EN World Members: D&D / D20 Bragging Rights

[Kris]

It's nothing major - but I did the cover to FanCC's Netbook of Magical Treasures, and I have a little something appearing in the next Asgard (wooo-hooo!).

I also had an offer from a d20 company a while ago - who wanted to put my dungeon tile artwork into print. Unfortunately this would have meant deleting all the dungeon plans from my site (which from their point of view was totally understandable) - but in the end I just couldn't bring myself to do it - and so I politely declined (opting for my stuff to remain on the web as free downloads).

...still, it was soooooo cool that someone actually thought my work was good enough to be published - and it still brings a smile to my face when I think about it

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

Hmm...I had some research results published in Optics Letters once...doesn't really count as gaming though

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Man, do I feel small. I really need to get crackin.' I mean, I'm in charge of the Middle Earth d20 site, but that's really more the work of a lot of other people, not just me. I honestly don't know if or what people would be interested in seeing from me.

 

[Orclicker]

The one thing that really entices people to start writting game material is that books, dice and miniatures become a buisness expense. Please check with your countries tax department to make sure of this but in canada and the US

 

[Impeesa]

I coined the MotW nickname "Sticks & Stones" on the Wizards board.


Yeah, that's about it.

--Impeesa--

 

[Sam Witt]

And remember . . .

. . . only write because you love the games and enjoy the writing. This industry doesn't pay nearly well enough to be in it for the cash (at least not from a writer's standpoint), so make sure you're in for the right reasons.

As far as breaking in goes - write the frikkin' proposals, people. Right now it is far easier to break into the biz than anytime in the past fifteen years, but it will not stay that way. So, as has been said in this thread before, if you want to write, you better start writing.

For those of you thinking about going full-time, I strongly suggest you get out a pencil and paper, your contracts for the next 6 to 12 months, and a calendar. Wherever you have bills due for the next 6 months, write the amount in the date on the calendar. Now write down the contract payments you expect to receive on your calendar. Go through each month and subtract the total of your bills from the total of your contract payments.

If you're not seeing a substantial positive number on each page of your calendar at the end of this process, you need more contracts before you can go full time. It's great when you can freelance full-time, but it's a terrible thing to miscalculate and get your butt in a sling because you thought you'd make more cash than you do.

And now, to toot my own tarnished horn a bit, here are my credits:

Affinity Games
Windhaven (contributor)

Bastion Press
Spells and Magic (lead designer)
A currently unannounced but quite cool project for 2003 (writer)

Fantasy Flight Games
Path of Faith (contributor)
Path of Magic (contributor)

Mystic Eye Games
A very cool project they won't let me talk about yet.

Mongoose Publishing
EA: Battle Magic (writer)
EA: Chaos Magic (writer)
Quint. Cleric (writer)
Quint. Dwarf (writer)
Quint. Psion (writer)
Quint. Psychic Warrior (writer)
Quint. Samurai (writer)
Slayers' Guide to Bugbears (writer)
A very cool book I can't talk about just yet.

You can get the full scoop on my stuff (including all the non-d20 I didn't include here) by clicking on the link in my sig.

And this is as good a time as any to thank the people of ENworld, who have helped me immensely in the whole d20 thang through their interesting conversations and often insightful commentary on various game design issues.

Thank you much -

Sam W

 

[Chromnos]

ACK!! Does this mean that I am evil now?


Why didn't somebody tell me!!!

Wow I never realised the potential for fun in the dark-path reference! Hehe!

Editors evil? Nawwwwww.

What better way to learn what it takes to get into the city than to work as a gatekeeper?

-C

 

[Chromnos]

Chromnos,

Really?? This works??? WOW, I wonder whose hiring out there!?!? If this is the way things work, then I've been going about it the wrong way, suren! LOL!

Well, if your true love is game-work but it's too big a risk to go free-lance 100% it's worth a shot, right? Regardless, I wish you luck if you do go freelance. I really respect those like Ari and Mearls who lept in feet first.

-C

 

[Vrylakos]

Well, I signed my first freelance contract with Atlas Games, and with luck 11 of my 14 monsters will see the light of day.

They'll be appearing in the Penumbra Bestiary, hopefully to be released this December. A lot of atypical cultures and mythologies will appear in it, from what I've heard. I did some Australian beasties, amongst others.

Unfortunately, my psionic monsters didn't make the cut, but I'm happy to just get published!

Vrylakos

 

[Rasyr]

Wow I never realised the potential for fun in the dark-path reference! Hehe!

Editors evil? Nawwwwww.

What better way to learn what it takes to get into the city than to work as a gatekeeper?

-C

hehe, not only am I the gatekeeper (of xuul?), but I am also the one building the gate...

Simply put, ICE is not taking proposals and just publishing them. In the future we will designing the books we want, and then commissioning authors to write them the way we want them written. Directing their creativity towards what we see as the final goal.

This will seriously reduce the mish-mash of product, and so we will have a tightly focused product line, including Shadow World, and at least one other (very exciting!!!) setting. Heck we have even been talking to a d20 author about possible projects for ICE (non-d20 projects). I won't say his name as nothing is final yet. But when I talked with him, he seemd very excited with the prospect of working with us.