Does Loss of Dragon/Dungeon Hurt Future Game Designers?

[broghammerj]

that would certainly be lame, but if it does go that way i can only wish that i could say i'd be surprised.

While I agree, there is going to be some definite lag time if they do allow outside submissions. Since no one has any idea what the digital initiative is, it will be hard to begin writing submissions. If the content of Dragon and Dungeon is likley to be duplicated, they better already have a backlog of material and guest authors in their back pocket. Until they prove me wrong, I will go with their whole idea of "we have a plan".

 

[Friadoc]

Maybe.

Right now I honestly can't say whether or not DragOnline or DungeOnline will hurt future designers.

I can see how it might, but after reading this thread, as well as a few others here and there, I can see how it also might help the freelancer since it adds another avenue for their works.

Paizo, via Pathfinder and such items, is going to be offering a venue for freelancers.

WotC, via the DI, will be offering a venue for freelancers.

Plus, there is always Pyramid, which takes both GURPS and d20 submissions. Not to mention, I think, TLG's The Crusader, and other such venues.

Nostalgia-wise, I'm not happy to see Dragon and Dungeon go out of print, hence the PR pummeling that WotC earned a bit, but as a freelancer the idea of yet another venue for potential work being out there, well I can't knock it too much.

If Dragon and Dungeon continue on in an on-line format, with the quality we've known them for still there, than I won't complain too much past the offering, aside from the "Cool, I still wish it was in print, though, but cool". statements.

Until the e-copy matches, or exceeds the ease of use print has, I'm always gonna want both, with print coming first and e-copy second.

 

[Eytan Bernstein]

I don't think this decision hurts game designers at all. Erik Mona already expressed interest in an entire book (or perhaps books) of just new talent. I can't speak for WotC's online program (because I know no more about it than you do), but I think Paizo will probably still continue to accept new material. In the long run, it should all balance out.

 

[Maggan]

I wonder if the digital initiative will take fan submitted works. If it doesn't, I fear there is really no forum for people to become exposed to RPG writing and the pipeline of quality game designers may dry up.

The entries to self publishing are so low today, that any person aspiring to be a game designer just has to get down and create a blog, or a pdf or anything really, that is really good.

And then do it again, and again, and again, and hope that people take notice.

Much like it is for any other game not covered by Dragon and Dungeon. IE, every other game out there.

If they can find new talent, so can D&D.

/M

 

[jasin]

Erik Mona already expressed interest in an entire book (or perhaps books) of just new talent.

Any more details, please?

 

[Eytan Bernstein]

You'd have to ask him. I only recall seeing this as an idea in once of his posts.

 

[Desdichado]

I guess Ryan Dancey agrees with me:

http://web.mac.com/rsdancey/iWeb/RSDanceyBlog/Blog/8B285E15-19B7-45F1-8B5A-DE48E4EFD782.html

"Furthermore, those magazines play a very important role in the hobby game ecology. They represent a place where new authors can find out if writing for the gaming industry is something they can do and are good at. Dungeon in particular has been a fantastic training ground for new talent. And a very large percentage of the game industry professionals likely have at least one Dragon credit. It is unknown how open Wizards of the Coast will be to having new talent submit materials for their on-line content system. My guess is that the door will be mostly shut, barring the occasional friend of an insider who can make a special exception." -Ryan Dancey from his own blog.

That seems especially ironic that he would make that observation, when the OGL--his own personal brainchild--seems to be the ready-made solution to that.

Sure; it may be a little bit harder to really get your name out there because distribution is sketchy at best, so only the real cream will rise to the top. But at the same time, it's a heck of a lot easier to get published in the first place; all you need is a website in a pinch, after all. I think it's a fair trade.

 

[jasin]

The entries to self publishing are so low today, that any person aspiring to be a game designer just has to get down and create a blog, or a pdf or anything really, that is really good.

The low entry can work against prospective writers. I don't have the time or inclination to read through gigabytes of blogs of d20 stuff on the off chance I'll find something I really like. If I see something in Dragon, I assume it passed some sort of quality control and deserves my attention more than the thousands of newsgroup or forum posts.

I'm well aware that not everything Dragon or Dungeon publishes is better than what people put up on the Net for free. But what looks better on a resume? "I published 5 PrCs in Dragon and 3 adventures in Dungeon"? Or "I've written 5 PrCs on my blog, and ran 3 adventures I've written for my group"?

 

[Maggan]

The low entry can work against prospective writers. I don't have the time or inclination to read through gigabytes of blogs of d20 stuff on the off chance I'll find something I really like. If I see something in Dragon, I assume it passed some sort of quality control and deserves my attention more than the thousands of newsgroup or forum posts.

I'm well aware that not everything Dragon or Dungeon publishes is better than what people put up on the Net for free. But what looks better on a resume? "I published 5 PrCs in Dragon and 3 adventures in Dungeon"? Or "I've written 5 PrCs on my blog, and ran 3 adventures I've written for my group"?

The theory is that those that are really good will get noticed and word will spread.

It will take time, but it might work. If someone works up a good body of internet work, WotC can see that the person does indeed know how to write, and also has the discipline to keep going.

It will take time, and is even more hard work than sending in a submission to Paizo, but I believe that in the end, really good writers who keep on building their reputation will get noticed in the end.

Just look at the novels coming out of one of the story hours. Sure, it's not WotC doing the publishing. Not yet. But it all started as a game, and then a story hour that was appreciated and now it's gonna be novels.

/M

 

[jasin]

I see no reason I won't be published again in DragOnline, no reason new writers won't be published there

True, but there's no reason (that I can see) why new writers didn't contribute to WotC's online material. If anything, considering the low quality of articles apparently sufficient for the site, it would make even more sense to use new and inexperienced authors, rather than take up the time of established employees. But as far as I know, the WotC site didn't accept submissions for articles. (Or perhaps I'm wrong?)

(like, you know, the new writers who cut their teeth on Magic's web site every year, many of whom end up getting jobs with WotC)

I didn't know this. Interesting, and encouraging.