Building on our discussion from yesterday in which I suggested that the model that is generally used for publishing roleplaying games is similar to the model used for publishing card and board games, today I want to discuss a fundamental, and possibly important, difference.
Publishing roleplaying games is about selling procedures and rules. When you think about it, this is not the model employed by other forms of games (with the possible exception of CCGs, which I’m hoping to go into more depth on tomorrow). Board and card games are about selling components not rules. In fact, most game publishers have their rules available online for free.
Most roleplaying games don’t provide components at all. You are required to print your own character sheets (though the resources to do so are generally provided), and you have to bring your own dice/cards/whatever to the table.
This puts roleplaying games in an odd position commercially. They don’t fit into the conceptual slot for games because what is being ’sold’ is fundamentally different. They don’t quite fit into the traditional how-to model (things like cookbooks), at least not in the Forge paradigm, because it is expected that you will follow the directions provided precisely, and not change things up.
The question that comes to my mind when considering all this is: must we publish roleplaying games in this idiosyncratic manner? Must it be about selling procedures? Could a workable model of roleplaying publishing be built around selling components? What about selling teaching texts? Would those still be roleplaying games?
Thomas
Tags: Publishing, Snippet-post
I am already liking this new short post form a lot. I can read it at a chop, mull, and come back to reread (quickly again) for absorption. Way cool.
As to your question–right on. I think rpg’s, esp. some of the shorter Forge-style games could totally go this route, for different reasons. In fact, if this could be pushed, I think it could even advance game development–instead of ‘found’ game components, you could design the components to perfectly fit the rules you envision.
Now, what I don’t know is how this would play out in terms of costs-to-publish. My intuition is that this may be one of the obstacles to this sort of thing.
Imagine 1001 Nights with attractive bowels and a stash of pretty dice, maybe a fancy table cloth (a la Gencon demos) for one nifty route. Imagine dice with game-specific markings for another.
Well the main example we have of that out there is minature gaming where it is what you bought and how you paint it that counts! I think most of us would agree that wargames and RPG’s are not the same, but miniature games are certainly successful.
Ian’s thought above makes me think of Cheapass games. Sell the no frills version in a PDF and the deluxe version with all the color coded dice and stuff.