I listen to a lot of broadcasts about game development, and in particular to bizdev talks and interviews and whatnot that feature Jason della Rocca. I’ve listened to so many of his talks, and seen the same points made in my local startup community so often, that I have a mental checklist at this point.

1. The founding team: Art, Tech, Business. No more, no less
2. The track record: More games shipped is better, more money earned is WAY better.
3. The roadmap: 3-5 games, not just 1
4. The market slice: No mobile premium games, please (this is della Rocca’s mantra, I think)
5. The pre-funding funding climb: You, your family, your local funding community, and only then the bigger fish.

There could almost be a drinking game with these, except they’re pretty spot on. I hate to think that, because most of them don’t apply to Perfect Minute right now or in the foreseeable future, but the absolute best candidates will have all or almost all of the above, and those are the folks that deserve investors’ attention.

Love to hear from other folks – which of these do you have in place? What is missing in this checklist? What are you doing differently and having success with?