Custom Tabletop RPGs: Never Say Never?

[nedjer]

Taking your game and choosing your own illustrations and textures, sizing and styling fonts, linking to personal content, page search and menu navigation . . .

Something you'd never be interested in short of hell freezing over or a tempting prospect?

Comments based on blind prejudice welcome. Otherwise, the more analytical may prefer the blog post or the example. The example can be looked at (but not saved) quickly here, but it'd save bandwidth to download from here. Takes about 60 secs and the styling options are a couple of paragraphs in.

I'm hoping for at least three exaggerated 'you'll never prise my hardback from my cold, dead hands' replies please

 

[delericho]

Electronic-only publishing is an absolute deal-breaker for me. It might be the best game ever, but I'd never know - I'm simply not going to investigate a game if I can't get a print copy. (That exaggerated enough for you? )

That said, clever use of print-on-demand does make this a viable option. I might prefer even more customisation, though - a truly modular game where I can build my own version by combining a preferred race/class selection, skill system, and so forth? That would be sweet.

 

[Umbran]

My thought is kind of simple - are my choices so much better that I'm willing to pay more for them?

Art and layout are nice, sure. But I'm really buying a game product for the game-relevant content. Not being much of a graphic artist myself, I don't expect I'll create something so much better that it's really worth the cost.

 

[nedjer]

Electronic-only publishing is an absolute deal-breaker for me. It might be the best game ever, but I'd never know - I'm simply not going to investigate a game if I can't get a print copy. (That exaggerated enough for you? )

That said, clever use of print-on-demand does make this a viable option. I might prefer even more customisation, though - a truly modular game where I can build my own version by combining a preferred race/class selection, skill system, and so forth? That would be sweet.

To generate PCs or remix all the rules?

 

[nedjer]

My thought is kind of simple - are my choices so much better that I'm willing to pay more for them?

Art and layout are nice, sure. But I'm really buying a game product for the game-relevant content. Not being much of a graphic artist myself, I don't expect I'll create something so much better that it's really worth the cost.

The Traveller SRD or OGL D&D could be given the same treatment without costs other than time, but yeah, the decorative effects are simply decorative. Maybe some players might go for a set of Larry Elmore images or whatever.

The options get more 'practical' when it becomes easy to drop in your own data or apply updates, e.g. house rules and errata all neatly slotted into place or PC records embedded within the webpage. That kind of thing can be done badly with javascript, but html5 is a more likely solution.

Overall, I don't see the end of hardback RPGs (or books in general) through html or ebook. I'll still buy a book in the airport, because its handy, won't break and doesn't lose its charge.

 

[delericho]

To generate PCs or remix all the rules?

I was thinking more of remixing all the rules, but whatever customisation works, really.

 

[Umbran]

The Traveller SRD or OGL D&D could be given the same treatment without costs other than time, but yeah, the decorative effects are simply decorative.

No, my point is that PoD is, in general, going to be more expensive than conventional printing. If the only thing I'm getting out of the PoD version is custom art, that isn't so much worth it.

If you are talking about stuff that's otherwise not available in print, that's another matter.

Maybe some players might go for a set of Larry Elmore images or whatever.

Unless you're willing to infringe copyright, you'd have to pay for Elmore. I'm pretty sure that's not in standard clip-art packages.

 

[nedjer]

No, my point is that PoD is, in general, going to be more expensive than conventional printing. If the only thing I'm getting out of the PoD version is custom art, that isn't so much worth it.

If you are talking about stuff that's otherwise not available in print, that's another matter.



Unless you're willing to infringe copyright, you'd have to pay for Elmore. I'm pretty sure that's not in standard clip-art packages.

A full colour POD hardback is ruinously expensive and experienced gamers are likely going to be buying well-bound, conventional manuals for a long time to come.

html seems more immediately open to those who never have or will buy a hardback. Recent reports on the Indian govt's education tablet and Amazon's Kindle at £100 give an idea of how easy it's going to be to own a tablet/ micro netbook real soon.

With few or no RPG specific startup costs and access for all the group, would players pay to pimp their RPG ride? Personally, I just about might to put that Pathfinder dragon cover into my game content.

 

[nedjer]

I was thinking more of remixing all the rules, but whatever customisation works, really.

Traveller SRD and Treasure are very modular by design and I use electronic versions of both that get remixed with basic html software. Want a new race, random table or modifier and it's done in moments.

The sticking point is enabling 'auto-editing'. This can be done now by taking properly prepared html straight into software like Word for making print versions.

html5 promises to let word processor like editing be done on the web page without anything more than word processor skills. It just ain't fully cooked yet