Finding A Company to Build a Flash Game

June 10, 2005 8:17 AM

A colleague emailed me with an idea for a computer game to illustrate and educate about health care reform in the US, something a la Sim City, but much simpler, just interactive. How would I go about finding and contacting companies or design groups to create the game and get bids?

It'd probably be paid for by a tiny lil' non-profit, so if you know of any people that are passionate about health care reform and might do it pro bono or at a reduced rate, that'd be great to know, too.

posted by gramcracker to computers & internet (4 comments total)

If you're looking for some ideas, you might check out the old DOS game SimHealth by Maxis.
posted by blueberry at 9:02 AM on June 10, 2005

My first thought would be to approach MoveOn and see if you can interest them. If so, they could put out the call for volunteers among their large, and techie (to a greater degree than the general population) membership/mailing list subscribers (something they do on a regular basis.)
posted by Zed_Lopez at 11:42 AM on June 10, 2005

The budget probably isn't high enough to shop around most game developer companies, though many do smaller side projects - perhaps look for companies that do online web/flash games, like Popcap Games for example - I'm not sure. Another option is to check out the indiegamer forums, as there a lot of lower budget developers there for shareware games and the like, while Gamasutra is an industry resource that has some resources for the more expensive end of game development (multi-million dollar titles) down to smaller scale productions. I haven't spent much time there, but I imagine it might be useful.
posted by -harlequin- at 3:33 PM on June 10, 2005

The game industry is highly competitive, much like the music industry or hollywood. You might be able to get a team to develop your idea as a portfolio piece. Keep in mind that anyone with experience who is willing to work for nothing is either *extremely* dedicated to health care reform or has a major personality issue. Dig a bit into their psychology before you make a committment. Tech people in general are known for their quirks.
posted by b1tr0t at 9:49 PM on June 10, 2005