Just was wondering whats the best way to contact some developers that seem to have disappeared? Like Symbiosis Media, Inc. I'm doing some screen grabs to get the peoples names but was just curious how others have done it. james
Geez, that's a tough one. One way to go about it is to find out who owns the current publishing rights to whatever game you're talking about, although I'm not sure how exactly you would go about this.
It's not easy - that's for sure. In my experience, I've literally spent hours (and I mean hours) googling for the name. If you read the results very carefully then you can be taken on an interesting and sometimes rewarding trip which sometimes results in success but often a dead end. I still have 4 major contacts I'm looking for but can't find. It's basically the same as being a private eye or a detective, you have to be prepared to put in the ground work to get results. I've had the most success from finding forums where old games journalists and developers hang out. Mostly the developers still work in the business although their original companies may have gone belly up. I wanted to talk with Fred Gill for my project, and despite the subject I wanted to talk about being nearly 20 years old, the guy is still working in the business and winning awards for his work in things like Battlefield MC. I found him on a developers forum. Try here for a start, (of course it means registering on lots of forums, but most will let you know via email when someone has replied so you can register and forget about it 'till you get the email. http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/ For a place where old devs and journalists hang out, try Jeff minters forum (I struck gold there just yesterday on a lead I wanted) http://www.yakyak.org/index.php The forums of current game mags are especially good as they are moderated by people still writing about the subject and possibly have contacts with the guys if they are still active. so I'd recommend something like: http://www.retrogamer.net/forum/ Never forget that when networking, the first person you meet may not know the person you are after, but they may be able to put you on to someone who does, or help you to refine your search. Finally, If the person is still developing games, then don't expect a quick response, these guys are supremely busy (even excruciatingly busy!) and although they may send out a quick reply if you get their email address saying they are happy to help, in some cases they will take an eternity to answer fully. I'm still waiting on one guy after 6 months. I don't want to keep prodding him but it's been a long wait.... Also, don’t forget to show these guys respect and patience (I’m not suggesting you wouldn't), they don’t have to talk to you, you are the only one getting anything out of the deal so don’t be too pushy. Sometimes I just want to yell at the ones being slow to get back to me, but they have insane jobs and usually families and definitely their own lives to worry about, so anything more than a 5 minute email can be a big deal to them. Hope this helps, Mqark.
mqark thanks for all those great links, Yeah i know how long it can take for someone to respond I used to chat with Justin Monast all the time from Naughty Dog. Always about one certain game. I'm curretly a gdmag subscriber have been for about 4 years but never checked out the forums will do that later today. james
