Today’s media comes to us from YouTube, where an enterprising user has taken images from the Matrix movies and loosely correlated them with the voices and soundtrack from the Scott Pilgrim v. the World movie trailer. It’s a pretty good idea…enjoy!
Events this Weekend…PAX!
And Labor Day, and DragonCon, and Bumbershoot, and a number of other local festivals and concerts as well, I’m sure.
However, the one I’m going to, and the one many of you should be thinking about is the Penny Arcade Expo, known as PAX.
Actually, it’s now PAX Prime because they started hosting one in Boston in the spring called PAX East.
What is PAX? It’s a video game convention put on by the brains behind the webcomic Penny Arcade, which takes over the entire Washington State Convention Center for three days, as well as a theater in the hotel next door and Benaroya Hall (this year). Not only video game demos and producers, but tabletop and roleplaying games, card games, board games, “Bring Your Own Computer” tournaments, panels, and Fri/Sat concerts.
This year Friday will have Animanaguchi (they did the theme song for the Scott Pilgrim v. the World video game), the Minibosses, Metroid Metal, and the Protomen, while Saturday’s concert features the slightly more well-known MC Frontalot, Paul and Storm, and Jonathan Coulton.
Three days of hard core geekery, where over 60,000 nerds get together to experience it, and hopefully not walk away with PAX Flu like last year. Further bad news is that it looks like it will be raining this weekend, so while heavier outfits won’t make you as sweaty, carrying a coat will mean you have less room for schwag.
Sound like fun? Too bad, because badges have been sold out for the past five days. Not just the combination 3 day badges, but individual passes for each day are gone. If you don’t already have one, you’re going to have to trust to the secondary market, and pay too much for people who are scalping passes.
And the very bad picture up there is of my badge and lanyard, which I made out of aluminum and rubber rings from The Ring Lord, one of the better stocked purveyors of chain mail supplies online.
I don’t have an iPhone, so I won’t be online most of the time while I’m there, but say hi if you see me and my badge in line somewhere!
http://bumbershoot.org/
Questions? Comments? Use the Contact Form!
Posted in Wednesday: Current Issues.
– September 1, 2010
Mark Waid and the Harvey Awards
On Saturday night, the comic industry had their annual award dinner, hosted by Scott Kurtz, author of popular webcomic PvP Online, at the Baltimore ComicCon. The keynote speaker, Mark Waid, gave a somewhat controversial speech, stating that piracy and illegal copying of comics was here to stay, and it was time the industry gave up some of their opposition to digital sharing of comics, and embraced the “new” technology. Suggesting some sort of free content distribution system, or other means of rewarding legal downloads rather than blowing money fighting the downloading that will occur anyway, Waid’s suggestions were a logical series of suggestions, and ones that have been proposed in turn for the music, film, and news industry.
Immediately after the keynote, while the awards were being given out, Waid was apparently approached by comic book legend Sergio Aragonés, who attacked the content of the speech, saying it devalued the efforts of authors and writers, and that content shouldn’t just be given away for free.
Comics. Not really video game related, except that the digital content control systems in place for digital files are the same for comics as they are for video games, and the consumers tend to overlap to a great deal.
Should the industry embrace digital distribution, and stop attempting to punish those who get their content online? Perhaps. But these “problems” are nothing new to any type of digital media distribution system, and having such an argument in public while the industry (apparently) debates giving out embedded codes for free digital copies of comics within the paper copy…seems a bit late. Either comics adapt to the new ways people absorb information, including reading comics online or on phones, or people will eventually stop reading comics. Or read free comics. In an industry where health insurance and retirement plans are few and far between, can comic creators really keep ignoring digital media as a valid means of content distribution? At least there is now a webcomic category at the Harvey Awards, when the MC is known primarily for being the creator of one.
Questions? Comments? Use the Contact Form!
Posted in Tuesday: Potpourri.
– August 31, 2010
THQ and Used Games
Last week a Creative Director of THQ was quoted online as saying that he doesn’t care about the second-hand market for video games, because the people who buy used games aren’t his customers. This was in response to questions about his company’s decision to offer one-use codes for content with the game Smackdown v. Raw 2011 for online use. Not just being able to use the online multiplayer system, or unlock new costumes or special features, but to use the game online at all.
Many gamers are up in arms over this situation, especially as it was featured on Penny Arcade with debate ranging from support of his position to calls for a boycott of every game produced by THQ. The Tycho persona of the Penny Arcade team seems to support the statement, going so far as to call people who trade in used games “pirates.”
From a copyright perspective, viewing used games and the secondary market created by trading the physical copies of creative content as piracy ignores and does away with the first sale doctrine. Embodied in 17 U.S.C. §109, the first sale doctrine allows people who have purchased a physical copy of a book or CD or game to resell it without seeking additional permission from the original author. The doctrine is limited to the sale or transfer of the physical copy of a protected work, and thus may not apply to digital works or downloadable content.
However, the Creative Director is literally correct when he says that people who buy used games are not his customers. They may play the game and rely upon his support services, but the physical used game was resold by a third party, often GameStop, and the game developer only gets paid when new games are sold. The secondary, or resale market, is controlled by GameStop, eBay, Amazon Marketplace, and Craigslist, not the original game developer.
Having the developer try to ensure that they get paid for their content creation, and that gamers are still willing to be early adopters of highly-priced software might be an adequate trade-off to being thought of poorly by those who only buy used and reduced price games.
This very debate is one reason that I started using Goozex.com to trade my used games instead of monetizing them on behalf of GameStop. I am still paying a third party to facilitate the transaction, and the original game produce doesn’t get any extra cash from my acquisition of a “new to me” game, but it takes a certain number of game trades out of the physical video game store, and enables me to play games that I wouldn’t be willing to buy for $20 outright.
Posted in Monday: Legal Landscape.
– August 30, 2010
Grow Valley
By the makers of Grow RPG and Grow Cube.
Sorry I couldn’t figure out how to embed it (like with Halo 2600).
But click on the graphic to play!
Posted in Thursday: Media.
– August 26, 2010
Starting a Company – The Paperwork
So you’ve decided what to call your company, you know what type of company you want to start, and now you want to buckle down and make content.
Well, everything you’ve done so far has been just planning. Until you file with your secretary of state (google it or use the business.gov website to find the address) you don’t have the protection of the legal structure you’ve chosen. You have some protection, provided you actually do file the paperwork correctly within a reasonable period of time, but you don’t have the full protection for taxes or legal liability until the paperwork is filled out and approved by the Secretary of State’s office, or whichever local state office registers corporations.
Filing the paperwork might require signatures by every founding member of your company, or it might just require one signature, depending on the corporate structure and the state requirements. Some states, like Nevada, combine the Master Business License Application with part of the New Business Registration process, so that new businesses get signed up for both at the same time, and only need to fill out one form.
In addition to a state business license, you might need one from your county and municipality, depending on what kind of company you are starting, and what your jurisdiction requires. The forms are often online, but can also usually be obtained by calling City Hall directly and requesting a packet.
As you can tell from the differences in types of company from the last post, it’s usually a good idea to have an attorney help you with the process of filling out the forms. Many small firms will charge a flat rate for their assistance, which usually includes the fees charged by the state as well. Even with a lawyer’s help, you might encounter problems because of the way registration occurs, or because of processing or other human error.
After getting the certificate from the registering agency, congratulations! You can now create content that is or will be owned by the company, and not your potential employees (as long as you get them to sign the right paperwork before they start working, too), and lawsuits will be filed against the company, and hopefully not your house. Most filings require annual reports to the Secretary of State’s office, and if or when you get employees, you’ll need an IRS Tax ID and other money matters which a CPA can help you figure out. Remember to keep the money separate, and only pay yourself back for the costs of starting up, and a legitimate salary, and you should be able to keep it that way.
Questions? Comments? Use the Contact Form!
Posted in Make-Up Post.
– August 26, 2010
Starting a Company, Part 2
Yesterday we looked briefly at how why names are important, and a few ways to check whether the name you want to use is already taken.
Now you have a name. No one else has a real claim on using it, or preventing you from using it in connection with your business, and you know what you want to do with the company. Now what?
The next step is usually to talk to a CPA or attorney to determine under which type of legal entity you should do business. Even before beginning the creative process, or having friends design websites, or getting other people to create something for your future company. Why? Because your company doesn’t exist yet, and doesn’t have a set structure, so any of this creativity is going to be owned by the people who create it, and not necessarily the “company” that requested it.
Copyright law states that authors own their creative works, unless it is made under a work made for hire agreement, or as a part of their regular employment. Such a pre-creation transfer of ownership requires that the paperwork be filled out BEFORE the thing is made, or the company (or the company’s lawyer) has to run around doing licensing catch-up, getting people to sign away their rights and interest to works for which they were already paid. Unless they are very good friends, the artists are probably going to want more money to assign their rights to the company, so why not clarify things by taking care of this step before having anything get going?
An attorney or CPA can discuss what type of business would work best, whether more employees are planned or needed, and whether a transfer of ownership is expected. If you just want to make one game out of your garage and then go into another line of work, the paperwork trail is fairly simple. You can set up as a sole-proprietor and may not even need to get a business license in your state. If you plan to work with several friends, and drop in and out of production as you create several games, then creating a Limited Liability Company or LLC, or a full-fledged S-Corporation might be a better idea. You have to fill out more paperwork with the state, and keep clean books for the business, separate from your own personal accounts, but there are more tax benefits granted to a totally separate business, and legal liability may be lessened, as well.
Partnerships may work if you intend to keep working with the same few people, but corporate law requires each partnership to dissolve once any member dies or wants out, so starting over with a new entity might not be easy in a few years. Also, depending on where you live, your state might consider marital property in establishing what type of loan can be granted to your business, and what liability extends beyond the corporate structure.
Tomorrow: Filing and Having People Sign Paperwork
Questions? Comments? Use the Contact Form!
Posted in Wednesday: Current Issues.
– August 25, 2010
So you want to start your own Game Development Company…
Congratulations! This might be the beginning of a new career, fame, fortune, and all that other stuff. You might be successful enough to pay off your student loans, or you might have to declare bankruptcy after a few months, with nothing having come of the endeavor. Either way, there are a few general steps to follow when setting up a small business.
Step 1: Choose a name.
Technically “have an idea of what you want to do” is first, but this post assumes you already know what you want to do. Having decided what service you will offer, or what software you will code, picking a name is actually the next most important thing. Deciding whether you want to set up as a full-fledged company as opposed to just getting a business license and starting out alone will be covered in the next post.
Why is it important to choose a name? So people know where to find you, and know who did what when it comes to the work that you will do. Before getting a webpage or printing up business cards, it’s a really good idea to do a few simple web searches to see if your name has already been taken in your area (location or field of business).
Why check to see if the name is taken? Because trademark infringement doesn’t require the intent to infringe someone else’s trademark in order for the second person to lose in court. If someone else has registered the name you want to use in connection with your type of business, they can probably get you to stop using it and get money out of you in order to punish you from having done so.
Ways to search:
US Patent and Trademark Office – They have the nationally registered trademarks, and a fairly good set of tutorials in how to search. However, not everyone registers their trademark nationally, and it can take a while to become familiar with the organization of the searches and results.
Secretary of State – Businesses generally register tradenames at the state level, especially if they’re not just the family names of the people involved with the business. The link provided goes to www.business.gov, which is a website for small businesses, run by the White House, and has a list of links organized by state, so if your state uses the Department of Licensing for tradenames, that information would be provided.
Google search – Or your internet search engine of choice. At the very least, it would give an idea of how common the name is, and how many popular ideas would have to be overcome before people began to think of your company in connection with the word or phrase instead of whoever is already out there.
A trademark search service will provide as much information as you request for the name you want searched, and will be about 200 pages long and cost about $700. They are easily found online, but usually provide the same information that can be discovered on one’s own. They have access to a few proprietary databases, and have more experience running directed searches, but don’t necessarily provide more information than can be found out from other (free) sources.
Tomorrow: Organizing your Business
Questions? Comments? Use the Contact Form!
Posted in Tuesday: Potpourri.
– August 24, 2010
Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
Once again the review is for a game which has been out for several years, but which I’ve been enjoying a bit more recently than other titles.
One of the various spin-offs of the popular “Final Fantasy” series, Tactics is loose on plot, and focused more entirely on completing missions and unlocking and mastering job classes. There are plot-driven missions, but they come clearly tagged, and you can avoid them for as long as you want in order to tackle everything that’s been unlocked up to that point.
Downsides are, of course, that the “fun” of gameplay is almost entirely due to inventory and character management, and following the rules of the encounters, and much less about figuring out where to go to accomplish which random task, as with more typical RPGs.
In addition, if you fail a mission it can take up to one “year” of in-game time to cycle through again, meaning that you get one chance at solving some of the less oblique puzzle missions, or risk personal shame by looking up the answers online somewhere. Even successful missions take one day to complete, and travel between regions is also a day, so not paying attention to the amount of time given to attempt any particular mission could result in failure by expiration, rather than failure by death.
There are two save spots per game cartridge, but only one save game (essentially) as you can save on the world map, or save/quit out of missions, but loading a mission directly erases that save, as with most other temporary save states.
On the whole, however, the game is a great deal of fun, can be picked up and put down for thirty minutes or several hours, and allows a great deal of customization. I highly recommend it for long train journeys, but not for short car trips.
Posted in Friday: Game Review.
– August 20, 2010
Diablo III
Yet another reason I need a better gaming rig.
Posted in Thursday: Media.
– August 19, 2010
