Table Top RPGs and Second Life

This post is a bit rough, it's more about some ideas that are floating around in my head than anything else. After almost four years at it, I spend a lot of time in Second Life. I have friends there from all over the world -- geeks, gamers and in-between. There is a lot of gaming that goes on in Second Life, not a lot of it is what those of us who play and design table top RPGs might recognize (some might not even accept it as being what we do), but for me it is the same thing. Some use Second Life as a virtual table top, while others use Second Life for a more immersive, narrative style of play that is more about consensual choices than hard and fast rules.

As a game designer, it's the former that has more bearing on me than the later. One thing that I've thought about for a while is a way to sell to these people, people who are looking for in world tools to enhance their virtual table top. Setting up an in world store with scripted items that could handle things like dice rolling, and similar game tasks like that, is easy enough. My question has always been: How do we get them the rules? And in what format? Second Life doesn't support, unfortunately, epublishing formats that are used by game publishers. That means you end up with a split of in world for the gaming, out of world for the rules. At that point you might as well just use any of the virtual table top tools that are out there. I don't know. I think this is something that can be done. I think this is a market that can be reached, with people who are already involved with role-playing in some format or another but who haven't made that leap to table top gaming.

One of the other hurdles to overcome, would be the accessibility of rule sets. In a table top group it isn't unusual for one or two of the people to be the only ones possessing copies of the rules, while the rest of the group shares. That is a long stand and accepted practice for gaming groups. You can't really do that in the virtual world without promoting piracy, or using quick starts. Neither of which are really useful to game publishers. I know that Troll Lord Games released their StarSIEGE game with a set of core rules, and also a handful of player's books that could be used at the table. This is the sort of thing that would be needed for virtual table tops as well: a virtual boxed set that allows the GM to purchase the rules and then has a sub-license (perhaps) that allows the GM to share copies of player's guides with the people in his virtual gaming group. I imagine this would work something like a site license for software does.

Obviously, this is a high trust option for publishers. There's really nothing that would keep GMs from giving out the player's guides to anyone that they wanted, since PDF technology doesn't really allow for a "cap" on the number of copies you can make of something. It also wouldn't stop players from passing along their PDFs either.

These player's guides wouldn't be complete games. They would be minimal, at best, explaining the basics of how the games mechanics works and allowing the options for character creation. Of course, that is a lot of an RPG. It would be up to the publisher to include as much extra value into these "virtual boxed sets" as possible: rich, well-developed worlds, lots of advice and help for GMs in running virtual games, and etc. It would take some doing, but I can see this as something that has the potential to fly. It has a lot of potential risks too, obviously.

Something to thing about today.

NYCC: Godzilla Finds New Stomping Grounds at IDW - Comic Book Resources

The biggest star in motion pictures prepares to wreak havoc once again! IDW Publishing is thrilled to announce a partnership with Toho Co., Ltd. to create all-new GODZILLA comics. Starting in 2011, Godzilla will smash his way back onto the scene with a cast of characters from his films never before seen in comics.

'This new series will be monsters and mayhem, but most importantly, it’s going to be a lot of fun,' said Yukio Kotaki of Toho. 'Godzilla has been gone from comics for too long and we feel that IDW is the perfect company to welcome him back in 2011.'

In addition to the King of the Monsters himself, the new comics from IDW Publishing and Toho Co., Ltd. will feature many of Godzilla’s friends and foes, including MOTHRA™, KING GHIDORAH™, RODAN™ and more that have never before been featured in an American comic book series alongside Godzilla. With an impressive cast of monsters both old and new, IDW’s series will treat fans to both familiar themes and original takes on the pop culture legends that have stomped, smashed, and fought their way across movie screens for over five decades.

'Not only is Godzilla known worldwide, he’s loved worldwide, too. Having a film career with more than 25 movies and going on a 56-year span pretty much solidifies you as a legend, and IDW is really looking forward to contributing to that legacy,' said Chris Ryall, Chief Creative Officer and Editor-in Chief for IDW Publishing. 'We wanted Godzilla to return to comics, but this time we wanted him to have some company. I think fans will be pleased with the monster guest appearances, which will really offer something for every fan of these films. There are the classic characters, but there are also a few surprises, too.'

Debuting in February 2011, fans can expect to see a number of unique storylines from some of the industry’s top creators.

Visit IDWPublishing.com to learn more about the company and its top-selling books.

DC and Marvel Cut Prices on $3.99 Books to $2,99

DC Cuts $3.99 Ongoing Series to $2.99

Beginning January 2011, DC Comics will implement a line-wide pricing adjustment, lowering the prices of all standard length 32-page ongoing comic book titles currently priced at $3.99 to $2.99, it was announced today by DC Comics Co-Publishers Jim Lee and Dan DiDio.

'Today’s announcement re-affirms DC Comics’ commitment to both our core fans and to comic book store retailers,' said Jim Lee, DC Comics Co-Publisher. 'For the long term health of the industry, we are willing to take a financial risk so that readers who love our medium do not abandon the art form.'

and then, an hour later:

Marvel Drops $3.99 Price on New Titles

Less than an hour after their primary competitor announced an across the board drop to a $2.99 price point, Marvel Comics today also announced at least a partial move away from the often criticized $3.99 price for new serialized superhero comics.

During the ICv2 Conference On Comics & Digital – a Thursday afternoon industry pre-event to New York Comic Con – Marvel Senior Vice President of Sales & Circulation David Gabriel confirmed that new books launching in January 2011 will not debut at $3.99. 'A lot of talk I've heard [today is] about the pricing increases overall...because of the digital comics sales, prices will decrease,' he said as part of a panel whose focus was Print Vs. Digital.

I wonder how much of this is due to economic trickle down factors? Yes, there is the usual counter argument that comics are a luxury item...but do the people making the books seem to think that? I would think that a luxury item would increase in price due to economic factors rather than decrease.

I wonder what impact, if any, this will have on table top gaming? I know that a lot of people say the same about gaming, that they are luxury items and already underpriced as it is. But comics have always been remarkable inflation (or bad economy) proof. Historically comics did best during times of economic downturn. I know that a lot of geeks tend to have fairly bad credit due to too many impluse purchases outside of their means. Could all of this be catching up to the geek industries?

Three Vertigo editors laid off amid DC Entertainment restructuring

Three editors from DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint have been laid off as part of the company’s restructuring, The Beat reports: Joan Hilty, Pornsak Pichetshote and Jonathan Vankin.

Announced last Tuesday, the reorganization leaves DC’s comics-publishing division in New York City while moving the company’s administrative and digital and multimedia operations — including, presumably, the WildStorm offices now based in La Jolla, Calif. — to a Warner Bros.-managed property in Burbank, Calif. As many as 80 of DC’s estimated 250 employees are expected to be fired or relocated.

The Return of Atlas Comics

Some years ago, in the pre-Ultraverse of Malibu Comics the company had a chance to acquire the old Atlas/Seaboard comic book characters from two guys who claimed to have the rights.

It was very tempting at the time to pursue it – Atlas had a bunch of great characters created by folks like Howard Chaykin, Steve Ditko, Pat Broderick, Gary Friedrich, Mike Ploog, Larry Hama, Michael Fleisher, Ernie Colon, Neal Adams, Alex Toth, John Severin, Russ Heath, Wally Wood, and Mike Sekowsky and many others.

At the time, it would’ve been quite a boost to the company to acquire the characters: they had a certain brand recognition, a lot of sentimental fanboy attachment, and had only been out of the marketplace for less than 15 years or so at the time.

Pre-Orders, Ransoms and The RPG "Business"

Although pretty much all of a blog is a statement of opinion, this much is more so than usual.

The RPG industry is a niche one, and it is nowhere near as large as it was during it's heyday in the 80s and 90s. This ends up meaning that, a lot of the time, companies are strapped for the cash that is needed to get products developed, written and eventually produced. This can be done a couple of ways: the publisher can reach into their own pocket (either business or personal) and pull the money out, hoping that the money will be made back in sales, or they can organize a pre-order or ransom to get the money together to fund getting the book made.

Neither of these practices are bad, although with the habit of RPG publishers going out of business there can be risks for the consumer participating. All of this is a good faith agreement on the part of the consumers and the publisher that the money will be used for what the publisher says it is going to be used for, and the consumer will receive a book at the end of the process.

Lately, however, this process seems to falling down on its face. To paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld, "Anyone can take a reservation but it is holding the reservation that is important." This year at GenCon a few publishers have debuted new books that have been brought to market due to ransoms or extensive pre-order support from early adopter consumers. This isn't a bad thing, however, as new product is a good thing for publishers to have. The problem comes up that these books have been sold without first fulfilling the orders of those who ransomed or pre-ordered the books. That, in the opinion of this blogger, is a big no-no.

In some cases, on the backend there have been issues with hired warehouses not properly or completely fulfilling the orders of a publisher's customers. Ultimately, however, this is just an excuse that needs to be overcome to maintain the goodwill of a customer base.

Goodwill is important in this entire process. Geeks tend to be overly forgiving towards RPG publishers because they are blurring the lines between "these people are my friends" and "these people are a business that I have given my money to" and think that friends should be forgiven their trespasses. It is important to remember that these two thoughts should be kept separate from each other, and these businesses need to be treated like businesses.

Now, I personally no longer take part in ransoms or pre-orders. Yes, I've been burned (and keep getting burned on one that I have been involved with) and because of that I no longer have the faith or the good will to believe that a publisher will meet their obligations. Once a product is done and in the stores or on the table, I will be there with cash in hand to pick up a copy but not before hand. Not again.

Judge rules Dark Ages Spawn, Domina and Tiffany are derivative characters

A federal judge has dealt another blow to Todd McFarlane in his long-running copyright dispute with Neil Gaiman, ruling that the characters Dark Ages Spawn, Domina and Tiffany are mere derivatives of their earlier creations.

In a decision filed Friday, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb declared that the three characters are simply variations of Medieval Spawn and Angela, co-created by Gaiman in 1993 for McFarlane's Spawn series. Therefore, McFarlane has until Sept. 1 to provide Gaiman with an accounting of money earned from Dark Ages Spawn, Domina and Tiffany. As co-owner of the copyrights, Gaiman is entitled to one-half of the profits.

Brett Bernstein Discusses The Masterbook/Shatterzone Acquisition and Precis Intermedia

Let's start out with a little background for those who may not know your or your company. What can you tell us to fill in those people?



Precis Intermedia has been around since 2002. Back then it was Politically Incorrect Games, which merged with Spectre Press in, I believe, 2005. I've always felt that the casual gamer, one who has real-life issues and family concerns, doesn't have enough games specifically designed for him. Everything these days is full-color hardcover books or core books with vast lines of supplemental material. Not only does he not have a lot of time to read a 300-page game, he probably also doesn't have the money to throw around. Games like HardNova 2 and Coyote Trail are meant for him. For $4.95, you can download a game that not only includes easy-to-learn and customize rules, but ready-to-use characters and scenarios, all in under 100 pages. I also want to empower the gamer by giving him tools to improvise and customize. My philosophy is that rules are not set in stone. They are guidelines to get you started. Once you understand the rules and why they exist, you control them rather than them controlling the game.


At what point did you think "I could be a game designer" and how did that transition into "I could be a game publisher"?


I supposed I've always wanted to create my own games. I remember seeing my friend's copy of Battletech and thinking that I can make something like that. Of course, I was only about 15 and never finished, instead buying the game, but that was probably the first urge. I worked on games with some friends who kept dropping the ball, making me do all the work. I eventually decided to take the plunge and put my collection of skills to work. That's pretty much the gist of it. I don't want to bore anyone.


While this interview is going to be about your acquisition of the former West End Games properties, this isn't the first game line that you have purchased. I know, for example, you bought Story Engine (a favorite game of mine) a few years back. What leads you to purchasing and bringing these games back to life?


One of my hobbies is collecting old and out of print games. Sometimes I find a game that makes me go "cool, this would work well with my other stuff" or "this deserves to be streamlined a bit and republished." As long as I can do it without losing money, the rest is history.


Let's talk about your acquisitions from West End Games. You purchased the rights to Shatterzone, Masterbook and Bloodshadows from Eric Gibson (the owner of West End Games). What about these games makes them interesting to you?


I think MasterBook is a very underrated system. It's a little more complex than I normally prefer, but it runs well in play once you get used to it. I like the variable outcomes and damages, as well as the value scale for determining distance and sizes. Bloodshadows and Shatterzone are just cool settings. The latter was never marketed well, so not too many people even have a clue what it is about. It's a bit too involved to go into that here, but adventures can be so diverse, from emulating Star Trek and Star Wars to Serenity and Babylon 5. As far as Bloodshadows goes, it's got magic, monsters, and film noir - a great combination.


What sort of plans do you have for these game lines now that you own them?


The only concrete plans right now are to reprint them. That includes the MasterDeck cards for both MasterBook and Shatterzone. I'd like to see an updated and streamlined version of MasterBook, but I couldn't guess how long that would take. Shatterzone and Bloodshadows could possibly be seen for other systems.


Many people keep predicting gloom and doom for the table top gaming industry. However, your purchases of other game lines and your continuing release schedule seems to say otherwise. What is your opinion on the "state of the industry" for gaming and how do currently non-traditional methods like selling games in PDF and POD formats figure into your opinion, and how you do business?


I have a very unique business model, one that focuses on digital content (PDF), but does not shy away from printed books. Most of the PDF books in my catalog can be printed to order, either at the time of purchase or at a later date. This provides a try before you buy option for printed books, while also keeping prices low. This appeals to the gamers who are not only familiar with shareware software, but also the casual gamers who prefer roleplaying games that require only small investments in both cash and time. That said, I can't really comment on the "state of the normal industry," because I'm not part of it. In my opinion, I'm working in a different fragment of the overall industry, one that works for me. The "normal industry" is not one in which I could compete, since there are too many middlemen and it is driven by eye candy.


What is upcoming for Precis Intermedia?


Lots. I've been trying to finish up the layout for Peter Spahn's Stormrift game, while also focusing on the new Classic Story Engine Plus universal rules. I'm also working to get some playing cards printed for the Two-Fisted Tales pulp RPG along with a new adventure supplement for it. And as usual, a new Disposable Heroes Paper Minis set beckons my attention. Beyond that, more miniatures games, a GMing guide, solo wargaming guide, new diceless game, and more.


Where can people find you and Precis Intermedia out on the internet?


As always, www.pigames.net.

She Has No Head! – Interview With The Man Who Would Resurrect DV8 (aka Brian Wood)

I’ve talked pretty openly about my love for Brian Wood’s new DV8 mini-series Gods & Monsters, from the fact that I think it feels both modern and also somehow like a throwback to really good superhero character pieces, but it’s also been one of the inspirations for why I’ve been talking so frequently about how much I’d like to see more independent creators given a chance to show what they can do on more mainstream characters. Not that DV8 was ever totally mainstream, but there’s no reason why DV8 can’t emerge as a powerhouse of a title from Wildstorm, if done right. And with able assists from Fiona Staples on covers and Carrie Strachan delivering beautiful colors, Brian Wood and Rebekah Isaacs are doing it SO right. The way I feel a lot more indie creators could if given the chance to run wild on a title the way Wood and Isaacs have cut loose on Gods & Monsters.

Comic-Con 2010: Young Justice & Characters

This looks like it's going to be a cool cartoon when it comes out.