Introduction
I found myself falling into this mindset, and when I realized this was a common attribute for independent developers in general I found it disappointing that although much information was available regarding these topics, so people could teach themselves how to do it, no one was in fact offering to do these things for independent developers. In other words a publisher.
This is why the publishing division of Bon Ink Creations was created, and specifically the free program to be outlined further down.
Purpose
Read on below to see a list of what this package includes.
Package Outline
- 1 Free Game Free Open Publishing Deal(Mandatory - Negotiable)
- Spoiler:
This means we agree to publish for free 1 game you intended to release for free with an open deal that allows you to do whatever you want with your game, it's licensing and distributing rights perpetually. At any time developers under this plan may part ways with us at no lose to them, if they wish to use any material or work we provided they will be required to still provide our splash screen on there game with the header 'Published in part by" so we are clearly given credit for our part in their publishing efforts. In the event developers decided to part ways with Bon Ink and use none of the work we did for them they are not obligated to show our splash screen in any way.
- Social Marketing Campaign (Optional - Negotiable)
- Spoiler:
We will design a marketing campaign to be posted through Twitter and Facebook in an effort to keep your fan base informed and growing during the days up to your launch. Branded to your current game style and layout, you are the boss when it comes to how it looks and feels. We are here to create your ideal campaign, not ours. We will work with you as much or as little as you require to give you results you are happy with to go forward towards a successful and impactful game launch.
- Managing official website and social networking sites (Optional)
- Spoiler:
Bon Ink will create, manage and maintain your official website provided you agree to allow us to use the service we prefer (weebly) in whatever customizable manner you desire within reason. This will give you access to creating pages under our domain name www.boninkcreations.com/yourstudioname/yoursubpages.
Additionally we will maintain your social networking sites, Twitter and Facebook, in order to keep them up to date with unique information, design and draw points, created in a manner that matches the over all branding and style of everything else revolving around your game. This is to ensure a presence where fans may find themselves, as well as keep it active and engaging without any effort on your part other then signing off on material to be displayed.
- Internal and external recruitment efforts (Optional)
- Spoiler:
If necessary to hire additional team members or contract out extra work, we offer our name and services to post for you and administrate the efforts. We draw up a proposal for posting, list the prospective sites, and in turn you fine tune the proposal to your like, and then we begin the recruiting process. We then forward all prospective applicants to you, and weed out the ones who do not follow your guidelines or directions upon applying. You would then contact the person you believe is right for the job, and either hire them contractually or add them to your team as agreed upon based on your needs and the job parameters etc.
Additionally as a signed developer with us you have the ability to contact people directly in the company based on their respective skills and your needs. In turn you are asked if you would like the ability to be contacted for your individual skill to help out/join or be hired for contract work on others designs.
- Dedicated forums for team use, company help, and public awareness (Mandatory - Negotiable)
- Spoiler:
Once signed with us we create a closed from view area in our forums for you and your team members and their development efforts to use. You can use this as your home base for permanent a discussion point when necessary. Your team can discuss design ideas, propose new methods, and have them here 'permanent' for future review.
Additionally you are given a section where you can post [HELP] topics for our staff to have their attention drawn to in the event you need direct assistance with something, whether it be an opinion, advice, etc.
Finally you are given an area from which you can make threads public and link to them from your external promotional efforts. This can be used if you need feedback from your fans, and would like it in a forum type interface. You can create polls, attach files, show videos, whatever your desired might be for fan feedback.
It's important to note that the teams also have full moderation over their areas, and are free to edit, add sections, remove content as they wish.
- YourStudio@BonInkCreations.com (Optional)
- Spoiler:
When your game is complete and being published through Bon Ink Creations you will be given your very own custom email address with YourStudioName@BonInkCreations.com. As long as your studio remains signed with us as a publisher you will retain that email address should you choose.
Signed Teams
- Black City Studios
- Icebox Studios
- Onyxbreakers
- Paper Studios
- LDC Studios
- Soft Blue Studios
Conclusion