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How much does it cost to make a new game?

How's it goin all,

Ok i've been reading these boards for a while now, and keeping up with Aaron and Chris since like the late 90's - hoping and waiting

for Aaron to publish either the BOOKS for Chance and the other 'sequels' in book form.
or for there to be any kind of semblance of a game coming out..

I know it's rough and i've read almost every interview the two of them have done about costs and the market for games has changed compared to those days..

But i'm honestly wondering HOW much are we looking at to get that 'number' for a game to be put through development?

I have no clue as to what it takes to make a game, much less an FMV style - but


I have the crazy idea of actually thinking
If we're TOLD that this game costs "this much"

why don't WE MAKE AN INVESTMENT PROGRAM.

You put x amount into the funds and you get x percentage return of the sales?

Or just straight up donate?

I was a bit seriously perturbed personally, to raise funds for the best game i've ever played in my life -over say something more worthy like charity or etc.

But if we make this an investment and give back - i can fight the conscious block and maybe we can donate to a good cause in the mean time.


Stupid crazy Idea.

But it's actually a HINT of merit to it so we can actually gain some ground.

If you go to a developer and say look we have "x amount of money, and we have a SERIOUS fan base that will basically NEARLY girl scout cookies style try to sell this game on their friends and family - just help us make it"

I am nearly sure you can get at least ONE to buy into it.

What are people's thoughts?

Small beginnings cause huge changes my friends. Sometimes the consumers gotta put things in their own hands.
haha
Hello conscious-sedation,
Welcome to the board. I think the ballpark figure is an 8 digit number I think. The others can correct me on this, but I think it will take us a long time to chip together that much money.

I've actually sent in a question to Big Finish Games to ask if there was a way we could "donate to the cause" of getting Tex back. They thanked me for the generous offer but said at this time, the best we can do is spread the word about them to others. AC and CJ have also echoed this back to us during last Christmas's chat session. Believe me, we all wish there was more we could do for these guys.

They appreciate our endless devotion to them and their games and they keep hanging on for our sake. So at this time all we can do is guy Tex games at GOG and support their new hidden object games at Big Finish Games.
Samantha


Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.
yeah figuring it was 8 figures

I still say if there's proper investors - we can at least put a PORTION of the amount in

If Aaron and Chris take this seriously



I'm talking about investing in this game. You'd get more serious people who donate because they're putting money in - to get money back. I mean in some sense anyway.

I don't know seems like if there's at least some kind of proposals being put out - it'd make more sense to get somethiing to 'work towards'

because although i fully understand there's a lot of talks that Aaron and Chris do with companies or people on this - there are negotiations. I'm saying there can be some kind of active role involved if at least a portion of that 'inside info' is out

so we know like there's some kind of goal - how're we going to reach that, what are the obstacles, etc.
Last time I heard AC speak on it, the numbers were at 10 million a pop. And they've got a trilogy to produce.

-Fred
Pirates, vampires, zombies, ninjas, ghouls, aliens, goblins, monsters, robots, sorcerers, undead, werewolves, demons, mutated dinosaur-cyborgs and those pesky phone salesmen! The shotgun is a one-size-fits-all solution!
First of all - welcome to the board, CS!!! As you already know, we are an international brotherhood of devoted (and mostly crazy) Tex fans and we love CJ and AC and the gang.

A while back we played with the idea of financing a new Tex game. Let's crunch some numbers. Once upon a time we had around 4,000 people sign up as members or at least sign some kind of petition. For the sake of arguement, let's say a new high quality Tex game costs $12,000,000.00 (a bit high but not totally unreasonable). That means each of us would have to donate 3K in order for the guys to break even. If they had a little profit sharing incentive, what the hey? We just might do it! However, most of us agreed that it would strain our pocketbooks, not to mention our personal relationships.

The next point to consider is the adventure game market itself. UAKM sold around 400,000 copies; PD a lot less and TMO a whole lot less. If the new game sold for $40.00 a pop, that means they would have to sell 300,000 games to break even!

The next scenario is an animated adventure starring CJ's comic character. Many are against this, but I, for one, support this avenue. Still, it would cost mucho dinero to make the game and would, because it is animated, sell for less - maybe. That means they would have to sell a ton to break even.

So, to what conclusion can we draw? Hmmm. Maybe we will have a new Tex game some day, but right now it is not in the cards (no bad pun intended). Ergo, we have a saying: Keep the faith! Our day may come; our ship may dock; our hearts may be sated; our....oh, for crying out loud, you get the picture.
"If you look to me for illumination, you better have a flashlight!"
Yeah I think the best we can hope for is that one of us wins the lottery and contributes a big chunk to AC and CJ (after paying off our mortgage and car loan(s) of course).
Samantha


Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.
thanks Jim for the welcoming! Sorry, you too Sam :)

I still seriously think

If they are serious - and it ONLY TAKES 4,000 people to donate 3,000 (at the minimum) as an INVESTMENT.

I mean seriously guys, it's possible.


lol maybe because i don't believe in Interest and don't have house or car debts or something

but I think if the guys are serious, there can be SOME FORM of some realistic investment plan done.

haha even if the "market may not cater to it"

This could seriously shake up the market by bringing something back, using MORE modern technology and attaching people back to REAL people rather than fake Figures no matter how 'REALISTIC' they look - nothing compares to REAL. :)

ahhhhhh

i wont' give up! haha :D
conscious-sedation wrote:This could seriously shake up the market by bringing something back, using MORE modern technology and attaching people back to REAL people rather than fake Figures no matter how 'REALISTIC' they look - nothing compares to REAL. :)
I wholeheartedly agree. The cartoons look good but are so fake. Real people have wrinkles, sun spots, and imperfections. You need the imperfections.
Samantha


Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.
I've always though an 8 figure estimate was ridiculous considering the droves of talented art college students who are willing to work on a first project for free.
Travis Jacobs

"You might not sound so idiotic if there were at least something excitable in my post to begin with..." --Baf
I always imagined the money would go for filming, video editing, and programming. I assumed that would mean at least 40-50 people in addition to all the computers and equipment they would need to buy. Now if they wanted to hire big name actors to play the parts that's a lot more money. So to me it seems like a reasonable number.
Samantha


Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.
And, let us not forget the high cost of employing quality big name actors. That is why FMV may not be doable.
"If you look to me for illumination, you better have a flashlight!"
Don't worry folks, when I have a spare $12M or at least have enough influence in the film industry (fingers crossed) you will see Tex Murphy return, and in style!

In the meantime, I am still waiting on those $3,000 injections from a few of you, so get cracking! Jim, the money transfer came through today so thanks for that one. lol

-Cub. =o)
Heck I'd be okay with no-name actors. As long as Chris Jones was there, that would be enough for me.

I think if I could write a check for 3k, I'd be writing to CJ or AC directly and not funneling it through Cubase. :lol:
Samantha


Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.
Just get a few more investments to pan out and I'll be contacting AC...
And not to worry, I'll be flying in all the steady members of this board for Cameo appearances... It might just be walking down the street in the background to being a customer at the newsstand or in Louie's, but all of you will get a screen shot and your name in the credits under "Special Appearances By:"... Or if you have some talent you might even land a small minor role with a couple of lines...

For the few of you like Cub with some major talent I'll see to it that you guys are on the Crew in one way or another...



Wow, that was a detailed dream/fantasy wasn't it...
The Paved Straight Road, Won't Always Get You Farther Than The Winding Dirt Road...


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Oh please let me be a murder victim. It would be cool like being one of the red shirts on an old Star Trek episode. No acting skills required!
Samantha


Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.