Hi everyone,

This is just something I've been kicking around in my head for the last few weeks and I thought I would post it here and see what you all think.

Let me start by saying that I don't know exactly how the gaming industry works, however the small snippets I've read over the years leave me with the distinct impression that some developers end up with a very small portion of the asking price of their games. It is also my understanding that poor sales despite critical acclaim for games leaves small, obscure developers only a few steps away from the poor house, and they end up being dissolved and their employees go their separate ways because their hard work just isn't paying the bills anymore.

I must admit that I fear Larian falls into the category of small developer struggling to 'make it big'. Whether this means they are only doing 'okay' or are living a very comfortable life as a result of DD's success, I can't say for sure, but if I had to pick one, I would guess they are closer to doing just 'okay' (Swen's intro in the manual implies that money or lack thereof played a big part in both DD and BD's development).

So, having said that, I think that capitalising on the success that Larian have already experienced would be a great idea, as it would allow them to build up more capital for their next game, and arguably give them more breathing room than they have experienced so far. My actual idea is for them to look into merchandising options: printing all sorts of Larian artwork, BD and DD logos and characters etc on T-shirts, mugs, mousepads, anything that will take it. Hell, maybe they could even hold a fan art competition and print the winning entry onto a shirt and give the winner a portion of the takings for that particular shirt. As a fan, I know that I would love to own a coffee mug or a T-shirt with my favourite developer's logo on it.

You get the idea. I know the idea of merchandising will bring on a few inevitable groans, but it's a good idea as I suspect profit margins per item are higher than on games and they are not as difficult to produce. I would LOVE to support Larian in this regard (ie I will gladly buy their goods), and think a lot of you would like to as well.

Just an idea. Would love to hear what you all think, so please, go wild.

Thanks for listening!

Cheers

PS: If my assumptions on Larian's liquidity are incorrect, please correct me. I am sure some of you have noticed that we don't usually hear about that sort of thing until we hear our favourite developer is going under, so there is definitely room for speculation.

PPS: I do not work for any company that could remotely assist in this endeavour if Larian decide to pursue it, so please don't think I am suggesting this for my own gain. I simply want to help Larian, and think this might be a good way to do it.