Any thoughts of non D&D e-publication to replace Polyhedron?

[beverson]

I figured this would be a good place to ask this question, but if it shouldn't be here, mods please go ahead and move it elsewhere.

Has there been any thought by any of the esteemed e-publishers that frequent this board to the viability of putting together a pdf publication to replace the soon to be departed Polyhedron? I know I am not alone in lamenting the demise of this mag, and there is a distinct lack of this type of product for d20 Modern and other non D&D d20 games.

I know there are probably tons of logistical issues to contend with, but what if some arrangement were made with RPGNow to host it, and have other e-publishers and outside sources provide content submissions? Obviously there would have to be an editor and who knows what other bodies to go through everything and make it work (I don't know loads about magazine publishing), but then folks could download the content from RPGNow, or even do a POD.

Anyway, just thinking out loud and wondering if anyone else has pondered this.

thanks for your time.

 

[Vigilance]

We discussed this at RPGObjects.

The issue for us is time. If a print magazine could be gotten off the ground it would be different, but getting distributors to carry them is next to impossible these days.

We also discussed an e-zine, but there isn't much difference between a mini-game in the context of a magazine and just making small PDFs.

Also, a big part of the appeal of Polyhedron was their ability to use mini-games to revive older Wizards properties, an ability we at RPGO do not have.

I think the closest we could come (though we haven't stopped discussing other alternatives) would be FFG's Horizon line.

Chuck

 

[Dana_Jorgensen]

I figured this would be a good place to ask this question, but if it shouldn't be here, mods please go ahead and move it elsewhere.

Has there been any thought by any of the esteemed e-publishers that frequent this board to the viability of putting together a pdf publication to replace the soon to be departed Polyhedron? I know I am not alone in lamenting the demise of this mag, and there is a distinct lack of this type of product for d20 Modern and other non D&D d20 games.

I know there are probably tons of logistical issues to contend with, but what if some arrangement were made with RPGNow to host it, and have other e-publishers and outside sources provide content submissions? Obviously there would have to be an editor and who knows what other bodies to go through everything and make it work (I don't know loads about magazine publishing), but then folks could download the content from RPGNow, or even do a POD.

Anyway, just thinking out loud and wondering if anyone else has pondered this.

thanks for your time.

The reality of the situation is that Polyhedron will unfortunately die with no replacement in the near future. The gaming industry is hell on earth for anyone trying to start a new magazine. With only a few rare exceptions, they all fail in under two years. Rarer still are those that extend past 5 years. To make matters worse, the e-zine segment is even more dismal. There is only one successful e-zine, Pyramid, and that only exists because the print version of the magazine failed. Every other attempt at a pay subscription e-zine has failed.

Personally, I would love to do a D20 Modern magazine (or preferably a magazine for all games of the Modern and Cyberpunk genres), but the reality is that I would simply be throwing away money if I tried starting a new rag up like that.

The best option would be for some existing magazine that's made it past the 2-year mark (or preferably the 5-year mark) to pick up the concept and add a dedicated D20M section to their existing offerings.

 

[Greatwyrm]

While I'd love to see a d20 Modern or Polyhedron e-magazine, I have my reservations about it. I just remember the d20 ezine that Steve Jackson Games ran. It didn't live all that long, even thoug the content was pretty good. I'd think if anyone could have made it work, it would have been SJG. Isn't Pyramid one of the longest running ezines out there?

 

[madelf]

Maybe if someone could get rights to the Polyhedron name, and capitalize on the existing popularity (and maybe even make a deal with WotC to let them still use old IP for the mini-games), it might be a little more viable.

Sadly that would take even more start-up capital.

 

[Morrus]

EN World Gamer will, hopefully, take up some of the slack. It won't be Polyhedron, but will feature things like d20 minigames, support for non-D&D d20 games etc. However, we won't be able to deal directly with WotC's licensed properties like Star Wars etc.

Luckily, I have the help of Mongoose Publishing on the publishing front, so the distribution problem is already a non-issue. Now I just need to convince people they want to buy it!

 

[adriayna]

To make matters worse, the e-zine segment is even more dismal. There is only one successful e-zine, Pyramid, and that only exists because the print version of the magazine failed. Every other attempt at a pay subscription e-zine has failed.

The best option would be for some existing magazine that's made it past the 2-year mark (or preferably the 5-year mark) to pick up the concept and add a dedicated D20M section to their existing offerings.

The Silven Trumpeter is coming up on its 1 year anniversary next month. We aren't a subscription ezine--we are a free pdf ezine and will always stay that way. We aren't dedicated to any one RPG system--we cover the industry at large, and have articles on general topics and topics within multiple gaming systems (LA, Gurps, d20/D&D, etc...)

We've recently started to get some d20 modern coverage (one d20 modern gaming column) as of the April 2004 issue, but getting more modern coverage means finding more volunteer writers. And of course, there is still the IP issue

 

[RPGgirl]

Just a thought

I know this is going to sound odd, and I don't even pretend to know what goes into publishing, but has anyone thought of cross marketing with existing science fiction e-zines, like Strange Horizons or Brutarian. Even just a small regular article could be a win-win situation for both parties, the e-zines will get additional exposure from all the role players, while gaming will get likewise from devoted sci-fi/fantasy fans. The way I see it, both worlds are related and both struggle to make it on their own. Why not combine them and see what happens?

Tracy