FlashGameLicense (FGL) is an online broker of Flash games, run by Adam Schroeder and Chris Hughes. FGL was created by Adam and Chris as a service to address the difficulties in connecting game developers with the sponsors/licensers interested in their games. They were kind enough to answer a few questions for us.

FreeGamesNews: Could you please introduce yourself and let us know how did you get in Flash games?

Adam: My name is Adam Schroeder. I actually got into programming by making games. This was nearly 10 years ago and I was using Director and lingo. I quickly got sucked into “real” work until I ran across Kongregate last year. I dug up my old games and posted them. I immediately got a ton of feedback and the “game spark” was re-ignited!

Chris: My name is Chris Hughes. I have a similar story as Adam. I used to actually make Flash fan games for Ultima Online starting back in ’98 or so. I’ve been a programmer in various aspects ever since. Then a little more than a year ago I started fiddling with Flash again as a hobby, and actually made some games. Whilst searching the web for places to upload my game I stumbled upon Kongregate. Even though my games were horrible I loved the ability to get feedback quickly, and just the thought of being paid for my games excited me.

FreeGamesNews: Adam, you created FlashGameSponsorship last year, “to help other flash developers decide if they should seek a sponsorship for their flash game”. What was your main motivation behind creating this site?

Adam & Chris: As I working on Asteroids Revenge 3 I started looking for information on how to make money from it. I had seen scattered information about ‘sponsorships’ and people getting money for their games. Money was certainly not my motivation in making the game but if I was making it anyways… why not do right. ;)

I was amazed at the ‘lack’ of information that was available. It was incredibly difficult to find out how the process worked but I was determined to do it ‘right’. I spent a tremendous amount of time searching the net, talking with developers, sponsors and anyone else that would listen. After I was finished and successfully sponsored the game I thought I would document everything to help other developers like myself.

My main motivation is to help other developers get the most value and exposure for their games and ultimately be encouraged to make bigger and better ones!

FreeGamesNews: Do you plan to add more testimonials/content to your site soon?

Adam & Chris: Definitely! We have lots to add. It’s hard right now to find the time. We are so busy working deals and making new relationships that things without deadlines are often pushed back again and again. It seems that our ‘TO DO’ lists keep growing longer and longer the more we accomplish.

FreeGamesNews: You two decided to launch FlashGameLicence last December. Please tell us more about this site and how you decided to work together as a team?

Adam & Chris: The goal of FlashGameLicense is to streamline the process of licensing a game, help normalize prices, and ultimately increase the total ‘value’ of a game by maximizing all of the possible opportunities.

Essentially a developer can upload a game (new or old), specify the type of licenses they are open to and, if they are selling non-exclusives, list the prices they want for various versions. Then all of the ‘sponsors/buyers’ on the site can view the games and make offers. We currently have over 100 ‘sponsor’ accounts registered on the site and are adding new ones every day.

We both have similar goals to help developers and “re-shape” this flash game industry. There is so much to do we can’t even imagine doing it alone, and even now some of the things we used to do ourselves (like building the sites) we are having to done externally so we are able to focus on the business and relationship side of things.

FreeGamesNews: How much do you charge developers for each deal, if any?

Adam & Chris: Currently we ask for a 10% commission on the upfront licensing price. However, that is at the developer’s discretion. We have found that about 80% of the people are more than happy to give this to us. There have been a ton of games where we have gotten the developer 2-3x as much as existing offers (or what they got on previous games). When someone is getting a $1500 check instead of $500 they usually have no problem giving us the $150 and saying ‘Thank you!’.

FreeGamesNews: Okay, let’s say I’m a developer. Adam, if I follow the advices you give in FGS, there is no need for me to feature my game on FGL as you have already listed the most influential portals on your site. Am I wrong?

Adam & Chris: That is an interesting question. We actually touch on that pretty well here. I do think that someone that follows the advice on the site and spends a lot of time effort contacting people can find themselves a great deal.

Our argument previously was that developers don’t want to do this part and would prefer to just make games. However, with some of our new initiatives and partnerships we are setting up we will be able to offer opportunities that very few independent developers would ever be able to get on their own.

Also, we’ve actually been told by many sponsors that they are more likely to look through our site than to sift through their email for great games since our site offers a convenient way to look through many games at once, and offers them a way to tag games that they are interested in.

Another thing that we have learned through FGL is that there are many smaller start-up portals that are willing to put down decent amounts of cash to scoop up games that they think will bring traffic to their site. And this goes for both exclusive and non-exclusive licenses.

FreeGamesNews: some sites run Flash games competitions in which they get the rights to distribute every game that enter their contest all over the web (the submitted games must include their brand to enter the contest). As a developer, would you enter such a competition and take the risk to get nothing from your efforts?

Adam & Chris: I would never enter into a contest like this. We have actually written up a fairly recent article about Flash Contest. Not all of them are bad.

FreeGamesNews: what should be the ideal Flash game competition from a developer’s point of view?

Adam & Chris: One that doesn’t restrict the developers ability to promote and leverage the game.

FreeGamesNews: What do you think of the state of web games developers today? What do you expect for the upcoming years?

Adam & Chris: This is an incredibly exciting time in the Flash Game World. The value of games continues to increase as they attract a larger and larger audience. Traditional game companies like EA, Edios and others are seeing the potential and scrambling for a piece of the pie. There are hosts of new companies with venture capital sprouting up hoping to build the next Webkinz, Habbo Hotel or Club Penguin. We could go on for pages!

The two biggest things that we see are:
The value of in-game advertising increasing and more games using this method.

Being able to make a lot of money by retaining the rights to your games and selling non-exclusive licenses. The value of non-exclusives licenses probably deserves its own entirely separate interview. ;)

FreeGamesNews: Any advice for other developers wishing to create their own Flash game?

Adam & Chris: There are tons of resources to help developers make games. Our area of expertise is in marketing those games so that developers get the maximum value possible, and we think we’ll keep the advice we share in that space.

FreeGamesNews: What about the future of FlashGameLicence; any particular plan?

Adam & Chris: Lol… we are full of plans and evil (I mean evilfree) schemes! The flash game market is constantly changing and our goal is to help guide and shape it in a direction that both drastically increases the value of AAA content and leaves the control of that content in the developer’s hands!

FreeGamesNews: Finally, any closing words for all the readers of FreeGamesNews?

Adam & Chris: Thanks for taking the time to learn more about us.

If you are a developer making games please consider using our services. You might be surprised how much money you can get for top quality content while still retaining control over your content.

If you run a game portal or want to leverage games for any aspect of your business please contact us. We would love to hear your desires and goals, share our thoughts on the industry and find a way where we can work together. We are already working with several companies in this fashion.

Eric (FreeGamesNews Editor): Thanks a lot guys for your time and best luck for all your future plans!