Setting Search Ponderings

[Umbran]

I don't see this as becoming a regular thing for a very simple reason - the expense. This is costing them the extra work done by staff to handle, sort thhrough, and choose a submission, plus $160 total in "prize" money. Only then do they get down to teh normal cost of writing the things they'll actually sell.

Now, the hoopla surrounding this may well offset such extra expenditure. But that only works once. You won't see nearly as much interest in future settings produced this way.

 

[Enkhidu]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Setting Search Ponderings

I thought part of the Master Plan (tm) was to regularly create a bunch of one-off campaign settings like Wheel of Time. Am I remembering incorrectly? It looks like "Ghostwalk" might be another such setting.

I thought the same thing: that WotC would publish 1 setting (and a few attendant prodects as well) every 2 years, and then turn over development to the fan bases when they brought out a new one. This would be very similar to the successful Games Workshop model where they bring out a new skirmish game every so often, play it out, and then stop support for it.

If that actually is the case, I can see this one submission search yielding 6 years worth of base material. That would be my guess as to why they would outright buy all 3 setting bibles.

 

[mmadsen]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Setting Search Ponderings

I thought the same thing: that WotC would publish 1 setting (and a few attendant prodects as well) every 2 years, and then turn over development to the fan bases when they brought out a new one.

I was just thinking about this, and it seems to me that one of the big reasons why a company like Wizards can sell so many copies of a new campaign setting -- where smaller companies can't -- is that customers expect the big company to support a new product line. After all, a big company can roll out supplements, where a smaller company can't, at least not as easily/reliably.

 

[Undead Pete]

I don't see this as becoming a regular thing for a very simple reason - the expense. This is costing them the extra work done by staff to handle, sort thhrough, and choose a submission, plus $160 total in "prize" money. Only then do they get down to teh normal cost of writing the things they'll actually sell.

Now, the hoopla surrounding this may well offset such extra expenditure. But that only works once. You won't see nearly as much interest in future settings produced this way.

I beg to differ.....

$160K is piddling in the corporate world. Compared to the amount of manhours they're saving, this is a bargain.

 

[mmadsen]

$160K is piddling in the corporate world. Compared to the amount of manhours they're saving, this is a bargain.

When you realize how much employers pay over and above their employees salaries -- employment taxes, rent for extra office space and parking, computers, etc. -- then you realize that $160k might not even be four man-years (even though game designers aren't expensive).

 

[BiggusGeekus]

$160K is piddling in the corporate world. Compared to the amount of manhours they're saving, this is a bargain.

It's far, far, far more than the going rate for RPG writing. Remember the small size of the industry.

 

[Umbran]

$160K is piddling in the corporate world. Compared to the amount of manhours they're saving, this is a bargain.

Ah, but part of the point is that they aren't saving any manhours! They, instead, are using manhours to judge a bazillion submissions. This is tying up laborers that were hired for other things - remember Zulkir noting the intern who was slitting envelopes?

Out of this, and two more rounds of judging (more manhours), they don't even get a finished product. They get 100 pages of bible, that must then be given to another writer(s) who will use manhours just to become familiar with the bible, and then will have to actually write one or more books...

As has been said by others, $120K for 111 pages of text is far above the going price for game designers these days.

 

[dreamthief]

Ah, but part of the point is that they aren't saving any manhours! They, instead, are using manhours to judge a bazillion submissions. This is tying up laborers that were hired for other things - remember Zulkir noting the intern who was slitting envelopes?

Out of this, and two more rounds of judging (more manhours), they don't even get a finished product. They get 100 pages of bible, that must then be given to another writer(s) who will use manhours just to become familiar with the bible, and then will have to actually write one or more books...

As has been said by others, $120K for 111 pages of text is far above the going price for game designers these days.

Still, lets say Ed Greenwood received a royalty every time something FR related sold. He'd be a very, very rich man. $100+k might seem a lot of money, but in the long run, WotC saves a ton.

 

[Rasyr]

Still, lets say Ed Greenwood received a royalty every time something FR related sold. He'd be a very, very rich man. $100+k might seem a lot of money, but in the long run, WotC saves a ton.

Exactly, to a company such as Hasbro (who owns WOTC), $120 grand is not that much money. Other companies just cannot compete with that.

Over 10,000 submissions for this Open Call of writing talent. Imagine, could another company even hope to pull something like this off? Doubtful. And not only do they get one for immediate use, but they get at least two others for auxillary usage as well.

If they paid their own developers for a setting bible (three actually), they would be paying much more than they are for this search. Plus they are getting it completed within an etremely short time span, and it doesn't pull man-hours from other projects....

This was one of the shrewdest moves ever on their part.

 

[GoldenEagle]

I too feel lucky to have been able to submit with a guarantee that it will be looked at.

For those of you who think 160,000 is pocketchange to a company, remember that this is a bet for them.

Also a great reminder for me that with risk comes reward. I take no risk other than time to submit while WotC risks at every turn with man hours, money and publishing cost with no guarantees that anyone will ever buy a single book. I could always try to market my idea on my own to make the 160 K+ royalties et. al. (I doubt I would get very far without Wizards marketing muscle).

BTW... I am not a publisher and I have never worked in the industry, but I would love to. How much time would it take and at what rate of pay would this usually be accomplished if it was not outsourced like it is here? My guess is that it would cost less but WotC would have less diversity in the choices they get.

John