Role-playing games clearly use a lot of writers and artists, but these people are only one part of the team that gets a book published. The rest of this team are often underappreciated even though their work is just as essential. But writing and art remain the jobs people think of when they want to ‘get into the gaming industry’. They are the ‘actors’ rather than the ‘backstage staff’ in gaming. So, as I also work backstage as a lighting technician in theatre, I felt it was time to grant these unsung roles some applause.
Incidentally, if you want to work ‘in house’ for a gaming company, writing and art is not the way to go, they are almost always commissioned from freelancers. However, the following positions are highly sought after and few companies let a talented person with these skills slip through their fingers!
[h=3]Editors[/h] An editor takes the final draft from the writers and corrects it for publication. But it is not just a proofreading job, or even just about fixing the grammar. Any good writer will tell you that a good editor makes a book. An editor needs a good eye for how that text might be more succinct and interesting. A gaming editor also needs to be able to spot mistakes and confusions in the rules writing as well as the fiction and setting material. To take an analogy from Japanese swordmaking, if the writer is the bladesmith, the editor is the polisher, who brings out the true beauty of the blade so everyone can see it.
[h=3]Graphic Artists[/h] One of the least known artistic jobs is that of a graphic artist. They create the page borders, title and font styles and the overall template each page will follow. This template is then handed over to the layout artist (so anyone who can do both jobs is like gold dust). While page borders and sidebar design might not seem very exciting, it is what makes the book look truly professional. I’ve done plain layout on books of my own and it’s looked OK, but with the graphics it looked amazing.
[h=3]Layout Artists[/h] Even if you just want text on a page, someone has to make sure it fits. Add the art and graphics to the page and that job becomes a lot more complex. While layout doesn’t quite get the same artistic options a graphic artist might, they are the craftspeople of the industry. Like a carpenter making a finely crafted joint they make sure each page looks right and reads well. When you open a book and look at a page spread, the ‘wow factor’ is mostly down to the layout and graphic artist.
[h=3]Office Management[/h] Outside the actual production of books lies the whole administration of the company. In general, people get into gaming so they can make games. But the demands of running a company, usually takes people away from that. Finding someone who understands the products but can also keep the office and administration side of the company going is a godsend. These office managers are the people who make sure books go where they need to. They chase up printers and shipping, make sure orders are collected and sent out and ensure freelancers get paid. Their work is rarely noticed until it goes wrong, because the best of them make it look like everything is flowing seamlessly.
[h=3]Marketing[/h] In today’s market, no one will know about your game, unless someone knows how to promote it. It is rare to find dedicated marketing people in an RPG company unless it is quite a large one. There are plenty of marketing people out there, but few who know gaming and how to reach the gaming community (as well as the mainstream). However, if you find one it can often mean the difference between your game being the new product everyone is talking about and no one ever hearing about it.
Hopefully this has given you a little more insight about what goes on behind a credits page. You will notice each company is a little different and sometimes employs people with a variety of these skills. But whatever they do, you can rest assured that anyone with their name in the book played an essential role in its creation.
This article was contributed by Andrew Peregrine (Corone) as part of EN World's Columnist (ENWC) program. We are always on the lookout for freelance columnists! If you have a pitch, please contact us!
Incidentally, if you want to work ‘in house’ for a gaming company, writing and art is not the way to go, they are almost always commissioned from freelancers. However, the following positions are highly sought after and few companies let a talented person with these skills slip through their fingers!
[h=3]Editors[/h] An editor takes the final draft from the writers and corrects it for publication. But it is not just a proofreading job, or even just about fixing the grammar. Any good writer will tell you that a good editor makes a book. An editor needs a good eye for how that text might be more succinct and interesting. A gaming editor also needs to be able to spot mistakes and confusions in the rules writing as well as the fiction and setting material. To take an analogy from Japanese swordmaking, if the writer is the bladesmith, the editor is the polisher, who brings out the true beauty of the blade so everyone can see it.
[h=3]Graphic Artists[/h] One of the least known artistic jobs is that of a graphic artist. They create the page borders, title and font styles and the overall template each page will follow. This template is then handed over to the layout artist (so anyone who can do both jobs is like gold dust). While page borders and sidebar design might not seem very exciting, it is what makes the book look truly professional. I’ve done plain layout on books of my own and it’s looked OK, but with the graphics it looked amazing.
[h=3]Layout Artists[/h] Even if you just want text on a page, someone has to make sure it fits. Add the art and graphics to the page and that job becomes a lot more complex. While layout doesn’t quite get the same artistic options a graphic artist might, they are the craftspeople of the industry. Like a carpenter making a finely crafted joint they make sure each page looks right and reads well. When you open a book and look at a page spread, the ‘wow factor’ is mostly down to the layout and graphic artist.
[h=3]Office Management[/h] Outside the actual production of books lies the whole administration of the company. In general, people get into gaming so they can make games. But the demands of running a company, usually takes people away from that. Finding someone who understands the products but can also keep the office and administration side of the company going is a godsend. These office managers are the people who make sure books go where they need to. They chase up printers and shipping, make sure orders are collected and sent out and ensure freelancers get paid. Their work is rarely noticed until it goes wrong, because the best of them make it look like everything is flowing seamlessly.
[h=3]Marketing[/h] In today’s market, no one will know about your game, unless someone knows how to promote it. It is rare to find dedicated marketing people in an RPG company unless it is quite a large one. There are plenty of marketing people out there, but few who know gaming and how to reach the gaming community (as well as the mainstream). However, if you find one it can often mean the difference between your game being the new product everyone is talking about and no one ever hearing about it.
Hopefully this has given you a little more insight about what goes on behind a credits page. You will notice each company is a little different and sometimes employs people with a variety of these skills. But whatever they do, you can rest assured that anyone with their name in the book played an essential role in its creation.
This article was contributed by Andrew Peregrine (Corone) as part of EN World's Columnist (ENWC) program. We are always on the lookout for freelance columnists! If you have a pitch, please contact us!
