Responsible and Profitable Game Publishing
Posted 18th July 2008 at 04:45 PM by HugeOgre
Updated 24th July 2008 at 05:15 PM by HugeOgre (fixing some typos)
Updated 24th July 2008 at 05:15 PM by HugeOgre (fixing some typos)
The new edition of DnD is out, and already I have three new 200+ page books in the house. My wife is a little exasperated, even though she and the kids play too, because she fears another avalanche of books the likes of which 3.0 and 3.5 brought. Her fears may be well founded. They certainly aren't easily dismissed, since I still have a few boxes of DnD books I didn’t have the heart to throw away or the time to sell before we moved to Tulsa this January. I don’t blame the game companies for making the books. I understand well the finance mechanics going on here, and I want to support them.
I did finally relent and throw away the thousands of counters left over from my days as a publisher. It was a major battle to get them moved the LAST time, and this time, the writing was on the wall... There would be no denying mama this time.
I say all of that to say this. Are we as a hobby doing what’s right (and enough of what’s right) in the area of being ecologically responsible?
We create a LOT of paper waste with our constant turnover of game books, character sheets, and accessories, and unlike many books once ours fall out of favor they have little use beyond the land fill. My old FLGS still has copies of the 1E DMGs, MMs, and Fiend folios on sale for $25 or so, but the fact is no one is buying them. I’m pretty sure those books have been there for over a decade now.
I myself have given or sold thousands of pages of DnD material away in my life, and it has helped to assuage some of my guilt, but I can’t help thinking we need to be doing more in the industry.
I'm speaking of course of making a more permanent and sustainable move to digital books and accessories. Technologies (like the Kindle) are improving, and those improvements make digital books more attractive than ever. Despite that, few of the mainstream companies in the industry are truly working toward embracing the technology, even 5+ years after freelance publishers started using pdfs to distribute low-volume offerings.
For many there seems to be this idea that pdfs are a low-end entry to publishing - the domain of amateurs. Security, digital rights, and sharing all work to make it hard for publishers to create realistic business models around digital offerings. Companies like WotC seem mired in the book publishing style of the past. To be fair, the new books are digitally available, and Dungeon and Dragon are back as digital offerings. These are steps in the right direction. There are so many possibilities with the technology though that even now aren’t being explored. Mutating adventures, sound and visual effects, accompanying soundtracks, and much more could easily be included in a wonderous multimedia experience.
We need to work to show that these books are preferable to us as consumers for a variety of reasons, including their environmental aspects. Don’t we?
I did finally relent and throw away the thousands of counters left over from my days as a publisher. It was a major battle to get them moved the LAST time, and this time, the writing was on the wall... There would be no denying mama this time.
I say all of that to say this. Are we as a hobby doing what’s right (and enough of what’s right) in the area of being ecologically responsible?
We create a LOT of paper waste with our constant turnover of game books, character sheets, and accessories, and unlike many books once ours fall out of favor they have little use beyond the land fill. My old FLGS still has copies of the 1E DMGs, MMs, and Fiend folios on sale for $25 or so, but the fact is no one is buying them. I’m pretty sure those books have been there for over a decade now.
I myself have given or sold thousands of pages of DnD material away in my life, and it has helped to assuage some of my guilt, but I can’t help thinking we need to be doing more in the industry.
I'm speaking of course of making a more permanent and sustainable move to digital books and accessories. Technologies (like the Kindle) are improving, and those improvements make digital books more attractive than ever. Despite that, few of the mainstream companies in the industry are truly working toward embracing the technology, even 5+ years after freelance publishers started using pdfs to distribute low-volume offerings.
For many there seems to be this idea that pdfs are a low-end entry to publishing - the domain of amateurs. Security, digital rights, and sharing all work to make it hard for publishers to create realistic business models around digital offerings. Companies like WotC seem mired in the book publishing style of the past. To be fair, the new books are digitally available, and Dungeon and Dragon are back as digital offerings. These are steps in the right direction. There are so many possibilities with the technology though that even now aren’t being explored. Mutating adventures, sound and visual effects, accompanying soundtracks, and much more could easily be included in a wonderous multimedia experience.
We need to work to show that these books are preferable to us as consumers for a variety of reasons, including their environmental aspects. Don’t we?
Total Comments 6
Comments
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I think there are bigger sinners out there, than the gaming industry... like all those ads we get in the mail! Also, the gaming industry isn't big, at least not as big as some might think. Take Denmark, for example, my country... my guess is that there is around 10-12 stores around the country where roleplaying books are actually being sold, and compare that number to ordinary bookstores... also, I think that the gaming industry is actually among the leaders of pdf sale.
Personally, though, I prefer real books, and would never shift to pdfs only. There's just something about having a real book in your hands... so, nature be damned, lets not drop real books just yet!
Posted 18th July 2008 at 06:25 PM by Brekkil
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Not so sure about your premise
I'm in IT and own hundreds of PDFs so I'm not adverse to the technology. But when it comes down to it I, and many many other gamers I know, prefer to have that actual manual in our hands.
Cost is a factor here: I don't want to shell out 30 some odd dollars for my gaming manual and then another 10 to print it out.
I have gone digital in many aspects of my life: banking/finance/bill payment, video rental like Netflix, shopping, etc. And I do buy PDFs. But when it's time for actual use of those PDFs for a game, they get printed on paper.
I believe the printed world and the digital world can exist side by side peacefully.Posted 18th July 2008 at 08:14 PM by Kheti sa-Menik
Updated 18th July 2008 at 08:15 PM by Kheti sa-Menik (Specified a title) -
On a recent trip to the United States I bought the Kindle as well. I don't think it is quite ready for reference books - the kind of books like the Player's Handbook or Monster Manual that you flip through frequently (and it's lousy at displaying tables at the moment).
But it might do well for purely "fluff" setting books - the kind of books that you truly read through from start to the end. I'm considering offering some Urbis publications in the Kindle format in addition to PDFs.Posted 18th July 2008 at 08:53 PM by Jürgen Hubert 
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This is a really intresting topic. I would never think to consider it. At the very least, we should encourage the use of recycled paper...Posted 19th July 2008 at 09:05 AM by MichaelSomething -
I'm not sure that saying the gaming market is small and there are bigger offenders out there is a legitimate argument for why NOT to try and push forward away from printed books. Under that premise, I wouldn't recycle or do anything else environmentally related for myself because there are larger companies out there who aren't doing anything. Every little bit counts, even a $200 million dollar a year business.
It may be that the kindle isnt ready to support the gaming industry. I don't have one. I can't say. It certainly sounds like IT is not.
I do want to be clear that I wasn't advocating a move toward pdfs where people simply print the book on their own after buying it. That doesnt help, and frankly may be even worse, since home printed material is more likely to be thrown away, and is printed in a less efficient manner (if printed in its entirety)
The landscape format that many publishers have adopted for on screen viewing of pdfs is great (for me) to view. I do think it will take a conscientious effort to keep from printing our material. As an IT professional, even I occasionally break down and print manuals and the like out. To be fair, I do so mostly because I dont have a portable viewing device that has the manuals in question. I may talk more in another post about why I think we print the material out and what needs to happen to take away that urge.
I'm also not advocating paying as much for the pdf as you do a regular book (unless of course the pdf contains additional digital content such as music, images, and programs). There is a whole slew of issues related to the economics and logistics of printing and the FLGS that like the other comments Ive made, deserves its own post.Posted 19th July 2008 at 03:01 PM by HugeOgre -
This is a very interesting subject. I think that your landfill comments overlook the fact that books are made from paper, so are easy to recycle.
I think you have also forgotten that old RPG books could be reused, which is the second thing in the (reduce, reuse, recycle) rule that environmental people are trying to push.
Errors aside, there is nothing wrong with old versions of RPGs and unwanted books could be sold on eBay or via a second hand dealer (like Noble Knight).
However, even inside that sort of structure, you do have a point. I don't think that PDF books are the way to solve problems, but I do think they have a place. I think that total cost needs to be looked at.
For example a PDF full of character sheets would replace a physical product that would be photocopied anyway. So if you can fill it in and print it out, it probably isn't going to make much additional environmental impact.
An important rulebook (like the D&D Players Handbook or a campaign setting core rulebook) is something that people are going to want to use a lot. The printing price for that is a fixed price, but the viewing price for keeping it on a PDF viewer goes up over time. I wouldn't bet my life on the numbers, but I suspect that a rulebook would pay for its environmental cost over a year or two.
However, I think that adventure modules are a different thing. They don't get used as much as a core rulebook. I can't see them ever being used more than once per GM per RPG group. So PDF adventures might be more economical than printed ones.Posted 20th July 2008 at 03:31 PM by Big Mac
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