When is it going to be ready?

John Cairo, Abandoned Louisiana

This is the dreaded question we all face. How do you know when a game system is ready to face the open market? Unfortunately, it's not a loaf of bread you can simply stick a fork in and see if it's still gooey in the center. It comes down to a judgement call - very stressful judgment call.

In most cases, the decision to print is a 3 to 5 year commitment. Immediately after printing a tabletop roleplaying game (ttrpg, for short), company focus will usually shift from editing to expansion. In this phase, we try to recruit writers to create modules and story expansions, artists to illustrate these pieces, and launch into promotional strategies. It's a major refocus that has to happen suddenly. 

During the first production, neither Artice nor myself knew enough about the promoting options available. Horror stories about Kickstarter were beginning to circulate, Patreon and GoFundMe were new entities at the time. We knew if this blew up into something big, neither of us were ready to handle it. So we opted for a grassroots options which meant slow growth.

With this release, we plan on using more of the available promotional tools. We understand it won't be an immediate splash, but we do know there should be a better reception this time around. Our experience has shown it is best to spend time developing a good, eye-catching campaign. Videos, podcasts, vodcasts, etc. all help to create a visual impression as to what a game has to offer. 

With all of these intentions, I still haven't addressed the main question: When is the book ready? It is ready when the parties working on the project say it's ready. It's the shortest answer I can give. If this is your first project, I can tell you expect to be disappointed in yourself. I can't say quite how you will be disappointed but based on our experience, it will happen.

In getting Tortured Earth ready for press, we checked, double checked, edited, corrected, formatted, and completed all those little things needed to make sure the project was up to scratch. As soon as the books came in and the first one was opened, we noticed a typo. As more and more people looked at the book, there were issues in almost all areas we stressed over. There were typos and formatting errors throughout the book. The system was still quite playable and the book still looked amazing. It's all those little mistakes we knew we should have caught on the first time around that drove us nuts.

In this edition, we are taking a more relaxed approach. Of course, COVID has forced the world to slow down and take a breath. A fact, I guess we should be grateful. It has given us the time we need to evaluate and process the rules, make sure corresponding chapters match in their information and mechanics, and put all the structural bits and bobs in their proper place.

As we continue to comb through the content, we still find small inconsistencies. Once this comb through is complete, we'll more than likely make one more and put it to rest. At this point, we shift into the creature guide and sift through it. Mechanically, the creatures fall in line with the first edition and really shouldn't have so many major corrections as the will require adjustments in abilities and status effects. We'll work in this manner through creatures until we have combed out all major inconsistencies and put it to rest. Last will come page numbering and cover art and it'll be done.

At our current rate of speed, I'm thinking March should be a realistic drop date to launch advertisement campaigns.

How does this affect your project?

1. Comb through it until you get all the kinks and inconsistencies removed. This isn't just for grammatical errors. It should also insure mechanical devices are uniform throughout the game.
2. Don't mess with things like page numbers and layout unless it's in the broadest sense. This is a pet peeve of mine. I hate when pages and chapters don't line up. Every time I re-page the whole thing, we end up either adding a page or deleting a page and it's off again.
3. Make sure your information has a logical flow and information is quick and easy to read.
4. We use a lot of charts to organize information. Labeling and descriptions as to how this information is to be interpreted is essential. Chapter descriptions should include a means of deciphering this information.
5. Dead space is wasted space. Filler art, imagery, and other interest grabbing devices give the book esthetic value as well as sets the mood for the world you are trying to create.

Once you've completed the checklist, you can start talking about going to press.

Thanks for reading! 

K. B. Kidder

 

If you are checking out this blog for the first time, you may access our website by clicking here: Tortured Earth

Character Species released for review: Allorn, Dwarf, Elf, Eoceph, and Goblin.

Combat Creatures released for review: Braunach, Faeda, Fetid Hound, Minotaur, and Wolf.

If you are interested in the creature development process, you may submit your own creatures by filling out the following form. We will review the forms before publishing the creatures to the website. Creature Creation Form

If you would like to see what Tortured Earth looks like, the GM portion of the rule book is available as a free download on the Tortured Earth Home Page. Tortured Earth Beta GM Guide  

And finally, I have created a Tavern Generator and Loot Generator. Both are free downloads and can be adapted to a wide range of story settings. Both are written in Excel. If you are using a tablet, you can download a free version of Excel and operate it live at the game table.