Page 21 - The Bootstrapper Bible

ChangeThis Hereʼs how id used the seven bootstrapper tools: 1 NOTHING TO LOSE. The method used by id threatened to destroy software distribution as we know it. Which was fine with id, but not so fine with the guys at the big software companies. Thereʼs no way in the world they would have had the guts to do this themselves. 2 HAPPY WITH SMALL FISH. Because id didnʼt spend any money on advertising, and because it had developed the game itself, it didnʼt need Doom to be the best-selling computer game of the year to be happy. Even 30,000 sales would have been enough to make the venture successful. 3 PRESIDENTIAL INPUT. Id had total consistency. The game was designed, marketed, licensed, and managed by the same four people. No miscommunication here. 4 RAPID R&D. There were no budget committees, no marketing schedules, no organizational charts to get in the way. (Itʼs interesting to note that it took three times as long for id to create Doomʼs sequel. The gameʼs makers had apparently forgotten what they had learned about rapid R&D.) 5 THE UNDERDOG. Consumers love to root for the hippies at id. It makes them more likely to spread the word and to buy (not copy) the final game. 6 LOW OVERHEAD. Thereʼs no question that high overhead costs would have wiped these guys out. 7 TIME. They knew they could ship when they needed to, instead of when shareholders demanded a new influx of sales. Because they controlled time, they could use it to their advantage. | iss. 6.01 | i | U | X | + | h 21/103 f