How do I Sell ideas?

How to sell my video game ideas to a video game company?

• I have a few new video game ideas that I would like to sell to a major/minor video game developer/company etc. How to go about this without anyone copying/stealing my ideas?

• Answer:

  Hey, I am a designer in a games company. Generally how most games developers work is that someone will contact the developer (usually a publisher, like microsoft, activision, konami etc) and say "hey, we've been approached to make a game about this. what would you guys do?" and so they send off this request to developers, we design a game around the information they give us, come up with a pitch and send it back. If they like it, they give us lots of money to make it! and they make most of the money off it. Some game companies make their own games, create demos and then approach publishers and try and get someone sold on the idea, but in the end it's the publishers who fund the production of the game in most cases. If i were seriously trying to get a game made (and did not already have a job in the industry) i would look at getting a demo made, possibly ask some friends who know how to program and create art, and design game play, and go straight to the publisher. If you can wow the pants off them, they may just purchase it and get it made by a developer. But i think the chances of that are fairly slim. My advice, get into the industry! it's great fun! Steve