Game Pitches

tim-cain game-pitching game-development production design-documents publisher-relations

Abstract

Problem: How do you successfully pitch a game to a publisher, and what materials and approach actually work?

Approach: Tim Cain walks through every major pitch of his career — from Fallout through Arcanum, WildStar, and The Outer Worlds — breaking down what he prepared, what worked, and what the common elements were.

Findings: A successful pitch has three essential components: a compelling elevator pitch, a clear articulation of what makes the game cool/special/different, and a convincing argument for why your team should be the one to make it. Supporting materials (design docs, pitch decks, prototypes) help, but the core sale happens in those three beats.

Key insight: The "twist" that makes your game special also makes you indispensable — if the concept is unique enough, the publisher naturally concludes that the person who invented it is the one who needs to build it.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0B73CFvgsU8

Tim Cain's Pitch History

Tim opens by noting a rare distinction in his career: every game he successfully pitched to contract phase actually shipped. His track record across wildly different pitch formats demonstrates there's no single "correct" way to pitch.

Fallout — No Pitch At All

Fallout never had a formal pitch. Tim gradually assembled a team, and they were well into development before creating what they called a "vision doc" — not to pitch the game, but to explain it to people outside the team (administration, marketing, press). Everyone on the team knew what Fallout was, but they struggled to articulate it externally. They made three vision docs; the first two (by Tim) failed, and the successful third was written by Chris Taylor.

Arcanum — The 150-Page Design Doc

Troika's first game required a real publisher pitch. Tim, Leonard Boyarsky, and Jason Anderson wrote a massive design document (over 150 pages). They shopped it to Blizzard, Sony, Activision, Westwood, and Virgin. Nobody bit — except Sierra. The contract included a 90-day clause: build a prototype, get it approved, then make the full game. The prototype was more than a basic proof-of-concept — it was a "beautiful corner" with art, a character, a building, vegetation, and dynamic time-of-day lighting. It passed the milestone, and Arcanum shipped three years later.

Temple of Elemental Evil and Vampire — Verbal Only

These weren't original IP. Atari (for Temple) and Activision (for Vampire) approached Troika directly. Everything was done verbally — no pitch document, no design doc, no prototype. Contracts were signed and they were off.

WildStar — 90 Days to Reinvent

When the original WildStar design team was let go, Tim was given 90 days to create a new design including classes (which the game had never had). NC Soft specifically wanted to see classes. In that window, Tim's team came up with nine classes — one (the Spellslinger) originated entirely from an artist's concept art, with system mechanics invented to support the fantasy. Most classes shipped close to the pitch versions, though the Healer changed massively. The original setting (a planet at the center of a multiverse) was reworked after NC Soft exec Jeff Strain correctly pointed out that "a game that can add anything doesn't really have a setting."

The Outer Worlds — Design Doc Plus Pitch Deck

The elevator pitch ("Fallout meets Firefly") was established early. Tim and Leonard wrote a design doc covering setting, system mechanics, and story. When self-funding fell through within 30 days, they had to pitch to publishers. They created a PowerPoint pitch deck with art examples (borrowed from other artists in their target style, since they had no concept artists yet). Microsoft said no. Sony sent a large team, asked excellent questions, went to lunch still asking questions — then also said no. Take-Two's new label Private Division picked it up, based on the design doc and pitch deck alone.

The Three Essential Elements of a Pitch

After walking through his history, Tim distills what was common across all successful pitches:

The Elevator Pitch

Describe your game in one or two sentences that give anyone a clear idea of what it is — and make them want to know more. It must be evocative, not just descriptive.

  • Fallout: "A post-apocalyptic wasteland in a future that the 1950s thought would come to pass."
  • The Outer Worlds: "Fallout meets Firefly" / "Fallout in space."

What Makes It Cool, Special, or Different

You're already convinced your game is great. The challenge is convincing the publisher. Point to specific system mechanics, settings, or features they haven't seen before. But if it's too different, they get scared. The formula: "Imagine [familiar thing] with [a twist]."

  • Arcanum: "Imagine Lord of the Rings going through an industrial revolution." The publisher thinks: Lord of the Rings — I get that, it's sellable. Industrial revolution — that's interesting, tell me more.

This framing gives them comfort (the familiar) and curiosity (the twist) simultaneously.

Why You Should Be the One to Make It

Once they want the game, you need to convince them you're the right team. Early in your career, lean on concrete strengths: engine experience, team expertise, art capabilities. Later, lean on track record: previous games, review scores, return on investment. The beauty of having a truly unique twist is that it naturally implies only the people who conceived it can execute it.

Supporting Materials

Tim ranks pitch materials by impact:

  • Design doc: Have one to leave behind, but you're not really "selling" the document — it's reference material.
  • PowerPoint pitch deck: Helps a lot. Publishers like having something visual to look at during the pitch.
  • Beautiful corner prototype: If you can build a polished vertical slice showing what the game will look and feel like, it's extremely persuasive. A gray-box prototype won't sell a publisher, but a beautiful one will.
  • Playable demo: The strongest possible support. If you can demonstrate your setting, your unique feature, or your core loop in action, it lets the publisher start imagining the full game — and that's when they get hooked.

References