Author: Marc A. Vezina (---.sympatico.ca)
Date: 01-02-2002 12:51
>Yo-ho-ho-ho! Meeeerry Christmas! Peace and Love to all! Hohohohoho!
The same to all RPG.net readers from us!
I've noticed that this essay mentions us (Dream Pod 9) quite a few times, so I thought I'd contribute a few comments. I'm cutting non-relevant bits to save space -- refer to the main text if need be.
>Now, before I continue I would like to inform everyone that young Conan here has had a liiiittle too much eggnog and so I won't be able to remember every event of this year.
Ah, okay. We'll take your comments with a grain of salt, then. ;)
>It certainly has been quite a year for the roleplaying industry, what with some companies falling out of the limelight and other new stars rising;
Isn't that the case for most years anyway?
[D20]
>Quite frankly I feel that there are better systems out there than the level-up system of WoTC.
I agree, but then again I tend to prefer somewhat streamlined systems. (No comment on Silhouette's vehicle design rules -- those are getting revised for future lines!)
>If more companies were willing to release their house systems to free license like WoTC, I suspect that there would be an industry boom.
Nope. The only reason D3E worked so well is that WotC had millions to spend in advertising, as well as having the benefit of nostalgia (it didn't hurt that the books were gorgeous). Textbook case of "you gotta have money to make money."
The D20 license worked because there is such a big pool of D20 players. Releasing a system in the open doesn't create new players.
>Furthermore, WoTC's products have managed to raise the standard of all other products
They were not the first one. Remember that the look of the D3E books was inspired by our own _Tribe 8_ line (the graphic designer himself said so right here in the forums), and for years friends in the industry have been telling us that our books made new standards.
Also, you wouldn't believe they did it, if looking at some of the D20 products that have been released and purchased in great quantity. :P
>Still, on the down side, WoTC will also become known as the company that a) killed Star Wars
While I'll admit to preferring the D6 version myself, I can't agree entirely. The books are beautiful, even though the system is poorly adapted to the setting (IMHO).
>and b)Betrayed Dune.
No, the Herbert estate did this. WotC released the book, even if they didn't have to do it.
>Oh, and c) created that damned Pokemon game. Shame on you!
Oh yes, shame on them for flooding the starving retailers with free cash. :)
>Still the majority won and D20 has been proven to be a great money earner for many companies.
At least the early adopters...
>So much so that there is no escaping the insane number of D20 products!
That's starting to change (at last!). Gamers and retailers are finally beginning to wake up and selecting only the better products out there.
"D20" is not a mark of quality, only compatibility!!
>On a down note, we also saw the fall of an industry great, FASA.
Well, it's hard to stay in business when no one is buying your products. "Yeah, I got a bunch of Mechs and my rulebook. Haven't bought a thing since the original box, but I love the game!"
Also note that they sold the good assets to WizKids, which sounds like an accounting move to me (i.e., leave the bad stuff behind in the sinking ship, transfer the good cargo to the brand new one).
>It was a great loss to the industry and yet also another warning sign to other major players about the risks that lie in over-flooding such a fickle market.
<shrug> *Players* made the market "frontlist-oriented" (also known as "What's New this Week?"), mainly starting with the Magic craze. We companies have no choice but to follow. As long as people look no further than the "New this Week!" rack at their local game store, manufacturers have to come up with new things. "Publish or Perish" does not make for quality, most of the time.
>I would personally suggest that the bigger companies start working together rather than see each other as competition.
Working together? Gamers? It's like herding cats, you know...
>Dream Pod 9: These guys have always been on the fringes of the big players. Their games are unique and original.
Thanks!
>Most players of DP9 games play other games as well, now if they could find a way to lower their prices word may spread about their games.
Lower prices? Why? We sell for what it costs to make the game. Not our fault if everyone else in this industry is content with working for nearly free. <shrug>
>However I must say that Gear Krieg remains questionable as a business move.
Our financial records disagree with you. But hey, you're entitled to your opinion. :)
[snip]
>The greatest problem here is that companies believe that they only exist to turn profit -- not provide goods.
Err, yes? Providing goods/service is a means to an end (making money), not an end in itself.
>to turn an effective profit a company needs to respect its responsibilities to the customers that provide its income.
Responsabilities? There are no such thing, except to provide the things we are paid for. When you shell out $20 for a book, you get the book. Not a series of additional material, or online customer service, or anything else, just the book. We aren't even responsible for typos -- the old caveat "buyer beware!" apply (look at the book before buying).
So why do these things? Because customers tend to prefer doing business with companies that provide quality or extra stuff. Making good, well-supported products is a survival trait. But there is /no/ obligation involved, of any kind, just like no customer is obligated to support a particular company or store.
>(Although I still think that companies need to consider their profits, I just think their priorities are wrong. They have a greater responsibility to their customers than their shareholders.
No, they don't. Staffers need to eat/pay rent. Gamers can always switch systems/stores.
>Hello, shares are about taking a gamble -- deal with it.)
This I agree with, but not for the same reasons. My rant against non-industry shareholders does not belong here, though.
>Now I'll get down off my soapbox for a minute and play at being gushy... because, WOW were there a heap of great games released this year.
Dang right!
[snip]
>How can this industry continue if more companies start to feel the pinch?
Gaming will continue even if there are no companies to support it. It just will be less widespread and much more artisanal. "Cheap, fast, good -- pick any two." Forget neat, polished rules and good art (except for the occasional work of love, at the rate of one release a year -- if that).
It's very much a case of "you get what you pay for." So support the games you love! Stop living off your GM and buy your own copies of the books! :)
> Steve Jackson Games had to shut down several of its projects recently
Nothing to do with gaming and everything to do with poor management. Thankfully, Steve wasn't afraid to take drastic action. They'll make it.
> and even WoTC found itself in strife due to a shortage of staff.
Shortage caused by the greed of Hasbro (itself fueled by the greed of its shareholders), not operational or game-industry problems.
[open licenses]
>This works two-fold. It will firstly allow smaller publishers to produce their own unique games without needing to create new mechanics, they can simply use existing game mechanics -- thereby raising their chances of selling product.
Works only for very popular game systems. Most don't have the fan following to boost sales merely by their presence (witness Fuzion or Fudge).
>Secondly, it means that more copies of the rules systems are likely to sell also.
Only if the license cripples the other books, like D20 (which requires the PHB). Yes, I know you can do an open D20 system game with character creation -- but if you can't slap the D20 logo on it, you loose all the advantages of the network effect.
>It should be noted though that roleplayers rarely buy just one game system -- rather they tend to try most systems.
WotC's well-funded market research suggests exactly the reverse...
>As WoTC have deduced, if all the companies used the same base system, then it would be easier to sell new games.
...which is why they think the number of systems should go down to stop dividing the pie and have bigger fan followings for each, thus helping sales.
>Why do you think DP9 and White Wolf do so well?
Because we make good, interesting games? :)
We use the same engine because we'd rather concentrate on the game worlds. The rules work, they're tested -- why re-invent the wheel?
>Also, gamelines should start having a beginning and an end.
Fully agree here. In our case, though, we planned a little large, I think. Heavy Gear, for example, was supposed to be only ~36 books long, with one release every month (on average) for three years. Titles got bloated and had to be broken down into several books, and in the end the line will take nearly ten years to do!
In the future, we'll plan tighter. :P
>Another idea is for more freelancers.
A small modification:
"Another idea is for more *talented and serious* freelancers." :)
We get tons of submissions every week, but most are not original, or well thought-out, organized, presented, written, or even all five at the same time! There are also the freelancers for whom deadlines are "suggested delivery dates," or those that think that a first draft is good enough ("hey, the editor will clean it up/rewrite it -- that's his job, right?"). Every publisher has his own horror stories to tell...
>There are some great newbie authors who need to cut their teeth somewhere.
As long as his/her proposal kicks butt, is well-organized and written, and the person is serious about the project (a good indication is a reluctance to commit to close deadlines -- I'm wary of anyone agreeing right away to a close deadline on their first project), I'll take on a newcomer anytime. See http://www.dp9.com/Corporate/Jobs.htm
>Maybe someone needs to look at forming a freelance roleplaying writers agency to help the companies find fresh authors.
A good writer doesn't need an agent. Not in this line of work (the industry is small and companies easy to approach). If he/she is good enough, it'll show right away -- I don't need to be charged 10% extra for the privilege of being told so.
>I definitely would like to see more settings being created for gaming in.
Remember the early days of D&D? Everyone went through the Temple of Elemental Evil. You'd spend hours talking about it. Nowaday, there are so many games and settings, it's hard to do meaningful comparative boasting. <:)
(I believe this is why WotC got rid of all D&D worlds except GH and FR...)
[snip]
>Why did FASA, ICE and Target fall? Because they weren't selling enough product.
Bingo! (Well, in some cases poor management was a factor. For example, WEG /was/ profitable -- if the owners hadn't bled it dry to support their other failing company, it'd still be around today in its original form, and would probably still have the SW license...)
>Come on people, we need to show these guys our support.
That you do. If every gamer at least bought the rulebook for every game they play regularly (i.e., at least once a month), it would help. Assume 4-6 players per group; that instantly triple or quadruple the sales of the core book.
It's also a lot more fair for the GM; how come the poor guy has to buy everything by himself? :)
>Write to the publishers. Tell them what you want to see from the product range.
But please keep it realistic. There's no way anyone can make a 300-page color hardcover for $10, no matter how much you plead and whine. Even WotC is raising the prices of their core books to their intended level ($30).
>People are all willing to bitch and moan on forums and mailing lists -- unfortunately not all of this gets back to the writers.
Constructive criticism is prefered, and if possible /before/ the book is published. Nothing irritates me more than two pages of negative comments sent the day /after/ the release of the book, when playtest files have been available for months.
And please try to avoid the words "this sucks." It tells us manufacturers nothing. ;)
>And be ready to try out new games.
Heck, be ready to try older games as well! There are a lot of cool stuff on the shelves right now. Browse a bit. Best of all, you don't even need to wait for the supplements to come out! ;)
>There are a lot of people who treat each roleplaying purchase as a major investment.
Yet they are not. $20 is the price of one movie, once you factor in the ticket, food and transportation. Is it that bad? (And, unlike the movie, you get to keep the book afterward ;)
>My final words for this month is to ask that all of you out there to go out and be nice to at least three people who you'd normally ignore. and try to hook them into roleplaying.
That's true. The best way of ensuring the success of your favorite game company is to increase its customer base. In the case of RPGs, this is best done by example and word-of-mouth.
Happy New Year!
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