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<blockquote data-quote="Deleted member 7015506" data-source="post: 7816038"><p>"Man in the Funny" hat pretty much nailed it down to the basic:</p><p>Do you want to sell it to a broader audience, or is it just for a more or less personal use. Those two points make a big difference, when it comes to such points as clarity of writing, layout, art work, distribution channels/forms, etc. etc. The difference should be obvious here, and many of these points can be neglected/skipped, when the final product is just a personal affair. </p><p></p><p>So let´s assume you want a product to be published officially one way or the other for a moment.</p><p></p><p><em>Disclaimer:</em> The following is my personal experience and based on a process that is now going on for more than 2 years. Currently I play around by writing my own D&D retro clone intended for publishing. I don´t claim to know everything nor do I have great experience in this field, but I can point out a couple of pitfalls I fell into so far. </p><p></p><p>First have a good plan on in which form you want to publish your work. Will it be one comprehensive book having all in it, or do you want several books similar to the PHB, DMG and MM? Sounds trivial, but when you look further down, you´ll get the point.</p><p></p><p>Probably the most important point is to really really be behind the project. Stay focused right from the start or otherwise you´ll just do brain training. And focusing is not only working as much as possible on the project, but to be absolutely sure, what you want and what not. Write these things down and pin them right next to your desk to be there as a reminder. </p><p></p><p>Be organized!. Nothing worse than having chaos on you desk, analog and electronically alike. Order in anything is essential, since time is scarce nowadays. So searching for a file or piece of paper is wasted time better spent in design.</p><p></p><p>Next right from the start write down anything in an orderly and manageable form, so you´ll find things fast once needed once either saved on the harddrive or in your design concept book. No idea is anything worth unless it is not written down and can be found easily when needed. It may be altered, included or dropped later, depending on several circumstances, but nonetheless get it down so it is there.</p><p></p><p>When you start to write, never look for things like punctuation, correct spelling etc. those things come a bit later. First get it written, then correct. And here lies a big trap: When you read things over and over, then it becomes second nature and you start to miss things like spelling, clarity, etc. Get somebody to read those first drafts. It´s a fresh look at things and they usually come up with points to consider or simple questions, that seem obvious to you, but may not be for the uninitiated. </p><p></p><p>it´s never a bad idea to get a hold of as many other already published works as you can get. Might it be for getting an inspiration, seeing how others have handled that matter you write on or simply by avoiding to more or less copy them. It´s already mentioned, that the wheel cannot be invented anew, but perhaps your splendid idea was more or less already used by somebody else?</p><p></p><p>And one thing to avoid is definitely to be driven away by making the beast larger and larger (see my first remark) to the point where it gets uncontrollable = loosing focus (= the to be published form!). Not everything has to be included in the first publsihing, so limit yourself to the core game. Icing on the cake is always welcomed by customers, but chrome in itself doesn´t make for a good engine. So limit yourself on the included material/rules. </p><p></p><p>One of the most important points, and here I assume you want to write a game from the ground up, is to have constant playtesting once the skeleton is finished. Nothing but real playtesting, with as many different people as you can find, brings out the pros and cons of your game. And feedback is definitely something you want at all stages of your project.</p><p></p><p>And one real advice I can give:</p><p>Once you share your vision with others, be prepared to handle a lot of critic and negative feedback. everybody out there is a game designer, marketing manager or otherwise highly educated person familiar with game design and publishing.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Deleted member 7015506, post: 7816038"] "Man in the Funny" hat pretty much nailed it down to the basic: Do you want to sell it to a broader audience, or is it just for a more or less personal use. Those two points make a big difference, when it comes to such points as clarity of writing, layout, art work, distribution channels/forms, etc. etc. The difference should be obvious here, and many of these points can be neglected/skipped, when the final product is just a personal affair. So let´s assume you want a product to be published officially one way or the other for a moment. [I]Disclaimer:[/I] The following is my personal experience and based on a process that is now going on for more than 2 years. Currently I play around by writing my own D&D retro clone intended for publishing. I don´t claim to know everything nor do I have great experience in this field, but I can point out a couple of pitfalls I fell into so far. First have a good plan on in which form you want to publish your work. Will it be one comprehensive book having all in it, or do you want several books similar to the PHB, DMG and MM? Sounds trivial, but when you look further down, you´ll get the point. Probably the most important point is to really really be behind the project. Stay focused right from the start or otherwise you´ll just do brain training. And focusing is not only working as much as possible on the project, but to be absolutely sure, what you want and what not. Write these things down and pin them right next to your desk to be there as a reminder. Be organized!. Nothing worse than having chaos on you desk, analog and electronically alike. Order in anything is essential, since time is scarce nowadays. So searching for a file or piece of paper is wasted time better spent in design. Next right from the start write down anything in an orderly and manageable form, so you´ll find things fast once needed once either saved on the harddrive or in your design concept book. No idea is anything worth unless it is not written down and can be found easily when needed. It may be altered, included or dropped later, depending on several circumstances, but nonetheless get it down so it is there. When you start to write, never look for things like punctuation, correct spelling etc. those things come a bit later. First get it written, then correct. And here lies a big trap: When you read things over and over, then it becomes second nature and you start to miss things like spelling, clarity, etc. Get somebody to read those first drafts. It´s a fresh look at things and they usually come up with points to consider or simple questions, that seem obvious to you, but may not be for the uninitiated. it´s never a bad idea to get a hold of as many other already published works as you can get. Might it be for getting an inspiration, seeing how others have handled that matter you write on or simply by avoiding to more or less copy them. It´s already mentioned, that the wheel cannot be invented anew, but perhaps your splendid idea was more or less already used by somebody else? And one thing to avoid is definitely to be driven away by making the beast larger and larger (see my first remark) to the point where it gets uncontrollable = loosing focus (= the to be published form!). Not everything has to be included in the first publsihing, so limit yourself to the core game. Icing on the cake is always welcomed by customers, but chrome in itself doesn´t make for a good engine. So limit yourself on the included material/rules. One of the most important points, and here I assume you want to write a game from the ground up, is to have constant playtesting once the skeleton is finished. Nothing but real playtesting, with as many different people as you can find, brings out the pros and cons of your game. And feedback is definitely something you want at all stages of your project. And one real advice I can give: Once you share your vision with others, be prepared to handle a lot of critic and negative feedback. everybody out there is a game designer, marketing manager or otherwise highly educated person familiar with game design and publishing. [/QUOTE]
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