CP: Presentation Info

Game Project Management

Graded Course Project Information

Structuring a Good Pitch Presentation

Just as every game has a Sequence of Play, so should every Pitch Presentation. There is a certain order of events that should occur at a Pitch Presentation that will put your company and its product ideas in the best light. Remember, you never get a second chance to make a first impression!

Below is a recommended guideline for structuring your Pitch Presentation. This need not be rigidly followed, but it gives you a starting point allowing you to consider the logical flow of activities for your Pitch. Brevity at each step (save the last, where the client controls the schedule) is important here. If you can go from "Hello" to "Questions?" in under 22 minutes (excluding the time for client question interruptions), you're on track. You've got to keep your Pitch Presentation moving.

I. The "Hello" Phase

Do an informal meet and greet; make a little small talk

Pass out and collect business cards

Get the Non-Disclosures out of the way

II. Formal Start of Meeting

Thank the client for the opportunity to pitch your ideas

State the purpose of the meeting clearly to all present

Introduce everyone at the meeting to everyone else at the meeting

Hand out a copy of the sell sheet to everyone

III. The Presentation

State the game's title

Briefly state the top-level information about the game; it's High Concept (media, genre, epic), scope, scale, perspective, One-sentence Marketing Description, and Hook

Show some sizzle from the game and set the mood (use the opening animatic and/or any kind of animated demo of gameplay)

Briefly talk about gameplay and key design concepts

Briefly describe key game components (art, engines, systems, and so forth)

If you have any additional sizzle to show (additional gameplay action, ending cinematic, animated loops, and so forth), show it now

Briefly sum up how and why the game nails the client's needs

Briefly preview the steak

The Top 5 scary bits from the Technical Design and how they will be negated or minimized

The proposed schedule

The proposed budget

IV. Questions?

Reference the Pitch Packet and then solicit, field, and don't be afraid to ask questions

Remember:

The customer is always right

Think on your feet and present confident answers

If you make any kind of promise or commitment among your answers, you must deliver on it; don't forget

The Object of a Good Pitch Presentation

Since you're selling your game proposal, the object of this exercise is to get the client to buy it. Ultimately, that means getting some kind of favorable reaction from the Pitch Presentation meeting and progressing matters from there. Here is a list in descending order of possible client reactions. The higher you rank on that list, the better your Pitch Presentation grade (out of a possible 20 points).

"We love it! Here’s a good faith advance check so you can get started while we sort out the details." [20 points]
"Yes! Let’s set up a contract meeting to hammer out the details and get the ball rolling." [18 to 19 points]
"We like you and your proposal and wish to review it further. We’ll definitely be getting back to you." [16 to 17 points]
"This think that you and this game will work for us. Give us some time to review our internal schedule and budgeting and see if we can manage it. You'll be hearing back from us soon." [14 to 15 points]
"This game has possibilities and we believe you can do it with a some effort. We need to review the marketing materials and your bios before we make a decision. We'll call you later." [12 to 13 points]
"We have some confidence in either your company or the game, but not both. We're sorry, but you can contact us again when you've got that problem worked out." [10 to 12 points]
"We feel that we’d be taking too much risk with your group and your game at the present time. Thank you, and if you have something else we might be interested in, send me an email." [5 to 10 points]
"We find little to endorse about either your group or your game; this is simply not what we’re looking for. I’m very sorry." [0 to 5 points]

The psychology behind the process

Remember that really popular ‘hot’ person of the opposite sex in school? The one that was so good-looking that he/she had the choice of anyone to date? The one that could afford to be rude or to ignore you, or to not even acknowledge your presence when you walked by? Publishers are a lot like that ‘hot’ person. They only engage their time and resources with what they consider attractive opportunities. So if you represent yourself and your studio as anything other than a competent, creative and attractive opportunity from which both parties will benefit, then you have about the same chance as you had with that ‘hot’ person if you had approached with bad body odor and food between your teeth. And in truth, it doesn’t matter to the publisher if they just turned down the “absolutely best game ever designed” because, like ‘hot’ people, another great concept is always coming down the pipe.

Remember that publishers literally have hundreds of properties to choose from – and they might only pick two or three for the whole year. Your submission needs to be complete and professional. Keep this all in the perspective of business, and remember not to take your forthcoming rejections personally. Based on our survey results, the odds are against you, but they are not zero. Also keep in mind that rejection is not failure if you learn from it, and any constructive criticism that you receive can go a long way in improving your pitch for the next publisher.

- From the IGDA Game Submission Guide Report (linked below)

Tim Ryan notes about this subject:

Presentation: The whole proposal, including the revised concept document, should be printed on sturdy stock and bound in a fancy report binder along with copies of the art. This document is to be presented to business people - you know, those people who walk around your office wearing fine suits to contrast with the t-shirts and cut-offs that you normally wear. Don't forget that you're proposing a major investment, so make the proposal look good and dress well if you're going to handle the presentation. Preparing a slide show in a program such as Microsoft Persuasion is helpful for pitching your key points and art.

Common Mistakes
Some common mistakes in preparing a game proposal include:

The analysis is based on magic numbers. Try to back up your numbers by listing your sources or explaining how you came up with them. Watching a producer pull some numbers from thin air and throw them in the document is almost laughable.

The proposal is boring. This is a selling document. Don't bore the readers. Give them facts, but make these facts exciting, concise, and convincing.

The proposal fails to anticipate common-sense issues and concerns. You should find out what this proposal is up against -- other proposals, competitive products, financing concerns, cost and time expectations, game prejudices, and historical mishaps. Your proposal will stand a much better chance of being approved if it addresses these issues preemptively rather than getting besieged by them during the review process.

The proposal writer is overly sensitive to criticism. My experience might be unique, but don't be surprised if the major promoter for your game proposal decides to play devil's advocate. Make sure your proposal is solid. Believe in it and remain confident, and you'll weather the criticism and make believers out of those reviewing your proposal.

The proposal writer is inflexible to changes to the game. Often during the process of gathering research or receiving criticism from the review committee, some reasonable suggestions will arise for changing or scaling back the design. Game development is a collaborative process. Take the feedback and change the design, or the game could die right there. The key word here, as tattooed on the arm of my buddy who served in the Vietnam War, is transmute. He had to transmute to stay alive and keep going, and your game idea may have to do the same.

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