My Master Plan

M

Marweas

Weasel4
Veteran X
Update: 4-6-2005

- New stuff bolded
- Indicated task owners
- Indicated timing
- Incorporated additions from TseTse
- Added needs/next steps

Note:
The plan has been edited with wisdom from other people. It is no longer strictly “MY” plan.

Misc New Tasks:
- Start a discussion on a working title
- Start discussion on design vision

Objective:

Keep Tribes from dying out forever.

Situation Analysis:

With VUG ceasing work on the patch, and the recent sales numbers hardly inspiring a sequel, it can be assumed that if we do nothing Tribes will linger and die.

It is acknowledged that we do not trust VUG to develop or support any future Tribes product. It is further acknowledged that we don’t really trust any other publisher to develop or support any future Tribes product. Moreover, there are no developers that we would trust to develop the spiritual successor to Tribes without our oversight.

There is no purchase value in the Tribes brand; it’s only worth something to the company trying to sell down existing product. There is no benefit to buying or licensing the brand or intellectual property (IP). Anything of consequence to us as player is not trademarked.

VUG is obligated to continue to enable the functionality of the product as per the EULA until they announce they intend to do otherwise. To at least some degree, we, as a community, have the ability and inclination to continue to support the remaining operations of all 3 Tribes games beyond the abilities of VUG.

Despite the many claims that Garage Games could develop that spiritual successor, I haven’t heard from Jeff T that he’s interested. It is certainly fair to say that this option offers much promise, but it’s hardly a given.

Strategy:

1) Use consumer leverage with retailers to get them to return the remaining (maybe 30K??) units of Tribes to VUG, as the product is no longer supported. (Cost to VUG: approx $1.2M returns + $360K sales). Use momentum and publicity to draw attention to TW project. NOTE: this does not require anyone to return anything. This has to happen as part of a plan. More details on this shortly. You don't need to do anything yet.
Task owner: Marweas
Cost: time, organization
Benefit: satisfaction – it’s our right as consumers; gain notoriety
Timing: May 1st (tentative)
Next steps: create “letter to WalMart” templates; get latest contact info; create instructions for TW participants
Next update: 4/17
Needed: nada


2) Carve out a very, very simple bullet-point mission statement for a TW-run and TW-funded development project to create the spiritual successor to Tribes. Clear it through real lawyers and accountants. Create a very simple design doc (focusing on the most core design elements), and supporting requirements documents for use by prospective developers. Raise money for next step.
Task owner: Marweas
Cost: time, organization
Benefit: satisfaction – it’s our right as consumers; gain notoriety
Timing: May 1st (tentative)
Next steps: create mission statement, overview
Next update: 4/10
Needed: Need someone to manage collecting and processing input and assembling a 1 page design overview; looking for legal and tax referrals; need someone to take over as owner of this task.

3) Develop initial design and overview documentation. Develop product concept art or “look and feel” documents. Create list of potential development houses and talent and solicit bids and proposals. Raise money within community for next step. Review proposals and select developer for next step.
Cost: $1,000 (20 principal investors @ $50), time, organization
Benefit: allows us to seriously explore whether anyone is interested in making the game we all want and whether we’re capable of actually structuring an organization to run it.

4) Contract the developer(s) to create a technical demo and proof of concept based on provided info. Provide guidance and management to developer. Raise money within gaming community at large for next step. Review and evaluate technical proof of concept for fit. Pick an engine/mod platform based on need. Target mac/linux/pc for shareware. The platform has to allow for effective skiing on a network. Raise money within community for next step. Select one developer for prototyping.
Cost: $5,000 (100 principal investors @ $50), time, organization
Benefit: allows us to compare new and existing technologies for this use, get a good grasp of which developer “gets” it.

5) Develop prototype plan. Contract the developer to create first prototype to spec. Work with developer to help them create a positive demonstration of key features, art direction, and design process. Review and evaluate prototype. Raise money within community for next step. Reassess needs.
Cost: $50,000 (1,000 principal investors @ $50), time, organization
Benefit: Demonstration of developer talents and capabilities at absolute minimum cost. Allows stringent review and discussion of many elements very early in the process.

6) Contract the developer to create a multiplayer playable prototype to spec. Work with developer to help them create a positive demonstration of technology, graphics, control, key features, and design process. Review, evaluate, and revise prototype. If promising, use the prototype to secure private investment and/or publishers for remainder of project.
Cost: $500,000 (private investors, community), time, organization
Benefit: creates a playable example of the finished product we want so we can tell if this is all a waste or not; provides tangible asset for raising capital required to proceed to development.

7) TW to oversee the development and/or publishing of a spiritual successor to Tribes not based on the Tribes IP

8) Go low key - and WORK and TEST and WORK and TEST for 2 years.

9) Put out a shareware product or a freeware mod

10) [strike]Profit.[/strike] Play.
 
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I don't think Number 1 is worth doing and where exactly do we get the money for number 5? I think it would be far better to give money to a development team from TW - like legends - to create the next tribes like game. They could license the Torque Shader engine, perhaps work out a deal with Steam (or another online distribution method) to distribute the game and make some money. Self funded, self made, perhaps make some small profit depending on the game quality.
 
Nutcracker said:
I don't think Number 1 is worth doing and where exactly do we get the money for number 5? I think it would be far better to give money to a development team from TW - like legends - to create the next tribes like game. They could license the Torque Shader engine, perhaps work out a deal with Steam (or another online distribution method) to distribute the game and make some money. Self funded, self made, perhaps make some small profit depending on the game quality.
Click to expand...

Without number 1 the rest of it won't happen.
 
Wulfen said:
Without number 1 the rest of it won't happen.
Click to expand...
Why? If so then it won't. Firstly there is no way we could organise the return of even 1/4 of the number of units sold. Why does number 1 need to happen before we can self-fund a project?
 
Marweas said:
Keep Tribes from dying out forever.
Click to expand...

I support this

Marweas said:
It is acknowledged that we do not trust VUG to develop or support any future Tribes product. It is further acknowledged that we don’t really trust any other publisher to develop or support any future Tribes product. Moreover, there are no developers that we would trust to develop the spiritual successor to Tribes without our oversight.
Click to expand...
and
Marweas said:
$500,000 (private investors, community), time, organization
Click to expand...

Now wouldn't an investor demand control over this like a developer? I know the whole thing would be planned with the previous parts but the ppl with the money are always in control.
 
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Marweas said:
Despite the many claims that Garage Games could develop that spiritual successor, I haven’t heard from Jeff T that he’s interested. It is certainly fair to say that this option offers much promise, but it’s hardly a given.
Click to expand...

Jeff Tunnell hardly has the time to be browsing these forums. How about you email him with your ideas Marweas and find out for yourself if he is interested.
 
I don't think number 1 is required. Nor does it require any sort of mass return. It only requires a lot of noise, the kind TW is excellent at generating. The benefit of #1 is limited, but the satisfaction would be high, and the cause worthy. Moreover, it's something we're perfectly entitled to. I'm ready to send a message as a consumer that we insist on products with a higher quality or support standard.
 
If you had that many TWers in that close of organizational quarters for the required amount of time to do this, they'd rip themselves apart. I just can't see that sort of controlled organization in this community.

To me Legends seems like a solid plan, but popularity of the game would be minimal without a marketing gameplan.
 
Interesting.

It's funny how this sort of dovetails with some speeches given at this years Game Developers Conference, specifically about game developers needing to secure funding outside of a corporate atmosphere.

Warren Spector said:
But I had to say something, so basically, what I'm going to talk about is how, simply put, this business is hopelessly broken.
[...]
Look, there are very few ways to get a game done these days, at least in my experience, and like I said, I'm sure we're going to get yelled at. Publisher fully funds, publisher distributes and promotes [indiscernible]. Money--comes from and returns to the business guys, and developers just--I mean, why should we own anything in that model? Why should we get a huge return in that model? We're taking--sure, we're taking some of the risk, but that $10 million belongs to somebody else, that marketing budget belongs to somebody else, and that retail space belongs to somebody else, that ad space belongs to somebody else. It's a bad model. The end result is that we have a winner take all business that has a lot of risk. And I think it's a business that has to change, and that's change in ways that--maybe we can influence a little.

The first thing is, I think, we have to find alternate sources of funding.
Click to expand...


But who's to say it can't work? This is how independent filmmakers do it in Hollywood; shop around an idea until they find interested private parties, and then give the investors a cut of the profits.
 
Let's play.

1) I can't exactly return my copy of the game. I don't have a receipt anymore and its past the 90 day period in the VUG Guarantee of Satisfaction. I'm going to say, most of us are in this boat. So, I imagine this plan isn't suggesting those of us who have the game already, try and return it. It's more about forcing retailers to take the game off the shelf. How do we as an end-user community encourage this?

Do we seek a compaign that asks for the sympathies of the major retailers? Do we plead our case to them as their customers?
 
xgalaxy said:
Jeff Tunnell hardly has the time to be browsing these forums. How about you email him with your ideas Marweas and find out for yourself if he is interested.
Click to expand...

All in good time. And I'd probably pick someone he doesn't dislike to contact him. :)
 
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