Freelance Company- Adventure Module Call to Arms!

[veinglory]

I am still available to provide art -- however that fits into your scheme

veingloriaATlycos.com

 

[isidorus]

I am interested in doing some writing work, especially after reading d20fool's outline. If this still rocking let me know and I will email you.

 

[Mor'Gan]

I like it. I'm a writer, what do you need?

 

[Jasnkat]

I'm at least intrigued enough to keep watching this to see what develops (I'm a writer, too).

Jason H.

 

[Belen]

Very good ideas here. However, I think you left out one very important position.

Jester: This person heads the entire design and development department. They do not do any writing and their only purpose is to manage the various productions, leaders and people.

The one thing I learned during my stint in a d20 company is that anyone with a hand in the writing is too close to action. The production effort fails because a lot of people feel that decisions are being made arbitrarily or because the person likes their own work.

In addition, the CEO CANNOT handle this effort and still manage to do things like establish relationships with vendors, buyers and customers. The CEO needs the time to get that part of the production done because that is the effort that will really make us successful.

In any event, I think that d20fool should be the Grand Poobah. It may have started out as my call to arms, but I think that he has the right drive to make it a reality.

I would humbly offer my services as Jester. I am a managing editor for a top-ranked peer review journal, I have served as an editor and publisher on a textbook, and my main strength is in managing production efforts, such as deadlines.

Dave

 

[Belen]

Keep the writing teams small. Too many and nothing will get finished as various schedules conflict, people disappear etc.

Adventure paths are great. Don't do them unless the entire series is written. It does not work for a campaign if someone uses and adventure, then has to wait six months for the next step. Campaigns moe on, we need customers who buy them to use in conjunction.

Have non-crunch areas. Little stories, history, short piece on how to manage a group etc. You have to offer something a little more tangible and different to get people's attention. Recurring NPCs etc will be a godsend to GMs running campaigns.

Dave

 

[d20fool]

Hmmm, I don't think I have the time to be a CEO, I have a hard enough time running my own life. I certainly have zero for capital.

However, I do know Ian Johnston of Silverthorne Games. Perhaps he would be interested in this idea.

Besides, I definately a writing guy and this is all about the process and the product. I am now going through the process of writing respondents to this e-mail.

If you want to write me, do it at ageofdragons@writeme.com

Who da' fool?

 

[silentspace]

This could be interesting. As BelenUmeria pointed out, the ‘Jester’ is by far the most important person on the team, at least insofar as he/she will be the one creating/coordinating the production of the actual product. In art/design firms, this is also the person who, without fail, puts in the most hours.

I have a background in design, art direction, and architecture, and have led many large design teams over many years on many different types of design and architecture projects. I’ve been Design Director/Art Director/Person in Charge of Design at a variety of firms. Blah blah blah. You might not need me though, my skills and experience would best be utilized as “the Jester”, and you already have BelenUmeria.

A question though. Is it possible to actually make money doing this?

 

[silentspace]

Keep the writing teams small. Too many and nothing will get finished as various schedules conflict, people disappear etc.

Adventure paths are great. Don't do them unless the entire series is written. It does not work for a campaign if someone uses and adventure, then has to wait six months for the next step. Campaigns moe on, we need customers who buy them to use in conjunction.

Yes and no. To complete an entire campaign would mean making many adventures, all of which need to be tied together. A small writing/design team cannot do this in a timely manner. On the other hand, small writing/design teams generally (not always) work better than larger ones. And of course, many designers swear that its only possible to design alone.

In the professional world though, it's all about teamwork. And generally speaking, the more people you have, the more you can accomplish. As design/production teams get larger however, there are many new issues that arise. Coordination/Continuity becomes one of the largest issues. You may need to devote many people to this task, each concentrating on specific areas.

That's if people are really interested in getting something done in a timely manner though. If you're more interested in locking yourself away in a room and developing an entire campaign's worth of adventures yourself, farming out small bits like artwork or layout, your product will both be very slow in coming out (we might be on 4.0 by then), and of poorer quality (almost always, more eyes are better than fewer).

This looks like a pretty old thread. Is anyone really interested in doing something?

 

[silentspace]

How can we do all that? Teamwork and a well-defined process. Think Monster Garage here, with a pirate ship pay system.

Each project starts as a concept. Concepts are given (or made by) a Project Leader. The Project Leader then forms a "concept team" (each of whom will receive a finished copy if greenlighted). The concept team write a proposal according to an outline that looks a bit like proposals for the movies. The company officers, the playtesters, and a public vote on the web then review this proposal. If all three parties vote positive, then the project is "greenlighted" and the Project Leader may proceed.

Then comes the writing stage. The Project Leader selects a team of writers, which should include at least one proofreading editor. Starting with the Project Leader, each writer will get turns in a round-robin fashion on the manuscript. No writer may have the manuscript over a week, anything may be re-written between drafts, each draft is copied to the Project Leader and Grand Poobah for documentation and guidance. This process continues until the draft is finished. The Grand Poobah establishes a set deadline for the project. If the deadline is not reached, then a new Project Leader may be assigned. Writers are encouraged to communicate with each other via a private messageboard.

Several issues here.

First is the Concept. The Concept is the most important part. It’s not something that’s just tossed out by a Project Leader. This requires brainstorming. For those who have not been part of a creative brainstorming session, it is, without a doubt, the most exciting, creative process you will ever be a part of. To reiterate, this is the most important part.

Second, the approval of the Concept. Forget the company officers, playtesters, and public web vote. That will get you nowhere. And it could get you nowhere fast. This is not a good process. A better process is brainstorming, as mentioned above. Then brainstorm again. And again. Until you get the Concept right.

Third, the round-robin writing. No no no! Are you trying to make one of those old-fashioned experimental internet stories, or a high-quality product? The only way to make a high-quality product is to do it collaboratively. That means constant communication. You can’t allow your project to disappear for a week. Who knows what will happen to it? The project will go down all sorts of dead-ends this way.

Fourth, too much power and responsibility in the Grand Poohbah. The Grand Poohbah should be doing many important things, but micromanaging the design and production process, and setting deadlines, are not among them. Those are the tasks of the Design Leader, or as BelenUmeria called it, ‘the Jester’

That's how things work in my experience, anyway.