Small Publishers Band Together To Start “RPG Revolution”!

[Justin D. Jacobson]

Just remember, what you find to be hyperbole, others will find to be nothing but arrogance. Especially when you are continuing to expand upon it by adding "Some games are more equal than others" to sigs of individuals involved with this enterprise.

You're not the first person to mention this. Honestly, what are publishers supposed to say in their press releases: "We're Thoroughly Mediocre!" I'm not dismissing your point, but it's a damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't proposition.

 

[Crothian]

You're not the first person to mention this. Honestly, what are publishers supposed to say in their press releases: "We're Thoroughly Mediocre!".

I'd perfer "We might not be the best, but hey we aren't the worst either!!"

 

[Justin D. Jacobson]

Or... "We're number 2! We're number 2!"

P.S. - Like the "tilt" sign on you post listing, Crothian.

 

[jmucchiello]

P.S. - Like the "tilt" sign on you post listing, Crothian.

Wow, that's great.

Er.. I have nothing but "good luck" to say on topic. Although the more equal than other makes me want to chant "4 dice good, 2 dice better" but I have no idea what that would mean.

 

[PJ-Mason]

IPR...

"Hey, we don't suck!"


I don't think that many people were that angry about about the "professional" crack DTRPG made as much as the DRM stuff they use. As long as they stay away from stuff like that, i'm interested.

But be aware, the bigger you guys get, the less the "hey, we're underdogs" schtick will work.

 

[Ed Cha]

Thank you for all your support and best wishes!

It's hard to define the word "indie" myself, but I guess you could say that right now we're focusing on creator-publishers in our recruitment efforts.

The latest creator-publisher to join Indie Press Revolution is Clinton R. Nixon of Anvilwerks. His hot-off-the-press (releases on Dec. 6, I believe) RPG "The Shadow of Yesterday" is BEAUTIFUL! It's set in "a post-apocalyptic fantasy world where the creation of a moon has ravaged cultures and thrown the fate of the earth into question" and is really well-done. I heartily recommend it to anyone.

And don't forget the double 2004 ENnie-nominated "Poisoncraft: The Dark Art" by Justin D. Jacobson of Blue Devil Games! It is THE d20 book about poison and I really think everyone who's playing d20 should own a copy.

 

[D_Sinclair]

You're not the first person to mention this. Honestly, what are publishers supposed to say in their press releases: "We're Thoroughly Mediocre!" I'm not dismissing your point, but it's a damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't proposition.

The best option would be to use something someone else said about your stuff first, though in this instance, you'll be hard pressed to find something said about most of the work being represented by the conglomeration of companies.

For example, here at ARP, the big selling pitch for Big Bang is "often referred to as the roleplayer's equivalent of a 'Jane's Guide to Infantry Weapons'". That didn't start until after we saw three different reviews that mentioned one book or another by Jane's Group.

 

[Ed Cha]

This is very cool. These companies produce some great stuff and being able to order it in one place is a convenience, as well as a savings (free shipping on orders over $25.00...W00T )

Good luck to all involved.

Thank you very much, JimAde!

I also want to mention we have VERY reasonable rates for international shipping. I think it's pretty much at cost.

We're trying to make it as easy and inexpensive to get our stuff as possible. Here's a testimony to show how hard we're working at that:

"I got my order in a very timely manner, and the books arrived in perfect condition. So, a good deal on shipping and prompt delivery of my order showed me this place is reliable. As a consumer, isn't that all that matters?"
--Urbwar

It can't get any better than this! Anyhow, I look forward to your order, Jim.

 

[Ed Cha]

The best option would be to use something someone else said about your stuff first, though in this instance, you'll be hard pressed to find something said about most of the work being represented by the conglomeration of companies.

For example, here at ARP, the big selling pitch for Big Bang is "often referred to as the roleplayer's equivalent of a 'Jane's Guide to Infantry Weapons'". That didn't start until after we saw three different reviews that mentioned one book or another by Jane's Group.

LOL. What a coincidence! I just posted someone else's comment about our products and service.

 

[Ed Cha]

The consternation is somewhat comparable to that over DTRPG. DTRPG used the word "professional" in an attempt to define their niche as different from RPGNow, which has professional companies and semipro companies, but this naturally doesn't sound complimentary to the pros who use and enjoy RPGNow.

Now we have this usage of "indie." By any reasonable definition (like those used for other fields), most game companies are "indie." WotC, White Wolf and (formerly) Decipher are examples of non-indie RPG companies, but that's pretty much it.

I took this up with Ron Edwards earlier this year. To him (as far as I understand it), "indie" means that all aspects of the game are under the authority of the creator, from production to sales. This is an odd definition and seems to mostly exist because he wanted to get Hero Wars/Heroquest into his clique, despite the fact that the setting derives from often-collaborative work in the 80s and the system is designed by Robin Laws.

(Interestingly, this makes Vampire an "indie" game, since WW is still owned by some of its original creatives. Of course, that doesn't make any sense, but what they hey

Now that Adept Press and others have decided to essentially farm out their sales, I wonder which way the goalposts will shift to further redefine "indie." Hopefully, the definition will become muddled enough to break the critical stagnation found in analyzing both business-oriented and creative-driven games, since we currently are mired in discourse-killing babble everywhere. In that vein, I hope IPR does very, very well.

Thank you, Eyebeams! You have a very interesting point and something to think about.

We don't want to put down anyone else. It's something that I avoid at all costs (unless you talk to me in private, J/K). We just want to make sure that we offer the best quality products all in one place for the consumer. It's often hard to tell what's good and what's not so good online, so we'd like to make sure anyone can pick up anything on our site and be happy with their purchase. It's a matter of building trust and confidence with our customers.