Who Will the New Publishers Be?

[JoeGKushner]

For 3rd ed, once it went open, some of the well known names at WoTC like Monte and Chris formed companies like Green Ronin and Malhavoc. Others like the Game Mechanics and now Sinister have come along with ties into the 'old guard' of 3rd edition.

Anyone thinking we'll see some breakout talent from the writers of the PHB/DMG/MM etc... for 4th ed?

 

[Shawn_Kehoe]

For 3rd ed, once it went open, some of the well known names at WoTC like Monte and Chris formed companies like Green Ronin and Malhavoc. Others like the Game Mechanics and now Sinister have come along with ties into the 'old guard' of 3rd edition.

Anyone thinking we'll see some breakout talent from the writers of the PHB/DMG/MM etc... for 4th ed?

Probably not in the same numbers. I'm hoping that the WotC staff don't get "rewarded" with years of cutbacks that characterised the post 3.0 period.

I suppose it will also depend on how the GSL is worded. I'd expect WotC employees have a better-than-average chance of being published in Dragon or Dungeon ... so third party only makes economic sense if you want to do something of little interest to the main D&D market.

 

[Hussar]

Shawn_Kehoe makes an excellent point. I wonder how much of a push there would have been for some authors to start their own companies if the lay offs hadn't happened?

 

[jaldaen]

There are 4 ways I foresee myself publishing in 4e...

1) Ransoming a product. It could be fun, but I have never tried it before. Anyone interested in a 4e product ransom? Or have a "how to ransom" resource I can look into?

2) Someone out there with money needs a freelance writer to complete his/her company... if so email me at joseph.dm.miller@gmail.com

3) I win the lottery and self-publish.

4) I create a game company called "Totally Text Games" enter the PDF business and create text only 4e supplements... no art, but cheaper. (I'd include the art, but I'm not good with stick figures)

 

[Khuxan]

1) Ransoming a product. It could be fun, but I have never tried it before. Anyone interested in a 4e product ransom? Or have a "how to ransom" resource I can look into?

I am always interested in RPG ransoms - it's a model I think is particularly viable for 3.5, but could work for any system. As for 'how to ransom', I think (based on observing Greg Stolze) it's pretty simple:

• Write product.
• Announce product.
• Collect donations - either directly into your PayPal account or using Fundable
• When enough donations are collected, release the product for free download.

I dunno if that "" means you knew all this already. Oh well

 

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

I am always interested in RPG ransoms - it's a model I think is particularly viable for 3.5, but could work for any system. As for 'how to ransom', I think (based on observing Greg Stolze) it's pretty simple:

• Write product.
• Announce product.
• Collect donations - either directly into your PayPal account or using Fundable
• When enough donations are collected, release the product for free download.

I dunno if that "" means you knew all this already. Oh well

There's also the Wolfgang Method.

• Propose Several RPG Projects
• Set Up Funding Goals for Each
• Invite Patrons to Sponsor one Option or Another
• Once Goals are met by patrons - Write Project with the most Support, give Patrons some editorial Control
• Release Product with Premium Features to Patrons
• Release Product to General Audience - Optional

Wolfgang's method is helped by strong communities of fans and authors/illustrators.

 

[Khuxan]

There's also the Wolfgang Method.

Wolfgang's method is helped by strong communities of fans and authors/illustrators.

I would call that the Patronage Model, I don't think it's true to the method or spirit of Ransom.

But they do follow quite similar patterns.

 

[Pinotage]

My only concern would be that prospective publishers will see what happened during 3e/3.5e and decide not to publish at all. Of the hundreds of companies that published with 3e, very few are actually successful. With odds for failure so high, beyond just doing it as a hobby, are we even going to see new 4e companies that can compete with existing 3e ones switching to 4e?

Pinotage

 

[Torchlyte]

"Ransom" is a dumb business model. There's a clear free-rider problem.

 

[BradfordFerguson]

Joe, excellent question (and if you were the "Joe" for the DDI interview, that was a great feature)...

It was pretty clear to me that WotC hired Mike Mearls after "Iron Heroes" for 4th Edition (I flatly stated to a d20 writer friend that "they hired him for 4th edition work"). Mearls is a beast as far as volume of work and quality. Reading the preview for "Races & Classes", I got the sense that Mearls was heavily involved in the design process and was more of the "hitman" whereas the main dude was more like a "mob boss" (involved in the brain storming but not as much in the execution). This is ALL speculation on my part (which gets me in trouble).

Morbidly, WotC probably ramped up their hiring and staff for the creation and launch of 4E, and since we know what goes up must come down, there will likely be layoffs after the launch. I DO think that WotC may have a SMASHING hit on their hands with 4E, so maybe they will wait to see how sales go before deciding on layoffs.

In general, for me the designers/writers that get me juiced up most as a reader are those who have the rare combination of strong mechanical instincts (I guess this is the "designer") with very strong writing where you can TOTALLY SENSE (visual, tactile, etc) the flavor text that they are conveying. Long-time D&D players will likely want to play around with lots of mechanics, but mechanics are pretty lifeless and don't really inspire folks to buy books by themselves (?).

I don't truly know the strengths/weaknesses of those involved with design/writing 4E. My guess is that those who are the best WRITERS will likely have the most success and they will need the "numbers guys" (designers) to make sure the mechanics don't suck.