Looks like EA is planning to fund indie games through EA Originals

If you haven't seen the recent E3, then watch it now. Not as intense as last year but still awesome.

It's even more awesome if you're an indie developer because it seems like EA is now accepting your game ideas and provide with necessary funds to help you create your own IP like Unravel and Fe through their new program - EA originals.

It's been few hours so don't expect lots of information about it just yet. In the meantime, take a look at their official website: http://www.ea.com/play2016/news/announcing-ea-originals

And best of all, you keep all the profits to yourself. Although, I am not sure who keeps the IP.

So what do you think? Would you guys get your game funded and published by EA? Or are you feeling lucky with Steam Greenlight?

 

It's the IP that you're after really so if you don't keep your own IP it's probably wiser to say no. However, it looks to me as if you keep your IP.

I suspect most people in these forums don't really need funding, myself included, but the advertising reach and distribution reach EA has is nothing to sneer it and after reading the link it does sound like they might be interested in combing the indie ranks for, let's say, something a bit more inspired than par for the course in the current gaming world. They are liable to get far more requests then they can handle so I expect very stringent qualifications to be announced to even be considered for evaluation.

All in all it looks to me like they want prospective acquisition targets to come to them rather then they themselves search for new talent and new ideals in the traditional way.

 

I'm thinking those who are grumpy over the MWU logo will be downright hostile to an EA logo on their game.

 

I think they were not invited anyway.

 

That trailer for "fe" is pretty darned awesome.

 

Well if they get paid they will want it.

 

Déjà vu all over again.

 

Did any other game publisher done that before?

 

I don't understand the question. Done what before?

 

Yes. There were publishers in the old days too. People may not be aware of them or they may have forgotten. Just as one example Id Software, back before they were an actual company, submitted a prototype to a few companies. They eventually received a response from Apogee in the form of $2,000 to help fund development of their first title - Commander Keen.

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/keen/keen.htm

 

I guess that's what threw me off. I'm reading the announcement thinking, "ok, so you're going to publish games from a small developer... and??" Time flies, I guess, and then everything comes back around again.

 

Nobody want to miss the next minecraft

 

Yea.. but now it is branded... EA Originals™ so it is different...yea?

 

Apparently, even innovation is cyclical.

Speaking of innovation, how about this radical business model: You make a game, right? But you split into three parts or more episodes, right? But get this: You give the first episode away for free! You share the first part of your wares for free, and make money selling on the rest.

Now give me money.

 

Activision have tried something similar with the relaunched Sierra... it hasn't been much of a success unfortunately.

 

I still remember when seeing that EA logo meant you were going to get an interesting, great game. Back in the days of Wasteland, Populus and MULE.

You know, back before they were evil and stuff.

 

Yeah Atari for instance, whilst it was good in a pinch the deals weren't exactly "favourable"..

 

Yes, shareware. As used by idsoftware for Doom, Heretic, etc.

 

Other publishers are doing "similar" things.
Square has the collective - http://collective.square-enix.com/about
And epic has there dev grants.

 

You're saying Deja vu as if it has been done before. Who did that before?

 

I like it. Now, if we could only find a way to send out digital downloads in a plastic baggie, the plan would be complete.

 

So this is basically like a kickstarter with only one founder and the reward is the IP? :B

 

What if we can put games on cassette tapes

 

We could distribute our game demos with videogame magazines!

 

Uh... everyone? It's just publishing. It has been done for ages. GG, EA, etc... It became less common because you can self publish, but now that everyone can, publishers are relevant again as they have clout and name.

 

EA even previously had their own indie publishing thing, but nothing really came of it. I expect more of the same this time around.

 

If the file size doesn't stop ballooning, they'll be shipping games on hard drives just so people will have the space for it.

 

We really need funding.

 

Or, maybe, we could put them onto solid state memory like roms. Then encase them in a plasitc holder... something like that.

 

Well of course, because the phrase is "really-well-fed artist", right?

Yeah, plus the name is fun to say.

Feeeeeeeeh

 

Unity Dark Skin is 50% of indie project budget

 

Alternately, take out the platter of a hard drive and encase that in plastic.

 

Crazily enough, there are actually some music sample libraries that ship that way.

 

Ah.. Good idea. That would be much more compact.

 

You know, theres a Japanese company called Sony who are actually working on something like this I think

 

Don't masters usually have to do that too (even more so if it at a super high sample rate)?

It was something missing from the Doom remake.

 

Not sure what you're asking... Master recordings for a mastering engineer?

 

yeah, for recordings.

 

Sometimes, yeah. Most send-away mastering services accept DVD or CD format, but if you're showing up for the session then yup you could bring it all on a hard drive.

 

Is funny that companies as EA or Epic give money for help indie developers while Unity puts up the prices and dont release the dark theme for all users.

 

How many games have you failed to meet because you don't have the dark theme, exactly? How many games has Unity kept you from making, in fact?

 

Haven't you heard? Using the Dark Theme makes you 70% more efficient at game design

My lack of dark theme is why none of my games have been published yet.

 

None, i suffer visual problems, please think before talk.

 

I think it's a trap to steal promising IPs. Until I can see the exact terms EA has put up for this program, no one will convince me otherwise.

If this is a genuine effort at fixing their image, then I commend them, but they have to work hard to recover trust that was lost thanks to years of mismanagement by certain man named John.

 

What makes you think that EA is giving money away to help developers? And Epic is paying (some) developers to help promote their engine in an effort to catch up with Unity.

 

That's awesome... but they're two decades late.

 

http://www.techtimes.com/articles/1...riginals-to-support-indie-game-developers.htm

 

Sigh... back when 1GB was big number.

 

My favorite part of that image is the "Backup your entire system on one disk, quickly".

 

You might want to read that more carefully.