The RPG Kickstarters Which Break The Bank: Fame Pays

[Morrus]

At the same time, I think that Kickstarter makes it easier for new projects to get off the ground, so its increasing the number of RPGs out there.

Web pages. PDF publishing. The OGL/d20STL. RPGNow. Print-on-demand. It's not increasing the number of RPGs - it's maintaining the 15-yr old status quo of new technology granting acccess to the RPG industry. It's keeping the rate constant. In 5 years there will be something else big.

Anyone who thinks that this is an unprecendented lowering in the barrier of entry to RPG publshing is deluding themselves. This is normal; this is what happens, and has happened repeatedly over the last decade or two. In five years people will be sayng some new thing is increasing the number of RPGs out there, but it won't be. It'll be maintaining the status quo.

It's when we don't have some new thing 'lowering the barrier of entry' that we need to start worrying. At that point, new stuff being produced will start to drop.

 

[Cergorach]

But before Kickstarter the developer/publisher had to take a huge leap of fate, now they can far better measure the market and not waste resources. Let's say that previously we had a 100 RPG books a year, half of which were unsuccessful, that balance will probably not change. But the developers/publishers won't spent a huge amount of money/time on books that weren't funded by Kickstarter. That leaves more room for projects that are succesful Kickstarters (time/money). Less money/time wasted on undesired books, that might mean more desired books. Wether that means more sales, I rather doubt, because RPG fans don't have an unlimited amount of funds.

The PDF thing is great, but it isn't for everyone as the Kickstarters were both PDFs and physical books are available, there are still a lot of folks who want (also) a physical copy of the book. Not to mention that the direct sales through Kickstarter are a lot more profitable to developers/publishers then regular channels like webstores/RPGnow/DTRPG/etc. And if properly used, Kickstarter is a very effective marketing tool, probably more effective then any other online channel...

I think that Kickstarter will become the defacto standard for the RPG 'industry', with maybe the exception of the big/established brands.

 

[Morrus]

But before Kickstarter the developer/publisher had to take a huge leap of fate, now they can far better measure the market and not waste resources. Let's say that previously we had a 100 RPG books a year, half of which were unsuccessful, that balance will probably not change. But the developers/publishers won't spent a huge amount of money/time on books that weren't funded by Kickstarter. That leaves more room for projects that are succesful Kickstarters (time/money). Less money/time wasted on undesired books, that might mean more desired books. Wether that means more sales, I rather doubt, because RPG fans don't have an unlimited amount of funds.

Yes, KS provides a funding mechanism. The OGL provided a legal mechanism. PDF publishing provided a creative mechanism. PoD provided a production mechanism. RPGNow provided a distribution mechanism. If you go back a little further, the very internet provided a marketing mechanism in the form of an exciting new thing called a 'web page'. In five years, something else will prove a some-thing-else-mechanism. It's normal progress.

The point is that every one of these things helped ensure lots of great new content by lowering the entry barriers (they also ensure lots of bad content, too, of course). And there's a new "thing" every few years which does that. No, obviously each of those things isn't identical to the previous ones, otherwise it would be the same thing.

 

[MatthewJHanson]

I don't have data to back this up, but my random observations give me the feeling that it's not just maintaining a status quo, but that each step makes things a little easier and brings in more people. Kickstarter + Print on Demand allows more people to create books thank either by its self. And either KS or PoD by itself allow more people too publish than if neither were available.

 

[Morrus]

I don't have data to back this up, but my random observations give me the feeling that it's not just maintaining a status quo, but that each step makes things a little easier and brings in more people. Kickstarter + Print on Demand allows more people to create books thank either by its self. And either KS or PoD by itself allow more people too publish than if neither were available.

By "status quo" what I meant to imply was a straight line of continued ease of access increasing over the last decade or so.

 

[scott2978]

The question on 100's of thousands of rpg gamer's minds is "when will he start making full sets?" All 7 dice: d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20 and d% (with 00 - 90). You'd sell tons upon tons of those at conventions like Gen Con.

Free advice for ya

 

[offsprg01]

The question on 100's of thousands of rpg gamer's minds is "when will he start making full sets?" All 7 dice: d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20 and d% (with 00 - 90). You'd sell tons upon tons of those at conventions like Gen Con.

Free advice for ya

As soon as all the orders from the first kickstarter have shipped i will launch the polyhedral kickstarter. we've just about got everything set up for it. we can already make all the dice. i just need to get the jig finished to hold them in place for the laser cutter to burn the numbers in


And I agree that Kickstarter has really made it much easier from RPG related goodies to come to market. You no longer need to pitch your idea for a game to a publisher and hope they bite. You can just let it hang out and see if there's a intrest.

Also Kickstarter does a pretty good job of policing their projects. Every project is review by one of their staff before it goes live.

 

[Warunsun]

Kickstarter is a new and potentially dangerous funding mechanism. Kickstarter doesn't protect you from fraud. They specifically don't guarantee anything and tell you so if you read their help section. Your best weapon against fraudulent kickstarter project is "social pressure" according to their website.

The reason I bring this up is because some people see Kickstarter as a way for the "every man" to publish. It isn't.

You should implicitly trust a kickstarter project and the company behind it if you are going to put a large sum of money into one. So this is why a big company like Reaper Miniatures is ideal for projects. They are a known company with a business location and a good reputation.

Some people are going to get burned eventually by one or more role-playing game offers via kickstarter by little known creators. Keep in mind folks you are funding the "creative project" with no guarantees of rewards. Do some research before you pledge and be careful. Kickstarter is not the same as the d20 Glut. Kickstarter will probably be more infamously known by US government investigation if it continues to be a tax-free product distribution system like some folks are treating it.

 

[Cergorach]

Kickstarter is a new and potentially dangerous funding mechanism. Kickstarter doesn't protect you from fraud. They specifically don't guarantee anything and tell you so if you read their help section. Your best weapon against fraudulent kickstarter project is "social pressure" according to their website.

Buying anything online doesn't protect you from fraud, your credit card might insure you, but that doesn't mean it isn't fraud...

Folks need to learn about risk vs. reward, what's the reward and how much are you willing to risk. If the risk is big, your maximum 'buy' amount should be low, unless the reward is so big to you that your willing to risk more. How much to risk depends on how much value the money has to you.

 

[Jupp]

Yup, For Kickstarter the same rules apply as for anything else you can get from the internet:
- use yer brain
- if certain sums are involved do some background research
- look out for things that smell bad and avoid them
- always be cautious because it's "the internet"