022, 11:50:25 AM »

I did that with Rami and he said he wouldn't give out that info, I guess my game isn't good enough. Though I'm getting lots of reports that people love it.

I'm not crazy, I'M HOMER SIMPSON:



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Ramos
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« Reply #3 on: October 27, 2022, 10:24:06 AM »

Though I'm getting lots of reports that people love it.


It does not matter if they love it or not, what matter is: would they actually spend their own money to buy it?


Nice to meet you Homer!
I am more of a Rick type of guy



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michaelplzno
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« Reply #4 on: October 31, 2022, 12:18:46 AM »

I get it:

Once your game is so well made and marketed that its selling like hotcakes, then its easy to network. Great, yahooo!
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Ramos
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« Reply #5 on: October 31, 2022, 06:50:55 AM »

I get it:

Once your game is so well made and marketed that its selling like hotcakes, then its easy to network. Great, yahooo!

Only half of your statement is true.
For example, your game does not need to sell well, it is enough to show that it got solid authentical engagement on its post or landing page aka show genuine interest from people. Aka shows the potential.

But sure if you already have a good game released with a good reputation surely it will open doors for you faster for the next project.

It's like would you network with a content creator if he only got 2 or 3 people subscribed to his content?


There is also another way but its a bit more expensive: you can go to game summits and try to befriend (social skills) with content creators and when the time comes you can contact them but again if the game does not have good traction they will turn you down then too.

 Gentleman

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michaelplzno
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« Reply #6 on: October 31, 2022, 10:54:17 AM »

Well if reputation mattered, I've had games featured by all the gamer blogs, in the igf and selected as featured games by apple. No one seems to want to network with me tho!

It does kind of seem like the only thing that will do it is getting a complete unadulterated hit game under my belt, unless I need 2 or 3 hits to really be bankable?

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Ramos
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« Reply #7 on: October 31, 2022, 12:35:44 PM »

Well if reputation mattered, I've had games featured by all the gamer blogs, in the igf and selected as featured games by apple. No one seems to want to network with me tho!

It does kind of seem like the only thing that will do it is getting a complete unadulterated hit game under my belt, unless I need 2 or 3 hits to really be bankable?





I never heard of you, did you hear of my flash games featured on all major flash portals(Kongregate, armor games, Newgrounds etc) Huh?? No? Awesome we are even Smiley))
When I went to the Steam/PC market I had to start from zero again, it is a totally different animal.

Also APple: BOoooooooo  Hand Any Key Hand Joystick Hand Pencil

and have you ever tried talking to a content creator in order to start a relationship?


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michaelplzno
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« Reply #8 on: October 31, 2022, 01:49:26 PM »

We've reached out to a lot of streamers. Its quite awkward, but the sense I get from one streamer we talked to is that they expect to be paid but also don't want to reveal that they expect to be paid because they want people to think their reactions are genuine. I would be happy to pay a streamer who would get sales a chunk of the resulting income they generate for me, if such a system existed, but it seems a lot of them just are in it for money.

Edit: we were also featured by newgrounds. Do you know anyone we should reach out to for our completely new kind of shoot em up on XBOX?
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Ramos
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« Reply #9 on: October 31, 2022, 02:20:38 PM »

We've reached out to a lot of streamers. Its quite awkward, but the sense I get from one streamer we talked to is that they expect to be paid but also don't want to reveal that they expect to be paid because they want people to think their reactions are genuine. I would be happy to pay a streamer who would get sales a chunk of the resulting income they generate for me, if such a system existed, but it seems a lot of them just are in it for money.

Edit: we were also featured by newgrounds. Do you know anyone we should reach out to for our completely new kind of shoot em up on XBOX?

If you have money to burn in exchange for videos of content creators then you can try Keymailer https://account.keymailer.co/log_in and Indieboost(catapult system) https://dashboard.indieboost.com/auth/login although I must warn you, 50% of people there are scammers so scan them before you decide to work with them.

As for a specific Xbox audience, unfortunately, no, I don't because my main target audience including content creators are based on PC releases. For consoles, I usually use an external Publisher

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Golds
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« Reply #10 on: October 31, 2022, 04:58:59 PM »

Going to events is a really good one. If you can afford to go to GDC, I always meet great devs there and make new friends. More local events are good too. Another thing you can do is share your development work openly on Twitter and build a network of like-minded creatives.
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michaelplzno
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« Reply #11 on: November 01, 2022, 07:10:17 AM »

I did gdc once and it felt really unpleasant so I'm not doing that.
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Ramos
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« Reply #12 on: November 01, 2022, 10:57:27 AM »

I did gdc once and it felt really unpleasant so I'm not doing that.


   Well, hello there!
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michaelplzno
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« Reply #13 on: November 01, 2022, 12:56:18 PM »

Here's my story:





But maybe it only feels that way because I was focusing on the pimps and the chuds.
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failbetter
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« Reply #14 on: November 08, 2022, 03:45:15 PM »

My 2c: stop networking for an outcome, seek authentic connections.

If someone knows, likes, and respects you they will want to see you succeed. Help will come naturally. If you are unknown to them nothing short of money will convince them to help you -- and even it will be half hearted.

More advanced: seek a patron. How to do this? 1) be worth lifting up, 2) be around people who can lift you up, 3) make authentic connections, 4) repeat until you've found a patron.
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michaelplzno
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« Reply #15 on: November 08, 2022, 03:51:03 PM »

I just feel like the work should matter more in there somewhere.
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failbetter
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« Reply #16 on: November 08, 2022, 04:37:41 PM »

Sorry if I wasn't clear. Your work, the fruits of your labor as well as the way you labor, matter immensely. They are the reason people will come to respect you, want to work with you, and want to help you. It's impossible to have a patron without demonstrated, repeated good work. (Barring wealthy relatives, I suppose.)
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michaelplzno
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« Reply #17 on: November 08, 2022, 06:22:26 PM »

No one seems to want to know about my work, they just tell me to go to GDC. Even when I talked to Rami he didn't want to play my game.
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failbetter
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« Reply #18 on: November 08, 2022, 08:16:30 PM »

Well if everyone is ignoring your work there are two explanations that I can think of: 1) you're not presenting it correctly or 2) it's not good enough to grab their attention. It's important to be dispassionate when evaluating.
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michaelplzno
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« Reply #19 on: November 08, 2022, 09:14:30 PM »

I think I get what you are saying: the entertainment industry is like the military. Whoever your patron is determines the respect you get just like your commanding officer?

I've gotten a lot of attention for my games, just not from anyone who ranks in the militia of the current world of gurus. I guess I'm just wondering if there is any way to avoid creating my own hierarchy rather than fight with an entrenched old fashioned one.

Here's a devlog video of one of my projects that uses a novel technology for terrain:





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