My friend got me hooked here. Then we decided to make our own game. We been working on material.
I want to ask some questions.
What is the difference between HG and COG. I mean i heard HG asks us to post a demo before we can lunch a game by HG. But what are some main differences. If there are any.
Any very good artists here? We are looking to add lott of artwork .not just black and whitr. Some very fine work. We have seen acceptional artwork. Maybe someone can guide me to someone like that. An pic here for example.
How much would artwork cost .just give idea for this picture if possible.
I saw other threads before. Where question was asked how much does HG and COG pays. I guess writers are not allowed to answer exact amount. Only vague andwers like good enough for a holiday.
So let’s say Thailand holiday is 4000 USD and Italian holiday is 7000 USD. Can anyone just give any answer
On this now?
I am asking because i don’t want to end up paying too much on artwork and we both spend months and end up paying from pocket. I hope you can understand my concern.
HG (Hosted Games) are games that are made by users like you and me and then submitted to COG, the company. They are full games that we (the users) write, edit, code, and design with no input from COG the company.
COGs (Choice of Games) are official games made by the company, written by authors they specifically vetted and hired to create games of their choosing. You are not writing a COG unless you pitch your resume to the company and they hire you and pay you advances.
COG authors are paid $7,500-$10,000 in advance while they’re writing their games, then are given 10%-25% of the royalties after the games are published. Hosted Games authors (like you) will be paid a 25% cut of the profits (royalties) after the company publishes your game for you. So whatever you make is 25% of however much your game sells and how popular it is.
Rinari has you covered for most information so I figured I should just answer for your second question. A lot of recent covers for COG and HG games have been done by Adrienne Valdes and Abigail Larson. If there’s other artists you’ve seen in game covers that you like, their names should be credited in the about section of the game. Neither of these artists seem to have their prices up on their websites, but you can easily contact them through there websites for a quote and discussions of budget
I’d just like to point out though that pieces with the level of detail seen in HG/COG game covers can be upwards 100 USD and many artists may charge by the hour instead of having a flat price for their work, so if you’re not looking to spend much, having more than one piece of artwork in your game may be out of budget for you. If commissioning turns out to not be an option for you, there are plenty of royalty free stock images and free-to-use image editing software you can easily find online (and with using stock images, be sure to read their terms of use carefully to avoid possible trouble with the owner(s))
Thanks. You covered so much info so easily. I really appreciate that.
I have more favourite games in HG then in COG.
After successful games like Great tournament don’t there authors get invited for COG?
@anon86661845 i need many portraits. All games asks players to choose hair colors or skin or size. But these things are no actual use in thise games.i want to give player 2 or 3 options. Where player can choose. So i need portraits like that. Then players can choose color of clothes.in different times of game players will see there MC and feel much more connected. Same way few portraits for other characters.
100 USD each would be extremely hard to do unless we get paid by COG then. Is there some way to be invited to write for COG? like a successful game of specific sale or something?
Asking so maybe i can add few in first part of game then be paid and add more in next part.gotta do what i can.
Thank you both for your helpful answers.i genuinely mean it
It’s generally the other way around. Authors can contact CoG with a C.V. and if CoG are impressed, then they might consider inviting the author to write for the CoG label. The author would have to have previous experience though, for instance, published authors, people who write heavily narrative RPGs and people will successful Hosted Games could apply, but there’s no guarentee that CoG will invite the author to write for them.
That is what i meant. Of course COG couldn’t start sending invites. Unless i guess members knew someone personally and advised them to send a cv to COG
I’m not going to name exact figures, but I can tell you that CoG pays a lot more than $100 USD for artists who do cover art for official CoG titles. Given that these are often projects that can take dozens of labour-hours to produce, and that CoG is pretty committed to paying a living wage to anyone it subcontracts out to, it’s a pretty fair amount for work done.
I’m sure they do! Since I don’t know the exact prices, I just made a very rough guess based off the bases prices of other artists I follow who do similar level work. A lot of people on tumblr and Twitter underprice themselves a lot though and those made it look like like 100 would be a safe bet for the absolute lowest for a cover page for an independent writer
I have checked both of there websites. Very nice work. They seem to be focusing more on environment or say things surrounding the character. I need more focus on character. A picture that can show feelings .i will talk to them. Maybe they can do it.after its all about what we ask for. Though if 100 i will have to go for lower level art sadly.can’t afford too many. Still thanks @anon86661845
Well to be honest.we both (my friend) and me are not experienced with writing.we have been reading and watching for tips. But we can not really ask someone to help us in writing or we can not call it our work. So best way to make up for it is is giving players more fun on characterization.
Seeing there mc how they want to and on different moods according to occasion would definitely feel much more connected.it will help paint a picture in mind.
Though i know it is not a must. Still would you explain what you mean by i don’t have to?something else i can do or just saying that i can work without it?
It’s definitely not a must. I’d say save your money and invest your time in writing. You want to have lots of customization, with different outfits for the MC? Practice writing those descriptions.
Lots of people (myself included) like to imagine our own MCs and characters anyway. I’m not saying having a portrait would be bad, of course, but for me, that’s more in line with traditional/visual novel games.
The beauty about HG and COG games is that you can imagine pretty much anything. “Vast, unstoppable power of your imagination” and whatnot.
The motto of CoG/HG games is “powered by your vast imagination.”
Eeey! What’a sneaky ninja!
You rarely need artwork for games you made, outside of cover art and icon. If it’s me, I’ll add some “chapter image” or “horizontal separator line” artwork to spice things up a bit; and these you can create by your ownself easily, too.
Also, looking through the forum, there’s some threads on how people put more importance on the stuff you can customize somehow coming into play than just the visuals.
I feel like I should clarify that even a $100 commission will probably not be the high quality work. From the artists currently taking commissions that I took as example, $100 was the base price for a full color bust commission (meaning only the shoulders and up of a character) and the price increases depending on the complexity of the design/whether or not they’re working with a preexisting design or have to create one themselves and the amount of time spent. Most artists I know of do this by a percentage (10%, 20% and so on) rather than a set amount of money, so you could easily be looking at, say, $150+ for that, and two or three times that or even more for a full-body piece. Also, when buying commissions, it’s considered polite to tip your artist as well, especially if they’re undercharging. What you described with having different character portraits sounds more like it would be a long term project though, which may be more a case of paying by the hour than by what I just described, which are more one-time commissions. With that type of project, you would definitely be spending much more than only $100
I agree with others have said about focusing more on just the writing aspect. Not having artwork won’t detract from the experience and there are plenty of games that don’t describe the player character’s appearance at all
I appreciate the hard work and art someone can create. I just didn’t expected it to be that costly. Because ibwas thinking about Many portrait for each character on different times. It’s not that i can’t do it.it’s just i think it might be too high then 25% could pay.
I really want to create a game that i have been looking to create. Giving player everything. If i give low level art in first part i can’t make it much better in 2nd if i even want to. Unless same artist does that work too. But i am not giving up. I’ll ask around. Sister loves DIY stuff. Maybe she knows someone. If not then ill pay from pocket. Just company shouldn’t say no to them after it.some of it will be little hot. Nothing naked but still
@Mary_Duffy you are only staff members who seems easy to approach.every where i look. I’ll have to ask you for some advice in future. Hope you will have some time .
