Meta-Buying

[Sixchan]

There's only one for me, and although it's partially because of the way they handle a certain issue, it's more because the covers are so damn unrealistic and stupid, IYKWIMAITYD.

Of course, I'm fairly new to the current gaming scene, having only returned after conversion from 1e back near the end of last year. I wouldn't know of any other companies' nefarious activities.

 

[Chris Coulter]

I just evaluate each piece of work on it's own merit as I hold it in my hands. I guess I don't keep my hand in the 3rd party game enough to recognize publishers on anything but their product's reputation, so I don't have to keep track of what the president of the company has been up to, and if the cover or interior art is enough to make me balk, then I don't pick the book up because I would feel like a fool being seen reading it. Bad art works against you. Good writing works for you. Good art works for you. Bad writing works against you. That having been said, I guess if I got enough of a bad impression about a company or person at a company, it would make me less likely to pick a book up, but the better your book, the greater an allowance for rude/bad behavior I can give. Still, not much call for this rule, as very little 3rd party content has interested me, save the excellent Dynasties & Demagogues from Atlas, which I feel filled a very big gap in the political side of DnD, and provided what I felt were some much needed mechanics for rewarding roleplay during games. (was that a plug? oh well.)

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Meta-Buying

Company reputation certainly plays a part in my purchase decisions. To buy something from a company I don't like, it would have to meet two criteria:

1. Topic of high interest to me personally
2. No other coverage of said topic
   [/list=1]
   
   That will get them a look. If it's decent (or better), they'll have a sale.
   
   I might not like company A, but if they're the only one who publishs a book on subject V, they get a look (and maybe a sale) regardless of my "overall feel" about the company. (I guess this is my reward for company A filling a niche which intersests me.)
   
   And while company B may cover stuff of interest to me, other companies cover it (and probably better), so I don't even look at their stuff, much less buy their product, just because of my "overall feel" about their company. (I guess this is my penalty for company B's shoddy work during the d20 glut.)

 

[pogre]

Yep, three companies I will not buy from.

Conversely, if a new company is trying to do something new and cool I will try to go out of my way to buy their product. I even will put up with a bit of disappointment if I think they are working at improving.

 

[haiiro]

There are a handful of d20 companies whose products I avoid entirely, although I try to keep them in mind just in case they surprise me. In all cases, it's because I haven't found anything of theirs that I've purchased or looked through to be even remotely worthwhile -- not because of things the folks that run them have said or done.

Posting here is about the extent of my contact with the movers and shakers of the gaming industry. Except in unusual cases (like Jim Ward's now-infamous 900 Words column), I'm not likely to know enough about any gaming industry professional to have much of an opinion about them as a person.

That said, I've been turned off from other things on the basis of how the people presenting them presented themselves -- but if it came up in relation to a d20 publisher whose products I liked, they'd have to push some deeply personal buttons to get me to stop buying their stuff. Good gaming material is good gaming material.

(Edit: typo. This post took me so long to formulate that I was sure it was error-free. )

 

[Sanackranib]

what wouldnt you buy

for me its more of a product by product and do I have the funds to aquire it issue. I have a lot of stuff dealing with rogues and only the core rules for monks for example. I personally don't think that the monk has a place in a "midevil" setting. so I dont buy products that focus on the monk. it doesn't matter which company or publisher puts them out.