As the last hours of 2006 drain away, I'm thinking of my goals for the coming year - and one of them is to actually sell a game. I've been looking for a grad school program dealing with game design, but all I find are ones about programing. To say I'm lacking the math skills and patience to debug code is a major understatement. Computers would cry in my presence if it was physically possible.
Anyway, the big question is, how would one go about putting a price on a creative work like this? Although I don't intend to actually sell Gangalnd (its been on the web for three or four years now, so there's too many copies floating about) it serves as a good example. At the moment, the game is some 20 pages long, and I have another 15 or so to add - a few 3 page sample settings, and miscellaneous rules and fixes suggested in the 1km1kt forum. Possibly graphics if I can find an artist or free clip art. (I'd prefer free as in speech, or at least, no opportunity costs.) So that's 35-40 pages total. (On 8.5x11)
I have considered a few different approaches for turning the games into books.
- Novel size
To make it more convenient for players to carry around and keep with them, I though it would be nice to have an RPG that could be stuffed in one's pocket, rather than the normal coffee table book. - Spiral bound
I rather like books that lay flat, and can easily be left on the page you're looking for, rather than needing to leaf through. - Standard and GM special
For my longer works - I want to make two versions available. A soft cover, black and white, edition with some setting information and all the rules, for those who want to keep the hobby affordable. I have always stood by the idea that RP is a cheap hobby - 40$ entry fee for the book, and you are set for months - unlike video games. The second book would be hard cover, include color plates, adventures and additional setting ideas (along with a few secrets meant only for the GM) so a fuller experience is available to those who want it.
Of course, I haven't seen these approaches much - if at all. I recall that BESM was digest sized, and they also put out the "Stingey Gamer Edition" of their D20 rules. However, Guardians of Order is now defunct, so I don't know if that's the right approach.
I might add, that I'm a bit of a bibliophile, and that LCD screens give me a headache. CRTs are too heavy to cary about, and I like books since they don't need power, and can be anywhere. This is why PDF publication isn't high on my list.
So how do you or would you put your games out there?
Depends on the model
You can go one of two ways: the hobbyist route or the professional route. In the past I have always gone the hobbyist route, but it is mor eacceptable in the wargames community. For a small initial outlay you can get large print runs. For example, here in the UK a print run of 300 A% staple bound books, 56 pages per book, colour covers, b&w interior, will come to £250 (roughly $400). These can sell for anywhere from £5 ($8) and up, depending. COmb-bound A4 is slightly more expensive, but has the same profit margins.
If you want to the professional route, it takes a lot more output. We put out our first proofessional product (Cannibal Sector 1 for SLA Industries) and it cost a bit. However, it was perfect bound with laminated card covers and artwork throughout. The inital outlay on a print run of 300 copies, however, was substantially more than on the hobby side. We only did this because we were getting a guaranteed payment from Cubicle 7.
The British indie RPG scene is fairly forgiving at the minute. They tend to take a game on its merits, rather than on its production values. It is recognised that a good game is a good game, no matter what it looks like. However, good production values only make a bad game an expensive stinker.
I have no idea what it is like in the US, so my advice may be totally worthless.
Novel sized games have been common. Leaving aside the Fighting Fantasy books, there have been Traveller, D&D, Dragon Warriors, Maelstrom, Timelord and T&T5. There is currently Dead of Night, DitV, Run Robot Red, Lacuna, Octane, GASLIGHT Alarms and Excursions, Polaris ... Quite a lot in fact. It is cheaper to do and seems to be the way forward.
Dont worry about GoO. They went bust because of currency fluctuations.