Bluffside in my hands

[Psion]

Typing with your nose again?

Would that be the Nose of Evil?

 

[Psion]

Hey, I want to be a d20 guy when I grow up . But I'll make sure that my product is typo-free.

Ah... aren't they cute when they are young and naive!?

 

[NeuroZombie]

Sorry about the typo on the website... will not happen again! (Yeah right) I do get rushed sometimes... those slave drivers at TG

FYI... the relaunce of the All new and approved TG site (coming VERY soon... maybe this weekend or early next week at the latest will be fully spellchecked!

 

[Forrester]

Sorry about the typo on the website... will not happen again! (Yeah right) I do get rushed sometimes... those slave drivers at TG

FYI... the relaunce of the All new and approved TG site (coming VERY soon... maybe this weekend or early next week at the latest will be fully spellchecked!

You mean "relaunch", right?

Sorry if it looked like I was accusing the Bluffside folks of not proofreading their product. All I was trying to say was:

1) When you have *obvious* typos on your website, it makes you look sloppy, and does raise the question (to anal-retentive types like myself) of whether your product might share some of the same flaws. Perhaps it doesn't.

2) In my limited d20 experience, a lot of d20 products suffer from these problems -- including one big d20 publisher (Mongoose). In my opinion this sends a "We're second best" message to the readers.

3) Did I mention that if you send me free stuff, I'll give your soon-to-be-published works a once-over to make sure that you aren't making those mistakes ?

4) ONE space after a period. ONE space after a colon. I don't know that you guys make that error, but Mongoose does. Join us in the late 20th century, won't you?

 

[der_kluge]

Forrester, as long as we're being anal here, I should point out that the number of spaces after a period is a matter of personal taste, and there are no hard and fast rules on it. If you look at the grammar checking stuff in Word, it even has an option to set two spaces after a period, and flag it as an error if you don't do it. Personally, I always put two spaces after a period, and I'm in the habit of doing it so much, that I even do it on here (although the extra space might get formatted out, I don't know). I'm not aware of any rules concerning colon use, but I always do one space.

I used to be real anal about this kind of stuff, too, then I realized that it wasn't worth getting an ulcer over. What's important is the content in the book first, and presentation second.

 

[Forrester]

Forrester, as long as we're being anal here, I should point out that the number of spaces after a period is a matter of personal taste, and there are no hard and fast rules on it.

Pick up any book published in the last five (probably ten) years by the mainstream press *or* in academia, and count the spaces after a period. Let me know how many books you had to pick up to find one that uses two spaces. Seriously.

It *is* a hard and fast rule in the publishing industry today. Microsoft Word notwithstanding.

I agree that content is the most important thing -- but if I'm going to shell out fifteen or twenty bucks for a product, I want more than merely good content. I would like to see good grammar, passable artwork, and a lack of typos. I don't think it's wrong to to ask for more than I could get from a free download from a fan site somewhere.

And again, the more mistakes in grammar/diction, the more the rest of the content looks like something some fanboy managed to get published, as opposed to a serious company that likely took extreme care at all parts of development, including playtesting.

I realize that many aren't as picky as I am -- and that's okay. But I think there is a small faction of us out here with high expectations. We understand your art can't be as good as the WoTC art, that overall your products can't be quite as inexpensive (because you can't mass-produce them as easily), and so on.

But you need to do what you can. When you miss errors that *I* can find with forty-five seconds of skimming, you're not doing enough. [Note: This is a poke at Mongoose, not at you. Bluffside could be typo-free for all know! But the fact that you're so defensive about this is a little worrisome. If just *one* of you had said "I HATE TYPOS too, and while one slipped by on the website, we made sure that our actual product was checked a half-dozen times by someone as anal-retentive as you" I'd be much happier ]

 

[xjp]

I haven't seen Bluffside yet. I did get the Interludes PDF, which was nice. So I would like to check out Bluffside, too.

 

[thg jim]

Althought exact dates for each store are unavailable, I am sure that Bluffside will be available within the next week or two, at the latest, in your favorite store. We have already sent out pre-sale copies that were purchased on-line from us, starting last Saturday. I am confident that Bluffside will be both well received and help to break some new ground. Hope you feel that it is as good as we do.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. We will also be available in Borders. Don't really know when they will have them in stock, but you will be able to get them there, for all of you who have a Borders near you.

Jim Govreau
COO Thunderhead Games, Inc.

 

[der_kluge]

Forrester, I'm defensive because it seems like you're prematurely blasting our product before you've even had a chance to see it. Don't judge our book based on the web, since different people do them. Jim (THG Jim) is an English teacher, and our editor (Becky) is also an editor for a professional company, so she knows what she's doing.

Feel free to snag a copy of Bluffside when you can, and please, let us know what you think about it. I'm confident that you'll be pleased.

 

[Psion]

I think the THG people are being a bit sensitive. Yes Forrester is making a mountain out of a Molehill. But c'mon, this is Forrester, Mr. "make a mock lecture about the 50 piddly gaming conventions that make me whine." I wouldn't get too bent out of shape.