Degenesis RPG is discontinued

[TheAlkaizer]

I saw the name before, but it never picked me interest. But a friend of mine told me he was considering getting it.

Degenesis RPG will be discontinued as the publisher calls it a day


I don't know if the publisher had created games before, how long the game ran before turning to a pay-what-you-want model in 2020 but they're throwing the towel. In all honesty, I'm not really surprised that an indie tabletop rpg couldn't sustain itself on a pay-what-you-want model, I'm not sure why they are. But maybe I'm missing some details.

 

[Waller]

The problem with pay what you want is that all too often people do, indeed, pay what they want.

 

[Tun Kai Poh]

In all honesty, I'm not really surprised that an indie tabletop rpg couldn't sustain itself on a pay-what-you-want model, I'm not sure why they are. But maybe I'm missing some details.

I can see why I would think that - Eclipse Phase has been free to download since the very beginning of its 1st Edition, but it's been a successful game line up till now.

 

[Jd Smith1]

I like the setting, and plan to run another long-term campaign in it, but the problem was that the game has huge backstory and metaplot issues which are coyly hinted at, but never revealed. Worse, the setting material is passed out in artistic formats rather than a plain descriptive manner.

Add in really lackluster mechanics, and you have a challenging product to move at the best of times.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Sad new, but not a surprise at all. A lot of players don't want to learn new game systems.

The fun fact would be if in a near future it becomes an animated miniserie in Netflix and the franchise become popular, and then they publish a d20 version of 5th Ed and then it sells very well.

Metaplots need a lot of work, and they are spoilered very easily in internet age. And don't try to sell crunch when the player would rather other systems.

 

[Jd Smith1]

Sad new, but not a surprise at all. A lot of players don't want to learn new game systems.

The fun fact would be if in a near future it becomes an animated miniserie in Netflix and the franchise become popular, and then they publish a d20 version of 5th Ed and then it sells very well.

Metaplots need a lot of work, and they are spoilered very easily in internet age. And don't try to sell crunch when the player would rather other systems.

Degenesis would be a terrible 5e conversion. It is meant to be a thinking man's game, a game of intrigue, exploration, and roleplay.

 

[macd21]

Sad new, but not a surprise at all. A lot of players don't want to learn new game systems.

Based on the comments I’ve seen elsewhere, what put people off wasn’t learning a new system, it was the density of the setting. People bounced off it hard, struggling to grasp what the game was about.

 

[schneeland]

Based on the comments I’ve seen elsewhere, what put people off wasn’t learning a new system, it was the density of the setting. People bounced off it hard, struggling to grasp what the game was about.

In its first edition, the game also had the problem that many of the factions seemed quite antagonistic - not necessarily a great premise if you don't like PvP in RPGs.

Also, there's the whole thing around the publication schedule. They were rather slow with the supplements for the individual factions IMO, and then the second edition came and restarted the cycle.

 

[Jd Smith1]

Based on the comments I’ve seen elsewhere, what put people off wasn’t learning a new system, it was the density of the setting. People bounced off it hard, struggling to grasp what the game was about.

It didn't help that they scattered the information around, often in short story form, so it was both clumsy to access and subject to interpretation. Unless your players are just as devoted to the setting as you are, you are going to have to spend a lot of time writing faction summaries and setting briefings.

 

[Darth Solo]

Sad.

Great game with incredible artwork and a "labor of love" system.

The mistake was free rulesets. If you're designing a new game, DO NOT offer the rules for free just to attract gamers.

Offer a rules-lite free download but make the complete system $29.99+

Get what you've earned.