Introversion

hello
my name is dev and I was wondering if I could ask your help. I recently bought darwinia and I have greatly enjoyed playing it through. It has to be probably one of the best games I've ever played, ever and believe I've played a lot of games.
to the point, this year alongside my A-levels I am taking as level design and technology: resistant materials. Darwinia is such a beautiful place (to me anyway) I would really like to base my DT project around the game.
For this I require 2 things; permission from introversionand to use their characters etc and secondinput from the target market i.e. you! After all these people who buy the game and enjoy it who would buy something related to darwinia.
I have had a few ideas as to what I should do: a desk organiser that looks like a Darwinian, a lamp based around an incubator, or even just a one-off "digital dreamscape". I have done a few sketches and jotted down some ideas when I type them up/scan themI will post them to you to look at.

Before that though could I ask please if you would be willing to partake in a small questionnaire; as it is part of my coursework (to do a questionnaire on the target market). Any ideas or comments all generally things that you think would be cool to have please post and let me know.there is a strong possibility that if I design a product that is feasible it will be able to be mass produced and then sold through the website along with the posters etc which would be cool as it supports the "bedroom programmers movement" something I believe in greatly.

I did send an e-mail via the introversion contact us pagehowever I have yet to receive a response I didn't feel it was appropriate to send random e-mailsto the developers (whose e-mails are easily available of this website) so I thought I'd hit the forums.

I don't want to sound pushy however my coursework deadlines are approaching rapidly so any help he can give me would be greatly appreciated ASAP

thanks

dev

this really isn't related to my previous comments however if you have any literature or posters or pictures I work Toys "R" Us and I could totally slyly stick some stuff up somewhere if you wanted. Granted it is only one store but it isbetter than nothing.

sounds goooooooood.

Ok Ive knocked togather a poll - please fill it out and post any other comments you might have.

Edit: I cant have as many options I wanted on the poll due to the phpBB system. These are the responses I had come up with...

Yes - Id want something that lights up/makes noises etc
Yes - Id want something simple, no blinking flashing crap for me
Yes - But it would have to do something useful too...
Yes - but only if it had the lil green d00ds in it
Yes - but only if it had bad guys on it (they are bad but they are still cool)
Yes - but I want squads/engineers etc on it - my units are l33t
Yes - something of high quaility, Id stick it on my desk, something to draw attention
Mayb....but I'd like >stuff< (post comments)

Thanks
Dev

Ian Wood wrote:You might want to post the poll before people try to answer it...
[edit - Windows is teh sux and crashed mid post - my bad sorry]

You might want to post the poll before people try to answer it...

Yes - But it would have to do something useful too

I hate to say it, but really I don't think there's anything I need more than a couple posters for my wall. The first thing that came to mind was a translucent, green-coloured lamp in the shape of a Darwinian that lit up from the base... but then I realized that I'd never actually turn it on as I prefer total darkness. It would be awesome for the office/cubicle, though... if I worked in one.

It occurs to me, too, that merchandising seems a bit contrary to what IV is about. It's more of a strategy for large corporations to milk their products.

xyzyxx - Sacrifice, right? I play it so much that I cracked it and have a shortcut to it on my quickbar.

Posters and tshirts are OK, I don't think I'd buy any other merchandise

Fair enough guys, but I think your blowing this a lil out of proportion (its only an A level project after all)...

Keep the opinions coming

I'd love to have a mug with one of the little guys on it, and I am waiting for someone to give NeoThermic the go ahead to make more t-shirts :P I am sure that there are other things that I would also buy, out of a general love for IV, but I would use the mug and t-shirt. However, a caveat. I wouldn't be happy if the items were not of high quality. I don't want a mug with a logo slapped on the side that will fade in the dishwasher. I don't want cheap ceramics. I want a solid, sturdy, well painted, well glazed mug. Something that could be used to beat children and small animals, if it came to that. This is why more complicated merchandise frightens me -- it is expensive and hard to do well. A DG lamp would be cool, but it would also probably be made with cheap plastic.

xander

Mugs - l33t. Thing is, doing mugs doesn't really quailify as an A level project. Though - on a point of reference isnt there some webshop that makes mugs/t-shirts etc cafepress or something isnt it.

Lamps are looking hawt at the moment. Ill put some sketches and stuff together mayb.

Dev wrote:Mugs - l33t. Thing is, doing mugs doesn't really quailify as an A level project. Though - on a point of reference isnt there some webshop that makes mugs/t-shirts etc cafepress or something isnt it.

Two problems with CafePress:
1) Darwinia is copyrighted, and it wouldn't do me or IV any good to violate that copyright to have my very own mug.
2) CafePress only does white. I want a black mug with a DG.
However, this is neither here nor there, I am just ranting.

xander

And 3) From what I've heard, Cafepress quality sucks.

Dave2 wrote:And 3) From what I've heard, Cafepress quality sucks.

^^ that too.

xander

I had a feeling they might lol

I would like now to rephrase my question...for the sake of my grade book.
*Hypothetically* if someone was going to give you some Darwinia related object - what would you like it to be.