shep
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Post by shep on Oct 9, 2013 2:48:55 GMT -9
First of all, sorry, if this post is in the wrong section, but I thought it best belongs here... At the moment, I'm very busy writing up this project that I call Her Majesty's Secret Spies. It's a really easy espionage RPG set during the cold war period of the 20th century, that uses no more than 1d6 (2 in some extra-rare cases) and with the core rules fitting on the 8 pages of a PocketMod. Since all characters are agents, the only "classes" you can choose from are Femme Fatale (female character) and Secret Agent Man (male character). There are only four attributes (Body, Mind, Interaction and Attack) and a number of abilities that either raise or reduce the target number you need to roll with the d6. The game mechanics are so fast and easy that you can play the game as well as an RPG as you could play as a tabletop. The character sheets come as a kind of ID card. And I also plan on making tiles and minis. I think about publishing the game on DrivethruRPG in several sets. The core set would include the core rules, the character IDs, a set of 7 cardstock spy minis (see below), a themed papercraft d6, a guide to Berlin and an adventure scenario. The 11 other sets I already planned each consist of an adventure scenario and a combination of two of the following products: campaign guide, guide to dangerous places, guide to friends and foes, a set of tiles, a set of minis. And since I'm somewhat of a perfectionist, all guides and core rules will be in PDF and PocketMod version; the tiles, minis and other papercraft will be PDf only. To give you a better idea, here's a preview of the first minis set. The fronts are made from stock photos, and since I cannot draw there are no backs... So, what do you think about my idea? I thought of publishing the core set as "pay what you want" in order to check whether there's a market for this or not...
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Post by WackyAnne on Oct 9, 2013 3:31:52 GMT -9
What can I say? You almost had me with spies (I was raised on a couple of James Bond flicks)... and you defintely had me with PocketMod While our game group is still struggling to get a real game off the ground (and we are just starting off with traditional fantasy), I think your game sounds fun, the fact that you are describing it as both quick and easy to get started is a big advantage. And to have a complete game with all the trimmings sounds even better! I've bought a couple of Grey Matter Games Deadly Mission, and while I've yet to get everything together to play, I'm happy to have them and plan on buying more once we finally get playing them I've also bought OkumArts Snowball Wars, and will be playing that the day the first flake falls! As to PWYW... I've mixed feelings about that. True, it's a way to test a market, but here's the thing. Most people want stuff for free, or as cheap/easy as they can get it. And they won't necessarily see the value of it, or even play it. The investment of time and money into something increases the need to get your money's worth, so to speak. It'll be a great deal for the customer, but maybe not for you. There will be some that will pay more at the outset, and some that will come back and pay for it, but expect a lot of downloads without any payback or even feedback ... I've downloaded plenty of freebies from RPGNow et al., with the intent on using more than a few, but I've lost track of a lot of them. With PWYW, I've often gone by the suggested amount (I don't know if you can still see that, but sometimes in the product listing it would have the original value, when they first rolled the feature out), but sometimes I've put little to nothing to try it out. I did that with a couple of Lord ZseZse's products a couple of months ago, to check and see if the house would actually fit the corresponding map, and I still feel guilty. I've yet to print either out, but I _love_ their stuff, and will be buying the full bundle of their ZseZse's World maps when money's a little less committed... but as you can see, even the best intentioned might not support you as much as you or they might want, given the PWYW option. Plus, having the customer set the price, it can be hard to set it higher later for the core or expansion sets. They will not know all the hard work, time, and money that went into the project to begin with. So my best advice is to look at comparable games, and set your price in line with them, and with your own efforts. Alternatively, or additionally, set your price high as it really deserves, and have frequent and/or deep discounted sales. That nice bright red number always sparks my interest, and my impulse to buy The best advice can be found on OneBookshelf's own blog; they even have a specific entry outlining this very question: oneblogshelf.blogspot.ca/2013/04/pricing.html
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Post by Parduz on Oct 9, 2013 3:57:40 GMT -9
Hard to answer. About me, when i buy a ruleset (i'm talking about boardgame/tabletop skirmish) i want to know what are the mechanics, what's the rules that makes it stand out as a different product. This 'cause now that i'm 43, i have enough games for almost any genre and taste, and for some genre i have more than one. So, if you want to hook me, you have to make me know why i'd need another tabletop game
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Post by cowboyleland on Oct 9, 2013 4:18:59 GMT -9
I agree with Parduz. There are a lot of "quick play" table tops and rpg's. so that is not a feature that will make your game stand out. Is there a distinctive mechanic that you can emphasize or can the figs and map be made to look so cool people are just going to love to play?
For example: I'm not a fan of the zombie craze at all, but I bought Katana School Girls vs Zombie Furries because it was just so weird.
Also, the last skirmish game I bought (years ago) was Song of Fur and Buttons because I liked Sir Rob's figures. I had so much fun with that I bought several more "Song of . . ." books, but I never played any other armies.
Your "logo" right now is certainly very British, which to us "across the pond" is kind of cool. Can you highlight the "Cold War" somehow? Is there a mechanic or accessory that evokes the cold war better than other games?
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Post by mahotsukai on Oct 9, 2013 7:17:23 GMT -9
In my opinion the allure of this genre is not the faceless agents, just doing their duty, what people relate to are the iconic personalities. James Bond, Harry Palmer, George Smiley, Derek Flint, Matt Helm, John Steed, Cathy Gale, Emma Peel, Tara King, etc. That's just the ones I can recall, from TV and movies.
Also, you are restricting your options by making the title 'Her Majesty's Secret Spies'. I would suggest you call it 'Licensed to Kill' or something else, then you can bring out 'HMSS' as the British supplement, allowing you to follow with supplements for other nations.
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Post by Rhannon on Oct 9, 2013 12:06:53 GMT -9
... So, what do you think about my idea? I thought of publishing the core set as "pay what you want" in order to check whether there's a market for this or not... ... good question ( the topic's title ) ... I think we all have personal motivational preferences when we buy something. Some like the RPGs in general, someone else will search for that difference in game mechanics that differentiate the product from others ... I like RPGs but I use them more often reading them like novels rather than using them as gaming rules. I have limited available free time so I prefer boardgames and skirmish wargame rules ( imho faster compared to other games' genres ). Someone may not like this setting ( 70's spies' stories ). I like very much it. I like Copplestone and Artizan's minis. I like much Crooked Dice 7TV rules ( other link ) and and his wonderful, imho, minis ( link 01 - link 02 ). I like very much Okumarts' Spot Of Bother first set and can't wait for the next. I have joined the Warm Acre kickstarter campaign for " Spy or Die Trying" only after the author told me that the ( paper ) figures will have front and back art. So ... what's the point? ( my personal point, my personal motivational preference that prompted me to pledge ). A good and complete stand-ins set. I like paper figures ( ok I like also this setting, I like play fast boardgames too ... ) so it's a good reason to me. Most likely I will buy this product, also to support you, but honestly one of its components, what I like more, paper minis, doesn't seem very nice for now. Imho.
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Post by bravesirkevin on Oct 9, 2013 12:45:42 GMT -9
To give you a better idea, here's a preview of the first minis set. The fronts are made from stock photos, and since I cannot draw there are no backs... I don't know if you're aware, but the OneBookShelf sites (RPGNow, DriveThruRPG, etc) actually allow you to distribute royalties directly to each contributor every time a sale is made, so if you wanted to, you may be able to work a deal with some of the artists here and get some custom figures created, as long as you don't mind giving a portion of the profits to someone else, that is. There's also another method where you bundle your books with another publisher's minis... with this method you each get your share of the profits from the individual sets, and you can also sell them separately. Our friend Kiladecus has been doing this recently with a lot of his different game ideas and it seems to be working out pretty well for all concerned from what I can tell. Idea seems sound... I reckon you should give it a go! Be sure to get the game play tested and proof-read before you start charging money for it though... professionalism counts for a lot!
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shep
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Red Alert! Shields up! LENS FLARE!!!
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Post by shep on Oct 10, 2013 14:14:26 GMT -9
Thanks for all the great advice and ideas. Now I know that there ist still lots to do...
- I will have to communicate clearly, what's so special about this game.
- I will need better minis, perhaps via coop with one of the artists on this board.
- I will have to move several planned parts down the list so they will be published earlier than originally planned.
Btw. the quick and easy of the game can be described in four lines: You only need to decide whether you wanna play a male or female character. You then get base stats for your four attributes (Body, Mind, Interaction and Attack) and may raise the initial stats by a total of 2 points for all attributes. You calculate your vitality. You choose up to 3 starting abilities (like a certain combat training, dodge, computer proficiency, pilot, driver, etc.), and you're on the go! That's the character creation...
Just as quick is rolling a test: your target number equals 6 minus the appropriate attribute plus bonuses (from abilities) plus modifications (from the nasty ideas of the GM). Example: You wanna drive a stunt, so you take 6 - Body (let's say 3) - 1 (from the ability Stunt Driver). That's a TN of 2, the GM gives no mod, so take a d6 and roll. Any roll of 2+ is a success... easy!
I have some more questions, though, what would you charge for a core set / expansion set like the ones described in the initial post? How much would you personally be willing to pay for such sets?
Would 9.99 $ for the core set and 4.99 $ for an expansion be too much? (just so I get an idea as to how high or low I should price the game)
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shep
Eternal Member
Red Alert! Shields up! LENS FLARE!!!
Posts: 1,260
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Post by shep on Oct 10, 2013 14:43:24 GMT -9
In my opinion the allure of this genre is not the faceless agents, just doing their duty, what people relate to are the iconic personalities. James Bond, Harry Palmer, George Smiley, Derek Flint, Matt Helm, John Steed, Cathy Gale, Emma Peel, Tara King, etc. That's just the ones I can recall, from TV and movies. When people think about espionage movies and series, they usually think about 007, Mission Impossible, I, Spy, The Men from UNCLE, The Avengers, Danger Man and Get Smart for the classics and in the direction of Jason Bourne for a more moden tackle, true. However, using these iconic characters in any way is totally no option due to heavy copyright infringement. Especially E.O.N., the production company behind the 007 franchise, have little appreciation and sympathy for someone, anyone "stealing" their property... I guess the other companies have an army of lawyers, too... Also, you are restricting your options by making the title 'Her Majesty's Secret Spies'. I would suggest you call it 'Licensed to Kill' or something else, then you can bring out 'HMSS' as the British supplement, allowing you to follow with supplements for other nations. I thought about giving the game a more general title, like e.g. "ESPIONAGE". However, the British spy seems to be the most iconic of them all, since the genre knows more agents from MI6 and MI5 than from any other agency. I personally know only four TV shows and one movie franchise about US spies. I also now, however, 7 TV shows and 2 movie franchises about British spies. So, I decided to pull the Brit card. In the expansions, there will be possibilities to play spies from other wesertn agencies, and even options to switch sides and play KGB or Chinese agents or even double agents working for both sides or for an agency and a crime organization. To be honest, aside from the title, there's nothing exclusively British about the core rules, since the MI5/MI6 supplement will be in the first expansion. So, you could just as well take the core rules and ply agents from CIA, BND, KGB or whatever agency you like...
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Post by flockofthese on Oct 21, 2013 13:19:05 GMT -9
I'm not into RPGs, and know little about them. The setting, and quick play thing has be intrigued though. I have a couple questions. What would you say is the ideal minimum-maximum player count, and does one of them have to be a "Dungeon Master". I would also like to know if this would work well as a one-off event. I'm not opposed to joining an RPG group, but an extended campaign with a spy theme doesn't interest me. A one off game night with bond movies playing in the background does sound like it could be a lot of fun.
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