All gamers should publish something in print form... Any decent print shop, Kinkos included, can make the booklets, so write something, print out 50, mark them up a bit and set yourself up a Paypal button, and spam away on the boards! We're creators and participants, not passive entertainment receivers...That's from Jim Raggi, at his always-intriguing blog Lamentations of the Flame Princess. I should point out that Jim is no hypocrite on this call to action. He's published the very cool Random Esoteric Creature Generator for Classic Fantasy Role-Playing Games and Their Modern Simulacra, which besides deserving some sort of award for longest title for a 28-page digest also happens to be a really cool random monster generator. And the designer's notes/manifesto/rantings are about worth the cover price alone. Goodman Games has picked it up for publication in the same "generic" line as Rob Conley's super-nifty Points of Light. The new version isn't out yet as far as I can tell and you can't have my copy! Jim is also working on a couple of modules that I can't wait to see.
Anyway, getting back to the quote above, I suspect it would be a complete nightmare if every gamer published their own supplement. The initial glut of knock-off D&D support and replacements had a lot of subpar stuff. Even Judges Guild (who pretty much got there first and did it best) has some drek in their catalog. And anyone who slogged through RPGNow during the hieght of the d20 boom knows what I'm talking about as well. Sure, eventually the distributed meta-mind of the internets would figure out who was good and who sucked, but how many turds would I personally have to buy to help out the cause? Keep in mind that I'm the kind of guy who sets the bar pretty low when it comes to useability of gaming stuff. But even I have my limits.
On the other hand, there are a lot of cool gamers out there that I'd love to hear from. And writing your own supplement or adventure is not an impossible task. Really, anyone who has a lengthy set of house rules or new stuff (monsters, spells, equipment, adventures, etc.) can clean up their notes and put it out. You don't even have to follow the formula James suggests. Releasing a PDF online (whether you host it yourself or through a cool outfit like YourGamesNow) can get more eyes on your work. And lots of very groovy stuff is coming out on Lulu.
Even though I might buy a few stinkers along the way, in the final analysis I have to come down on the side of supporting Jim's basic assertion that more people in the hobby should be publishing more stuff. I've seen too many situations where people thought my favorite gamebooks were crap to sincerely insist on any objective standard beyond simple readability.
Uh, is YourGamesNow down at the moment?
ReplyDeleteJim Raggi's obsession with print confuses me and the idea that printing your ideas somehow makes them more valuable than if you'd placed them on a wiki somewhere makes no sense to me.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, I definitely agree with the underlying idea of getting your modules, rules, notes, supplements and sweet ideas out there.
(and yup, yourgames now is down)
ReplyDeleteIt goes down from time to time; not sure why, and I think when it does, it doesn't for everyone.
ReplyDeleteThe glut of D20 was pretty bad, but I think it is still worth encouraging everyone to be a participant. Most people will not, which I think is what makes it worth saying that everybody should.
Well, even poorly written stuff sometimes has a fun idea. I'd just modify 'em to suit my purposes.
ReplyDeletePDF files are great but I like the idea of printing them out at Kinkos. Then you can go to your FLGS and talk the owner into putting it on the shelves. Any selling outlet is worth it.
ReplyDelete"I suspect it would be a complete nightmare if every gamer published their own supplement."
ReplyDeleteI disagree. If the RPG bloggers community all published thier own stuff - and listed it all on RPGNow or from their own sites - it would be a huge benefit to gamers (a detriment to 'the industry'). I suspect that things are already going to head in this direction; I mean.. why not? It's inevitable, d20 'license' or not, its just too easy for people to self-publish now. The market will shake out all the crap - a site like RPGNow (if they had 'publisher' ratings) could be used to easily create a usable RPG self-publishing market. just my 2¢
This is what blogs are for.
ReplyDeleteNo profit, but also no expenses.
Personally, I don't agree with Jim on this, even though I have publishing plans in my future. I think that it's up to the individual how to distribute their work. If they want to put it out online and let everyone play it, then more power to them. In contrast, if they want to publish it and possibly make a profit, then more power to them too.
ReplyDeleteAs for blogs having no expenses, there are plenty of blogs with expenses, which is why there are blogs with ads, Amazon affiliate accounts, and a whole host of other things. Sorry Myth, but blogs not having expenses is a...well...a myth. Many don't, but many do.
How about this: I encourage you to submit some material to one of the magazines out there.
ReplyDeleteI have never read Jim's blog. But it seems to me that he was not saying flood the market but rather "print a few (50) and see what happens." I think he is saying if you don't sell out then it was probably not a good idea.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to reach widest possible audience in today's market then you need to have a print product in the gamestores.
ReplyDeleteRob Conley
Cut it off too soon..
ReplyDeleteHowever the Internet is still growning and it penetration of the markets hasn't finished yet.
I agree with Jim's comment. Not necessarily about print per se but there is something to be said about being "creators and participants, not passive entertainment receivers".
ReplyDeleteI suspect what Jim was trying to say is that roleplaying, as a hobby, is about making stuff up. That's the way the hobby thrives and grows and too much of the hobby has become focused on "official" products, be they adventures, campaign settings, or even rule books. What's often missing is that DIY spirit of the early days and Jim is calling on gamers to re-appropriate that spirit and show we've done so by producing stuff of our own.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think that's a great idea.
>>I have never read Jim's blog. But it seems to me that he was not saying flood the market but rather "print a few (50) and see what happens." I think he is saying if you don't sell out then it was probably not a good idea.
ReplyDeleteNo, the "print a few" is just clarifying that it doesn't have to be a big investment to do this. Even if it doesn't sell 5 copies, what does it hurt?
On a semi-related topic: Jeff, are you in contact with 'Animalball Brasky'? Only the WoAdWriMo adventures are kind of late. I got in contact with him, he's not dead or anything, but...
ReplyDelete