In a message dated 02.02.2001 1:26:25, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
<< If I had taken Mikes advice there would be no
Necromancer Games. >>
Since Clark was gracious enough to agree with most of my rantings, I'll just
point out that he *did* more or less follow what I wrote: went to Eric Rowe,
put out product that could compete with professional publishers (and a
start-up has to be better, not "just as good," to counteract the advantages
we gain from long-standing relationships), and learned from one of our
industry's (and it IS an industry) most skilled execs.
And Clark is right, the charge of building your own company is hard to top. I
think only having children was more thrilling (well, maybe discovering sex,
too). But he hopefully hasn't experienced the horrific agony of lying awake
all night, wondering if you can make payroll in the morning. Of asking
yourself if you've taken your employees' trust and rewarded them with
failure. Contemplating looking your wife in the eye and telling her that the
years of sacrifices, the weird hours, the lost days that you'll never get
back, the vacations spent at game cons and the massive debts you've rung up
were all for nothing. Or hearing a distributor tell you that yes, he's had
record sales of your products, and "if you want to get paid for them, you'll
have to sue me. Maybe in five or six years you'll collect" - all the while,
he's building new warehouses and outcompeting the guys who DO pay you based
on price (which is easy with a 100% discount).
I'm thrilled for Clark, and glad that he gambled and won. I'm just bitterly
cynical enough to point out that it was a gamble.
Mike at Avalanche
Jaded Game Exec
