That Was the Fortnight That Was!

This Space for Rent

After a boring lecture on macroeconomics and international banking, one sagacious pupil at the back of the classroom remarked, “So what you’re saying is that capitalism works because everybody owes everybody?” Although that is probably not exactly what the instructor meant, it is instructive for us to measure the progress of The Little Game Company That Could since our last update. Ours is becoming a wondrous journey through the mysteries of small-business capitalism in the near-bankrupt state of California.

Our story begins with the recent decision to grow the company, take on an employee (now hired), and begin producing more games faster and cheaper so that VPG games can be sold by retailers and e-tailers in the very near future, and try to get more promotion for them across the internet. While our ramp-up time is just beginning on the company’s “labor,” “wholesale” and “marketing” sides of our small business, this quickly led us to confront another larger matter – space! Growing the company is making it too large to continue operating out of our spare rooms any longer; Victory Point Games now needs a real business location. Donning our pith helmets and binoculars, and lead by our faithful commercial real estate agent guide, to the beating tom-toms of native drums we explored the terra incognita around Alan Emrich’s school.

Our quest soon narrowed to two excellent locations, each offering more than just a suitable physical plant site. Currently, we are in negotiations for an industrial park space within walking distance of The Art Institute of California: Orange County near Harbor and Sunflower in Costa Mesa, California. This will make it easy for students to pop by before, between, and after classes for some game production and development time with the old hands at VPG there to teach them. If we secure this facility and the timing of everything works out properly, watch this space for the announcement of a Grand Opening celebration event circa early October. And no one will celebrate more than Mrs. Emrich, who will, after more than two years, finally get her house back on the weekends to enjoy in peace and quiet.

Of course, this means dealing with new business realities including rent, insurance, payroll taxes, alarms, phones, and a million other things that we are discovering all the time, but the help of Alan’s long time friend, Bill Fisher of Quicksilver Software, to answer our questions and help us find representatives, has been a supreme blessing. Ask one who has succeeded if you want to learn to be a success, and Bill Fisher has had the doors open at Quicksilver for decades (only Electronic Arts might be an older computer game company!). With the help of our many friends and allies, like Bill, we should have more good news to report in our next installment.

In the meantime, a lot more has happened in the last couple of weeks! Click on the link below to get caught up with all the news at Victory Point Games!