Welcome to Wrestling Gamers United Newsletter #289
1) PWX Real World 2) Link of the Week 3) Question of the Week
1) Real World ************************************
Nobody likes to be forced into a position where they have to make a decision based on fear. Worse yet is when that decision will affect the livelihoods of the people working with you and the good faith you have spent over four years building with the PWX supporters. But first a little recent history lesson....
We had a $500k budget to produce PWX and we started production last June. We quickly learned that $500k will not produce No Mercy 2 or anything like it in terms of depth and features. Especially since we were building a game from scratch with less than five people, none of whom had ever made a fighting game before. By comparison, the Smackdown and KoC games are made with way larger teams of experienced wrestling game developers and they have budgets in the millions of dollars AND they already have fully completed wrestling games to build on top of. Ok, so we're the underdogs here, but we knew that from the beginning. Still, we thought $500k was a fortune to make a big wrestling game and maybe if we could start over and avoid the mistakes of the last year we probably could make that $500k go far. Thing is, we didn't actually get $500k. We got less than half. Telefilm kicked in a few payments (THANK GOD!) and we picked up some smaller but no less appreciated cheques from private investors as well. The reality was we were still trying to make something like No Mercy 2 on a $500k budget with less than half of the budget in actual cash. Stubborn.
Oh but wait it gets even better!
Early this year we got screwed. Hard. We licensed an engine at the start of development and after we had built a working demo (and spent over $100k) we learned we would not be able to ship PWX using that engine. For legal reasons I can't discuss (yet) we were forced to dump all of the work we had done up until that point. We were advised that if we continued to use this engine and shipped PWX with it we would most definitely be sued. Our options? Cut our losses, go home, and say we tried. Or, we work our assess of with a new engine and try to get back the $100k we lost. Our lawyer gave us options including suing the company we licensed the original engine from. I decided against it. I just want to make a wrestling game, not spend my energy putting another company out of business and hurting their employees who did nothing wrong. But thats just me. Maybe after a few more years doing this I'll be less forgiving.
So where did that leave us? Broke and with no finished game. Much to Telefilm's credit they supported us and kept us going. Having seen what we had accomplished so far it gave them some confidence that we could pull this out of a nose dive is given the chance. So we found an engine that would allow us to salvage most of our art content and we got to work. It was a Hail Mary pass but it worked. The crew pulled together something that was miles above anything we had developed before. We were going to be better than ok. So with everything coming along so well why are we talking about being forced to make a decision we don't want to?
We need more money to get that full PWX done with all the features we want. Sure, the art, action, and animations all look good but CAW isn't done yet and neither is story mode or online multiplayer.
Yesterday morning I had a meeting with two people who's advice I trust. One of them started a game company on his own and had a series of best selling games before accepting an offer to buy the company for a lot of money. His advice? We have two options. Accept a cash infusion from an investment firm or publisher to fund the company for at least another year. Or, ship what we have now direct to our supporters and hope we can make enough money self publishing to survive.
Two problems here. Any offer we've had for financing or publishing involves giving up on the PWX concept and instead making a wrestling game with a licensed brand. I don't like that option but I guess even AKI made games with a licensed brand (WWF/WCW) and nobody game them hell over it. Still, where did that get AKI in the end? They now cling to life support and struggle to survive, most of the key people behind No Mercy now work for Yukes anyway. The problem with the second scenario (self publishing what we have) is that what we have is minimal. If we shipped right now all we could offer is off-line multiplayer, some mod support, and maybe a short linear story mode. No gimmick matches, no online, not even a caw. Not even a caw? I can't imagine that going over too well but maybe I'm selling ourselves too short.
I voiced my concerns to my big shot friend at the meeting. That our supporters are expecting No Mercy 2 from us and anything less would kill all of the good will we worked so hard to earn. His opinion? Bullshit. Any fan of the project knows what we are going through to get to that Ultimate Wrestling Game and they will accept our first offering as just that; the first step as proof towards the final PWX. His opinion is that a little indy wrestling game by a little indy studio will be judged as just that. There will always be people waiting to tear us down no matter what we deliver so why not at least give the fans who have been waiting for so long at least a small sneak peak of what we've sacrificed so much to achieve? If the fans think your efforts are worth supporting maybe they'll be willing to plop down $15-19 for your first game and keep you in business without you needing to sell the company to an investor.
I talked to the crew about our options and to their credit (and my mild surprise) the feedback I got was this:
"Fuck publishers and fuck investors. Let's do everything we can to retain ownership of this company and give the fans a reason to support us. That's why we started this thing, right?"
Strong words.
Emotions aside, this is the hard reality:
We would need to sell only 1000 copies of a game to cover our monthly expenses. Can we sell that many? Nobody knows. Sure, if everyone on the newsletter list bought a copy we'd be fine for months but we can't bank on that. If we take this leap, release a small little bare bones indy game will enough people support us? We think so, but if we're wrong we're dead. Real world dead. But if we can sell just a thousand copies for a few months it would keep us alive long enough to release an expansion which would in turn promote the sale of more copies. It could, in theory, provide us with a perpetual motion machine of sorts that would allow us to achieve the dream of becoming the first financially viable truly independent wrestling game studio.
But the big question is, would people really support WCW vs. NWO: World Tour on their PC if they knew it would support the eventual creation of No Mercy 2 or King of Colosseum 3? I think so. But are there enough people like me? Are there at least a few thousand people like that? And what about that hundreds of thousands of dollars I owe? I'll have to scrub an awful lot of toilets to pay that back if I'm wrong...
So, sell a controlling stake in the company for security or release something like "Hammerlock Wrestling" as a first step toward PWX and risk it all?
Ahhh this wouldn't be any fun if the stakes weren't this high.
2) Link of the Week ********************
Uh oh (or YAY depending on your point of view). Gamers aren't the only ones casting a dirty look THQ's way. The investment community is predicting the possible downfall of the publishing giant and one of the reasons is THQ losing the WWE license "immediately"...
I have watched this game, this group of people, this idea, this dream grow...literally for years. I've lurked on Game FAQs reading Q&A's, I've lurked on the old message board, and eventually I even posted a few times...
Point is: I was an apathetic reader at first. Then my curiosity grew. Eventually I dared to get my hopes up, and now...I am a believer.
I'd honestly be extremely disappointed if you released a barebones wrestling game to us. Don't get me wrong. Your issues are very viable. Money makes the world go round. But a half-ass wrestling product is a half-ass wrestling product and I quite frankly, ex[pect more from you guys than that. I support you in making a BETTER wrestling game, not a shitty one because you're backed into a corner. The proof is in the money. To the end of helping in game production, I've bought two shirts and prepurchased the PWX Special Edition YEARS before it was made. I did that because I believed we would be getting something that was worth my while to, so to speak, invest in.
I don't know what the solution is... Perhaps investors... perhaps a publishing company... I dunno...
But I will not be satisfied with Hammerlock Wrestling.
[quote][cite] DarkOffspring:[/cite]I'd honestly be extremely disappointed if you released a barebones wrestling game to us. Don't get me wrong. Your issues are very viable. Money makes the world go round. But a half-ass wrestling product is a half-ass wrestling product and I quite frankly, ex[pect more from you guys than that. I support you in making a BETTER wrestling game, not a shitty one because you're backed into a corner. The proof is in the money. To the end of helping in game production, I've bought two shirts and prepurchased the PWX Special Edition YEARS before it was made. I did that because I believed we would be getting something that was worth my while to, so to speak, invest in.
I don't know what the solution is... Perhaps investors... perhaps a publishing company... I dunno...
But I will not be satisfied with Hammerlock Wrestling.
Sorry, but that's just the way I feel.[/quote]
No need to kick the guys when they're down...
In my opinion, I'd feel the same way as DO if the the ultimate PWX never came to fruition, but I'm definitely open to the current idea of slowing building it's way there. I'm sure many, many PWX supporters are sympathetic that way as well, as long as you guys aren't pulling our legs. PWX fans have been in this too long to have the game being scrapped to heaps while we have to resort back to SvR2008. The mere thought of that brings me shivers. Although a CAW mode would INFINITELY make the first playable better, in the end, I still wouldn't mind shelling out $20 for that first payable... even if I've already pre-ordered PWX in person too.
How many people are going to have hours of fun by themselves playing a crappy game? The only thing going for the WGU is word of mouth/fan support. Its easy to talk shit on message boards and jump on fan boy wagons, its easy to write fan emails and to wear a T shirt. But as soon as the game ships all the talk and support means jack shit. All people can do is talk about the actual game. And if that game sucks, it sucks. How many times have you heard a gamer bitch about a game? How many times have they then added "well its ok its working towards a good game?" Too many times have games and sequels failed to deliver for people to be patient anymore. Gamers are sick of buying game after game year after year supporting a series hoping it gets good.
People only have so much time to play games. People only have so much time to spend on games. The economy sucks, whos going to put down 15 bucks on something they wont really enjoy? 1000 copies isnt alot, but selling that each month for over a year while bad reviews fly around the net will be a bitch. Dont forget if that game doesnt run on someones cumputer or has bugs or glitches, your fucked, you havent gotten to the point where you can fix problems or help people trouble shoot.
Sorry, but if I want to play WCW vs NWO, Id rather throw it in an old 64 and sit on my comfy couch.
Ok, so clearly Im against shipping what you have at 15 dollars a pop.
That said, I do have other opinions. You could still be bastards but at least not fucking bastards and sell a "demo" for five dollars a pop and give people either five or ten bucks off when they buy the actual game.
You could sue the company that gave you the engine of doom. Wtf by the way. Maybe you could even settle with them so that instead of those guys going broke they could all spend an hour working for you till the debts paid off. At the end of the day though I think its a bigger crime to sell people something far short of a beta for fifteen bucks rather than not letting a company off the hook for a hundred K.
You could seriously shop around for publishers. Clearly people are interested in you right now. You have some leverage, which you'll lose if you ship now. Publishers want to minimize risk, you've done that for them already. You've gotten past the early holy shit can we get this thing to work phase. Your engine will play a wrestling game. You can put the suit on and hit the road with what you have. You can jazz it up by putting swearwords and adult storylines all over the place if you want, you can make it a serious social commentary addressing the problems wrestlers face (i.e. Benoit) and maybe even pitch controversy as marketing. You can make a deal where you give up the control you want but retain rights to the work you do. Let a publisher throw whatever license they want on it, as long as you can keep the rights to the technology you've worked on thus far. Hell, take less money than they offer if it lets you keep more of what you worked on. My point is do whatever it takes except putting out a crappy game. Id happily buy a licensed or cheesed up game and then buy a great PWX a year later, but I wont buy a crappy game just so I can hope Ill get a good PWX eventually. Just remember, if its not good enough for a publisher to consider pumping money into it, how can you expect individuals to buy the unfinished product? And dont forget that if a company wants to throw a license onto your game they don't want the PWX license. If you talk to publishers remember its not imperative that working with them puts out the game that you want, the only thing that would matter is can they put you in a position to put out the game you want? Honestly, putting out LOW4 would do less damage to you than putting out a lonely glitch club PWX crap fest.
I agree 100% with PunkDraco. If you guys can maintain all the rights to the "bones" of the game and get an infusion of cash from a publisher who cares if you have to put out a game or two with a license attached to it. I know that creatively it isn't the way you want to go but it is a much more plausable means to an end.
If you put out a glitchy bare bones version of PWX as it is now for a bargain price it will set the tone for everything that comes after. People may buy into the idea at first but if the game doesn't even have CAW I'm sure a lot of people would just loose interest after a week or two and not even be interested when the first expansion is released.
Take the money and sell out in the short term. Development can continue down this risk-laden snail paced path and PWX might end up being success if all the pieces fall into place. Taking the money from a publisher would allow you guys to produce a game or two and get everything down to a science. PWX was started to deliver a great wrestling game that gave the fans what they wanted. Attaching a license to it would hamper it creatively and I know it's not what PWX is about but it is a much more appealing means towards obtaining a final goal.
Another problem with the episodic releases is the pre-orders that were taken a couple years back. I and many others have already shelled out our money for PWX for more than the $15 you suggested for Hammerlock Wrestling. So are we expected to shell out another 15$, will be be refunded the difference? I personally don't care as I'd pay another $15 as a donation to help the project...but I'm sure there's many others that wouldn't be so understanding.
And Dave I honestly think you should consider legal action against the guys that sold you the initial engine. It sounds like it really drained your resources. You say you don't want to see those guys lose their jobs but you've got to think about yourself to. I know it sounds harsh but there is no room for being nice when it comes to business.
Anyways as a last resort I'd say going with a publisher and "selling-out" for the short term is definitely the way to go. If you can still maintain the rights to the game engine that you've already built the foundation for then I think it's the best way to acheive the ultimate goals of PWX.
I'm another person who already made a full pre-order, and if necessary would pay another $15 to help the project.
You can make a kick assed licensed game, giving people what they want, just as easily as a non-licensed game.
No Mercy is considered one of the best wrestling games ever. It was licensed.
Hell, if you made a LOW 4, *I'd* jump all over that.
I think if you release a game without a CAW, you'll get eaten alive.
Look at Firepro. What, arguably, makes that game so great is the edit features it has in it. Strip that out and the game loses most of it's luster, IMO.
So, I could deal with a barebones game, as long as it has a CAW...then it has something to build on that interests me.
Without a CAW, the game has already got to be great in terms of gameplay. That's why I still enjoy KOC 2, which has great gameplay but a disappointing edit mode.
I'll stick with you regardless of your choice, but I don't expect many people to be as willing as I am.
i'd just sell out and get a publisher who can fund you. Simple as that. Who cares if its licensed or not. Hell I rather play an ROH game than one of original characters (just saying not to knock your creations its just more fun invisioning urself there or that its areal match with backstory etc). If you get the chance to sell out and get time to finish a CAW and the core game take out and just work on building a better sequel
If licensing helps,I'm for it :) Btw believe it or not,you have MY 20 bucks (which here will be...from 30 to 60 leva,but I'm buying it!Heck,I bought CS:Source and gonna buy The Orange Box,why not this game?) I know people will be with you wherever you go.It doesn't matter much,as long as we have a good PC wrestling game,Indy or not...
I'd say sell out and try retain as much as you can. And sue the bastards that screwed you over!! I mean, you have a family to think about, man. This hasn't been about PWX for a long time, Dave. It seems to be getting to the point where it could hurt you financially and personally. Not even something to joke about much less consider. I'd say sell out, take the money and license or no license, stress that you feel PWX can make a difference regardless of the WWE license. I mean THQ is about to lose it any time now anyway. I'd say you guys get in and take the money while it's there. Because in a few months when the WWE license is on the auction block, no one will give you guys a second look even if you have a near complete game.
For all the hype behind this thing, WE (we're all in this I feel) already have people laughing and hoping we fail simply based on the misinformed notion that we're a bunch of smug, smark-elitist bastards trying to bring down WWE. But the point of PWX was to make a great wrestling game that fans could be proud of by any means necessary. And I'm sorry but all the pride in the world won't pay the bills or allow you to hold your head up in the aftermath if you, the team, and your families are all suffering personally. Besides, the two biggest licenses are for now spoken for. And guarantee you if EA doesn't snatch the license out of THQ's hands then I'll jump off something really high. Use this your advantage, man. Yes, I say go with a publisher I been tell you guys that for years and even did some looking for you. But stress to them that with the two major licenses in the industry spoken for, you just don't feel that an assortment of indy leagues will benefit anyone.
In my opinion, with all due respect to ROH, IWA, and all the other indy promotions, there's just no value in them. They're not known anywhere near enough to make a difference between a licensed game and an unlicensed game. The same people who mark out for playing as KENTA, would amount to the same amount of people who would find your original cast of characters charming. The answer: not many. The difference is your original creations can't and won't ask you to pay them by the shitloads. And though I understand, that it doesn't have to be a wrestling league, and the first PWX could end up titled Celine vs The Simpsons Wrestling: Part D'oh!, I think it's safe to say that no publisher would be that stupid.
So I'm telling you, man. Going with a publisher is the right thing to do, but you have to put the right spin on it. You guys have a near complete game, you'd be farther along if you sue those bastards, and anyone looking your way would be at a loss to slap a license on it. You just have to let them know the consequences of a licernse in this situation. They'd have to pay you for control of the IP/engine, they'd have to pay the licensor to get the license and any royalties from copies sold, and then they'd have to cover their asses if the game doesn't sell regardless of the license. The ball is in your court, man. Just play it as intelligently as you can.
If you did a game that was liscneced as something along the lines of The Indy Wrestling game, I'd be happy. Also, how about, to make some cash, offer a position on the roster and cover art to people willing to send you $100? Only joking, sorta.
licensing would help then go for it. or you can always sue the company who sold you the first engine for all the 100 ks you lost because of their misleadings. do'nt go easy on them, they screwed you screw them back.
that's why they invented law and order, (that and to give us the most useful create of all, the shark type named the "lawyer") that's just my opinion i would go for the justice option.
I would think releasing a one match demo that could feature 360 degrees of what makes the game THE wrestling engine, it would garner interest. Put out the full foundation of what the game is built on, 2 wrestlers with full movesets, full reversal structure, submission structure, and momentum structure. If your studio has enough animations for one comprehensive match with a structure that can hold up to scrutiny, I think that is all that you should need. A single match with enough variable implications and replayability should be endless. Add a structure that allows players to gradually master it and a great game could be made out of a single match. Afterall, when people complain about graphic whores and games with bells and whistles but no substance, isn't that what they're looking for? I would say screw the caw, arenas, and gimmicks for now, and polish what makes PWX a fun true to form wrestling game. Potential investors would see a tangible version of what makes PWX a great game and then you could expand to creating all the animations necessary to flesh out the engine. Just make sure you leave no stone unturned for that one match.
Im not sure if a No Mercy 2 without licensed name wrestlers would ever have legs anyway. People can already get No Mercy for free and the engine has been exhausted. PWX being in its infancy is fine, as long as the base is strong. But if the game is literally WCWvsNWO, then there is a problem. Its my opinion to never sell-out unless absolutely necessary to survive. And damnit Dave take me up on my offer to work for free, i'll hand deliver you a comprehensive wrestling system all you have to do is find a way to make it tangible.
Guys if u need money u should do some comercial or more comercial. Talk to companies about putting their logo in the game in the opening credits maybe.I'm pretty sure that if u talk to 2 or 3 companies u should get about 1500$(not canadian) . If u know a compani that sells sporting goods talk to them about putting something like a poster with their logo in the hammerlock offer it for some amount of money and hope they agree. I don't think there will be anyone mad about the comercial in the game thq does it all the time promoting themselfs. I've seen it done in other games so if u haven't already done it u can at least try.That way there will be no "mad" fans or someone cashing in on PWX .
"Talk to companies about putting their logo in the game in the opening credits maybe.I'm pretty sure that if u talk to 2 or 3 companies u should get about 1500$(not canadian) ."
Just a quick unrelated point so that I may gloat. The canadian and American Dollars are, as of this week, 1:1 equal.
[quote][cite] Tonzophunn:[/cite]I say sue 'em for everything their worth. I mean everything. They tried to screw you, screw 'em back, and screw 'em hard.[/quote]
[quote][cite] dratsab:[/cite][quote][cite] Tonzophunn:[/cite]I say sue 'em for everything their worth. I mean everything. They tried to screw you, screw 'em back, and screw 'em hard.[/quote]
sounds hot[/quote] For a lot of money,too,so I don't see why not...
indeed. Maybe sue them later. i think if any indy promotions are interested in having a game or something it's worth it. People would likely create a bunch of these guys anyway. Also, have you ever thought about robbing a bank?
going to court might cost quite a bit but if you win you can also sue them for that money as well. which means you'll get the 100 k back plus your court spent money back.
And if they have the initial money to take them to court AND continue developing the game.
If they are low on money, do we want them to use the last money they have to get the game out to us, or wait possibly several years while they go through the court system? I think this may have been a factor in Dave's thinking as well.
Ok PWI, here is what you do. take it to the streets. start getting you local community involed. i understand that this is a game that we're talking about, but damn it, i think it's the best one out there. i'v seen game play from SvR '08 and it REALLY looks bad. your stuff looks better and your not eeven half done.
so you make a playable demo with some of your best stuff on it and you hit the hot spots around town. you know arcades, pizza places, malls, ect...
another thing you can do is start charging for this site. $5 a piece can go long way.
My only other idea at this time is for you to hold a fundraiser, but then it is a game not cancer.
Heres the way I see it. AAA in Mexico has Jose Cuervo on the Apron. UFC has Mickeys on Everyturnbuckle. WWE is sponsered by Stacker 2 or whatever game or movie came out that month. If each arena has a banner hanging from the ceiling, a poster on the wall of the hammerlock advertises some global gym, the marquee around the seats of the big arenas has scrolling ads, I'll have no problem with it. If anything it could add to the realism.
In the mexico arena, advertise a tequila. Canada, advertise Mukluks. Provide I don't see a pop up or an ad on my loading screen I'll have no problem what so ever with in-game advertising. Especially if it lowers the price of the game some. If you release a budget priced title with a few ads I doubt anyone will care. Now if I shelled out 60 bucks for shite-loads of ads I might be peeved, but it won't ruin the final product.
Do a Monday Night Raw and every time someone gets thrown out of the ring go to a commercial, when it comes back have the person who was on the offence in a rear chin lock.
here's an idea, go to indy shows near your place, and advertise your game there. 2 things you'll get out of it, 1 wrestling fans in the crowd who love indy, and obiously watch it, will be intrested in an indy game.
and the 2nd thing is this, you can ask indy wrestlers that if they want to be in your game's roster they can pay a certain amount of money, and they'll get free world wide advertising. it's a win win situation. plus you get chararters for the basic rosters complete with a moveset and attires.
[quote][cite] Krow:[/cite]Do a Monday Night Raw and every time someone gets thrown out of the ring go to a commercial, when it comes back have the person who was on the offence in a rear chin lock.[/quote]
That should seriously be a cutscene in PWX storyline... seriously.
Sue 'em. Yes, it'll hurt the company, but if the company is so damned crooked that it essentially stole 100k from you guys, then the company isn't worth keeping around.
[quote][cite] dratsab:[/cite][quote][cite] Krow:[/cite]Do a Monday Night Raw and every time someone gets thrown out of the ring go to a commercial, when it comes back have the person who was on the offence in a rear chin lock.[/quote]
That should seriously be a cutscene in PWX storyline... seriously.[/quote]
Maybe it could be a powerball move or something if you are a heel. You know, press your finisher when you're being pounded and it cuts to an advert and when it comes back you've got the face in a boston crap.
[quote][cite] Krow:[/cite] Maybe it could be a powerball move or something if you are a heel. You know, press your finisher when you're being pounded and it cuts to an advert and when it comes back you've got the face in a boston [b]crap[/b].[/quote]
THE DOG POOP! THE DOG POOP! BOSTON CRAB IN THE DOG POOP!
[quote][cite] Raven Ankh:[/cite]Sue 'em. Yes, it'll hurt the company, but if the company is so damned crooked that it essentially stole 100k from you guys, then the company isn't worth keeping around.[/quote] Dave should ask for the cash nicely first,and if they don't cough up,sue their ass with Kyle's dad...
While reading this, I was taking a look at my bank account to see if I could afford the $20 right now.
You know a lot more than us about the state of the game, so the PWX team is in the best position to decide if this risk will pay off. For what it's worth however, you've got my pledge to purchase whatever you release. I want a wrestling game I can play for years and not feel like I'm being cheated, and right now nobody in the majors is filling that role.
Something you may want to look into (I never thought I'd find myself saying this) is an advertising system in the game, similar to what Battlefield and Steam have been experimenting with.
1. Advertise as often as you can. Ever played an MDickie game? That guy really knows how to advertise without making it getting annoying. Maybe he's a better advertiser than a game developer. Put advertisment's on shirts, as logo's for the CAW-mode, on the canvas, on the ringpost, as poster at the wall, at the barriers, as tattos/face paints, on the referee's shirt, whatever.
2. Release intersting footage of the game. Something really impressing, like that kick-ass barbed-wire ring. Anything that hasn't been seen before. You must hype this game, but as cheaply as possible.
3. Put a hamster into your microwave and sue the company that made it for not putting it into the instruction booklet that hamster + microwave = stupid.
4. Sue that company, but you should check your chances of getting back your money before. If you lose the process, then you'll have even more lost money.
5. Do what THQ and all the big companys do: Promise something that isn't in the game *g*
6. Ask Indy promotions for licenses. A lot of small promotions wouldn't miss that chance, since it could make them twice as popular.
7. Give more In-Game videos out, not only moves. A lot of people think that this game doesn't exist and you're just bullshitting people with 3D-animations.
8. Go to wrestlingforums and ask people for their oppinion. Will raise your reputation (hopefully!).
10. Let me play the beta so I can write a preview for PWinsider. Cause for the millionth time I reviewed the latest Adam Ryland game on there and i'm [retty sure they wouldn't mind posting it
Thanks for the feedback guys and it's great to see the topic actually pulled DO and Punk out or retirement!
Seriously though, I owe everyone a big apology for not being a little clearer in the newsletter. We aren't considering replacing PWX with a smaller game. Not at all. What we are considering is polishing up what we have now in terms of content and using it as a fund raiser of sorts towards completing PWX. The reason I proposed calling it something unrelated (ex Hammerlock Wrestling) is because a small little demo (in my opinion) is so far removed from what PWX will ultimately be that it could harm our long term goals. But there have been internal suggestions that we call the mini-project PWX: Alpha or PWX: Uprising (inside joke on that one), something like that.
We're at least three months away from signing any publishing deal with a traditional publisher and even then one of them is requesting we sign over all source code as part of the deal. Meaning, at the end of the day we don't even own the wrestling engine we made. Then again, an $80k/year salary pays a lot of bills.
So what to do, what to do. The atmosphere at the studio is remarkably in favor of self publishing a mini-project first and at least trying to fund the next few months of PWX development ourselves.
As for suing that other engine company, cant do it. We came to an agreement with them to sort it all out already. Not a deal I'm thrilled with but our own lawyer advised against court action as it wasn't a guaranteed win and would take almost all of my time away from running the studio and developing PWX. So at the end of the day we cut our losses and moved forward building the game.
Back to the point, I won't be satisfied with something like Hammerlock Wrestling either. I just want to come out of this at the end of the day having made the game we want made and taking advantage of every opportunity to reach that goal. I really have no interest in just having a job making okay wrestling games for other publishers.