grimslade
Krampus ate my d20s
Driz'zt the Druid? Not sure I can buy the idea of Iconics with no class, considering, you know, given that stats tend to be very different based on the class.
"Krusk may be uncouth, but Krusk have class."
Driz'zt the Druid? Not sure I can buy the idea of Iconics with no class, considering, you know, given that stats tend to be very different based on the class.
Since WotC loves to sell map tiles, why don't they have a map planner using the map tile art in DDI? There is a subscription I would pay for. Even better if you could print your layout as a dungeon map. Multi-use for cartography art and a tie-in to sell more dungeon tiles for those that want them. World Works Games sells a TerrainLinX planner that shows what is needed to print and build paper terrain. WWG is a small operation I am sure WotC could whip up something similar for their 2D offerings. Plus, I got to mention WWG whose offerings are gorgeous.
Dungeon tiles add a lot, IMHO. Seeing details like ledges or alcoves, the players get immersed in the battlefield. Whenever I use a more detailed physical battlemap (tiles or poster), there is more roleplaying during combat, as the characters begin to react to their surroundings.My favorite maps are from Karen Wynn Fonstad's The Forgotten Realms Atlas. Nothing makes me want to run a FR game like those maps.
I generally prefer maps that look like they could exist in the game-world. Drawn by hand if possible.
I don't have any particular fondness for the old school blue grid maps or the new school computer generated tile maps. Neither is very evocative, they're just functional. I have never and will never purchase packs of dungeon tiles. Doesn't really add anything, imo.
- Should the cover design have different versions for brick-and-mortar stores and for digital presentation?
Definitely not. I don't want to be trying to figure out if this is the "Walmart collectible cover #3 " or any of those sort of shenanigans. Nor do I want to wondering if version X is an "updated with errata" version or "with bonus content (even if it's alternate art) only available through channel X". I want it clear that what I'm getting is the PHB, DMG or whatever. When my group sits down at a table, all the front covers of the PHB better damn well look the same so I know we've all got the right book.
- Should the use of art change depending upon the sales channel?
It can. Covers should be consistent in a given version. D&D has had a history of changing the covers in a given version over time, but I think it'd be a buyers hell if there were many different cover versions available at the same time.
- Does a change of cover treatment cause confusion with the buyers?
I'd look back at the sales difference between the PHB's of the original 1E/recovered 1E version, the original 2E/black cover 2E, the 3.0/3.5 version and the 4E/Essentials version. Personally I don't care if the cover changes, as long as it looks "good". In fact, personally I didn't buy the original 1E DMG because the cover made me uncomfortable. I liked the recovered 1E version better (the one with the "DM" opening the doors).
- Do they notice or care about the differences in a cover from one version of the book to the next?
To me, it's a business issue - a lavish cover doesn't make me drool and increase my desire to have a book, but a simple cover (say a title on a faux leather background) for a digital book screams to me "I'm trying to be cheap!"
- Does the role of the cover have a different purpose to the consumer in the different mediums, or it simply a business issue?
3E tried to make it's cover look like reference books - and they were actually just god-awful ugly. I imagine the same is true of a digital cover trying to emulate a book cover. What is needed is something that is clear and legible, not necessarily an attempt to replicate what it is not. If the artwork is going to be so tiny as to be a pixelated mess, simplify it where possible.
- Should a digital cover try to look like a book cover on the virtual bookshelf, or is that an antiquated concept
Should the cover design have different versions for brick-and-mortar stores and for digital presentation?[/quote
Yes, of course. You cannot have the same cover, it simply doesn't work. For one, again, you're looking a much smaller thing to read on - Iphone for example. So, if you look at a, say, 3.5 PHB, or, even worse, a 4e PHB, that's not going to work in a titchy little image. Different mediums require different presentations.
Should the use of art change depending upon the sales channel?
Abso-freaking-lutely. Tables don't work on a smaller e-reader like a smart phone. They just don't. I don't want big honking pictures in my ebook - I don't want any pictures at all. They serve little to no purpose and make reading very difficult. Also, the layout of the book MUST be different. Three columns DON'T WORK on e-readers.
Does a change of cover treatment cause confusion with the buyers?
Possibly, but, we're talking about different venues here. If I'm looking for, say, a Monster Manual, I'm probably not going to buy the books cold. I'm already going to know what a Monster Manual is. And, if the e-retailer site is up to snuff, it should explain exactly what I'm buying anyway. I mean, look at novels. How many covers are there for, say, Harry Potter novels? I know of at least half a dozen for each novel - all targetted at different audiences. And the e-versions are also different as well.
I'm not sure what this means honestly? You mean, like Monster Manual 1 or 2, or do you mean an electronic vs print version?Do they notice or care about the differences in a cover from one version of the book to the next?
Does the role of the cover have a different purpose to the consumer in the different mediums, or it simply a business issue?
Again, absolutely. A print book's cover is there to attract your eye. You're looking at that wall of books, and a cool cover brings people over to look at it. Plus, having a last name begin with H or thereabouts usually puts your book at eye level in most book stores.But, an Ebook buyer probably already has some idea about what he or she is looking for. Sure, people "browse" e-retailers, but, I think it's much more likely that you get people who are hitting certain author's or related works. That sort of thing.
Should a digital cover try to look like a book cover on the virtual bookshelf, or is that an antiquated concept?
I have tried pretty much every e-reader program for the Iphone/Ipad. The I-reader app blows chunks. The absolute best one is Stanza. Which doesn't have a "virtual bookshelf" per se. It shows the little cover images down the left with the book titles in big letters in the right. Works great. My opinion would be no, but, then again, Kindle and Apple would disagree with me, so, hey, they probably know better than me.
Not to mention e-readers like the Nook and the Kindle can't really do animated anyway.Will the virtual bookcase use larger images? Will animated images come into play? (Egad, I hope not! Can you imagine a browser page full of animated covers?)
This is my major beef with shopping digitally. I consume most of my books digitally now, but I tend to shop physically at the bookstore, figure out what I want, and then go home and purchase it on my Nook or Kindle. I hate shopping at Amazon.com. I frequently pick books up in the book store, read the back text, look at the cover, and thumb through the inside skimming a few pages here and there before I make a decision.In the world of print, the cover plays a major part in the buying process
No. I think that feels gimmicky and sort of shady. Even if it's not done just to trick people into buying the same book twice or to nail completists, it will have that effect. Although I haven't yet bought one myself, I have several times received books I've already owned because covers changed.Should the cover design have different versions for brick-and-mortar stores and for digital presentation?
It has in the past for some people.Does a change of cover treatment cause confusion with the buyers?
I tend to notice. I even make comments like "They changed the covers of X title again." Has happened frequently with Redwall books, for instance.Do they notice or care about the differences in a cover from one version of the book to the next?
On my virtual bookshelf is a different concept than on Amazon's digital bookstore. I don't really care for the cover once I've purchased a book, to be honest.Should a digital cover try to look like a book cover on the virtual bookshelf, or is that an antiquated concept?