Product Presentation

Before making contact with publishers, you should create a digital presentation using software such as Microsoft PowerPoint. This presentation should be used as the first point of contact for anybody evaluating your game. Its purpose is to educate newcomers to your product in the most concise and attractive way possible, leaving little of your ideas for the game open to interpretation, but without going into design-doc-size detail.

The basic structure of the presentation should be fairly similar to that of your cut-down concept/marketing document, but with bullet point summaries replacing paragraphs of text.

Using no more than a single slide per heading, and following a similar order, key content should include:

• Introduction. The first few pages should include an attractive title page and suitable game-related imagery and company logo branding; an introductory paragraph outlining your new concept focusing on the storyline, game genre, target audience, and platforms; the top two or three features that make the game stand out; and a page detailing your perception and research on the market for such a game and why you believe your particular title will be successful. Be wary of making any overly assertive assumptions at this stage.

• Sales figures. If your product is part of an illustrious franchise and boasts fantastic sales figures, be sure to insert them early on to get the publisher's attention. If you can break them down per SKU and per territory, all the better.

• Game features and USPs. The next several pages should cover all key game features in a purely bullet-pointed fashion, starting with engine and technology details, focusing primarily on the core gameplay and single-player features, and ending with an overview of any multiplayer features, if applicable.

• Visuals. At this point in the document, you should break the monotony of pages of text by showing off two to three pages of concept art, game models, screenshots, and videos, depending on what you have available. Line them up neatly as thumbnails within the presentation and link them to full-size versions on the CD so they can be experienced in their full glory.

• Press coverage. Developers are increasingly using the specialist press as a tool to help secure deals by releasing details of the game almost from inception. If you have any positive press coverage, it's good to include links and details to help marketing teams gauge potential press and public opinion.

• Competitive analysis. The worthiness of a competitive analysis depends largely on how far away from completion your product is. If you are at the start of an 18-month development cycle, it is unlikely you will have an accurate picture of the games with which your product will eventually compete. However, at the very least it is worth listing key titles in the same genre, and briefly comparing and contrasting key features and USPs.

• Demo. If you are including playable code with the presentation, you should link the appropriate file into the presentation to ensure that the publisher is aware of that fact, and allow them to install the program before continuing with the presentation. If you are not including playable code, you should at least attempt to supply a crisply edited video clip of your game or technology in action to whet the appetite.

• Company profile. At the end of the document, you should include a brief company profile, including softography and any relevant links, allowing the publisher to find out more about you without having to ask.

Thanks to its digital nature, this simple presentation can be duplicated onto numbered CDs, at which point your art team can create a realistic mockup of a box cover, CD label, and insert that can be printed on photo-quality paper and slipped into blank DVD boxes to look like retail product.

You might also see fit to include any other relevant info on the CD, such as design documentation and schedule breakdown, all of which can again be hyperlinked into the main presentation to ensure that they are not overlooked on the disc. Be sure to include any necessary software needed to allow the end user to view the presentation, and a "read me" file containing detailed instructions. Before duplicating a CD, get someone to test it as an end user to ensure that everything is clear and works as it should.

If executed well, you can be sure that such a package will garner attention and interest when it hits the publishers' in-box. It is also a good idea to send several copies to each publisher that you are courting, allowing them to instantly forward copies to other territories, and thus speed up feedback response times.