A study conducted by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) found that, in the United States, almost two thirds (65%) of adults play games.
Taking into account that almost everyone owns a phone or a computer, gaming being one of the most popular hobbies shouldn’t a surprise to anyone as it is enjoyed by young and old people alike. Some even own a dedicated gaming console, such as the PlayStation 4/5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch or something else.
We all know that games are not perfect, and the need to contact game developers for support and/or feedback arises sooner or later, leaving players sometimes confused on how to contact a game developer, with some not bothering to do so.
Other people, on the other hand, inspired by the titles they have previously played, want to get in touch with game developers for questions about the day to day work of a developer, how to send them ideas for games and even how to hire developers for their game idea.
In this article, we will talk you through these 4 main reasons for which people want to contact game developers. You will learn where to ask your game development career questions, how to approach them when it comes to support/feedback, and how to contact developers/game studios for hire to create your next masterpiece!
How to contact a game developer for hire
If you have an idea for a game and have the money to invest, but you don’t want to deal with the nitty-gritty elements of game development, then you will have to find a dedicated developer (or a studio). Here are your options:
1. Game development communities, such as IndieDB;
2. Online freelance platforms, such as Fiverr and Upwork;
3. Getting in touch with a dedicated game development studio, such as Main Leaf.
We know first hand how making games is a complex endeavor. It requires a deep understand of many areas – game design, programming, marketing, asset creation, animation, UI/UX and project management to name a few.
At Main Leaf, we also understand how working with qualified professionals is a must if you want to build a high quality game. With over 70 professionals working on every aspect of a game, we are ready to turn your idea for a game into reality.
Adding up to hundreds of years of collective game design and development experience, we have been creating fantastic games on demand for over a decade now.
If you are interested in working with us, send us a message by requesting a game quote today. To do so, head to the top of this page and click on the green button. We will get back to you as soon as we can!
How to contact a game developer for career questions
Like happens in many fields, it’s very common for people who are interested in game development to have a number of questions to which they want answers – be it teenagers who are deciding their future or adults looking into a career change.
One of the best ways to get in contact with professionals in the game development industry is to ask around on forums all over the internet, namely Quora and some Reddit (we recommend /r/gamedev and its related subreddits), and ask away to your hearts content, allowing many game developers (both veterans and newcomers) to share their experiences with you.
Don’t forget to read and follow the rules for each forum, which may vary from site to site.
You could also try shooting an email to small indie game studios for career questions, but answers are not guaranteed.
How to contact a game developer for game support/feedback
We have probably all been there trying to be heard by game developers – be it for support, bug reporting or feedback. This might sound simple, but oftentimes it’s another hurdle in and on itself.
The first thing you have to do is to get in touch with game developers through the right channel. Some prefer to get contacted through Steam forums, a dedicated forum or read feedback from a subreddit, others would rather have it happen through email. It could happen through a form on their website and some games even offer the option to get support while in-game.
Even if you have to look around for a while, almost every game will tell you how to best contact them somewhere.
When it comes to making yourself heard by larger game studios’ developers, it is often an even harder task, as suggestions, feedback and bug reports hardly ever goes directly to them. Thankfully, they tend to have a dedicated team for game support, so chances are they will get you covered within a business day.
Your emails and messages on forums are likely going to be collected and filtered out by community managers, who will then share the summary of your feedback and discuss it with their team.
In any case, when contacting developers for feedback, make sure to follow these guidelines:
1. Don’t use abusive language: it’s the quickest way to be ignored by them. Remember the human!
2. Give emphasis on emotions instead of solutions: tell game developers how a mechanic or a balance decision makes you feel and, if they agree, the developers will come up with a solution themselves. It doesn’t mean you can’t suggest potential solutions, however;
3. Assume changes (especially balance ones) to be difficult to make: changing a number somewhere could unintentionally unbalance something else, which could be catastrophic;
4. If you are reporting a bug/crash/exploit, give developers as much information as you possibly can: describe in detail where, why and how it happened. What were you doing at that time? Which buttons/keys were pressed? Which platform are you playing on? What are your computer’s specifications? The more information developers have, the more likely it is they can fix it.
How to contact a game developer for a game idea
Generally speaking, don’t. The video game industry doesn’t have a shortage of incredible game ideas, which are a dime a dozen. It doesn’t lack creativity and people with fantastic game “visions” either.
What the industry lacks, however, is the time and resources to turn them real, because creating high quality games can take anywhere from months to multiple years and is a huge money sink until the game is ready to be published.
On the other hand, if you do find someone who will listen to your game ideas, then make their attention worth your time. Get yourself a very detailed Game Design Document (GDD), in which you talk about the specifics of the game, its genre, mechanics, challenges, art style, business model, and so on, and give them a small presentation in which you will pitch your game.
“But I have a fully working game prototype and a marketing strategy!”
Now that could be interesting, but making yourself noticed to big game development studios is extremely hard. Even then, if you can’t get someone interested in your game pitch, it won’t matter and all your efforts will be wasted.
You might get small indie developers to listen to you, but chances are they have incredible ideas of their own and don’t have the resources to help you fully flesh out your game – no matter how outstanding the prototype is – unless you have the money to fund the development process.
Hire a game studio
If you are interested in working with us, send us a message by requesting a game quote today. To do so, head to the top of this page and click on the green button. We will get back to you as soon as we can!
