Northern Exposure 07: Introversion says ‘Don’t sell your IP’

As the 2007 Northern Exposure rolls on, Europe gets primed to become more competitive and more financially viable for the world game industry. Speaking on behalf of indie game developer Introversion Software, Mark Morris tackled the issues with intellectual property acquisition deals and how to fight these typical moves by publishers.

Introversion is well known for their popular, self-published games Darwinia, DEFCON, and Uplink, and Morris exposed how a small team can handle everything from concept design to development, right up to publishing and marketing a game – and still be successful.

“Do we really need publishers to help with development? With all the creative ideas in our heads, I think not,” said Morris. But he did point out that publishers were really good for one thing: development funding. “That’s no small thing,” he said.

The one thing a developer shouldn’t do, according to Morris, is sell their unique IP. “You don’t need to sell your IP – try saying no to a publisher and see what happens,” Morris suggested. In his eyes, publishers will become more flexible with contracts if you challenge them over IP.

The new age of digital distribution offers a lot in the way of self-publishing, and it’s tried-and-tested successes that force publishers to re-contemplate content acquisition.

As the 2007 Northern Exposure rolls on, Europe gets primed to become more competitive and more financially viable for the world game industry. Speaking on behalf of indie game developer Introversion Software, Mark Morris tackled the issues with intellectual property acquisition deals and how to fight these typical moves by publishers.

Introversion is well known for their popular, self-published games Darwinia, DEFCON, and Uplink, and Morris exposed how a small team can handle everything from concept design to development, right up to publishing and marketing a game – and still be successful.

“Do we really need publishers to help with development? With all the creative ideas in our heads, I think not,” said Morris. But he did point out that publishers were really good for one thing: development funding. “That’s no small thing,” he said.

The one thing a developer shouldn’t do, according to Morris, is sell their unique IP. “You don’t need to sell your IP – try saying no to a publisher and see what happens,” Morris suggested. In his eyes, publishers will become more flexible with contracts if you challenge them over IP.

The new age of digital distribution offers a lot in the way of self-publishing, and it’s tried-and-tested successes that force publishers to re-contemplate content acquisition.