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Post by Precinct Omega on Dec 12, 2017 11:42:41 GMT
Dear All,
Sorry about the silence, but working full time, I've had to decide how to prioritize my very limited free time between my family, my voluntary work, my novel and my game design work and although I've managed to put the right amount of time into all of those, very little is left within which to communicate with you what's happening.
So here's a quick update on my plans for Zero Dark.
First, playtesting is going well. It was a good call not to release the full beta, as feedback from a few playtesters and my own experiments have demonstrated clearly that this game still needs a lot of tweaking. As a proof of concept, it's great. But there's still work to be done fine-tuning various parts and trying out new ideas as they arise. So...
My plan is relatively simple.
I will spend six months fine-tuning these rules, playtesting and painting up new minis to support them photography. By the end of June 2018, these rules will be finished and done. Not beta, but done. In terms of rules and setting, I will have a finished game. I'll replace the existing diagrams with ones that don't borrow other people's hard work and the whole caboodle will be essentially ready to play.
But what it won't be is a finished game. Without photography, artwork or the loving care and attention of a competent editor/layout artist, it will be a very plain piece of work.
So at that point I will launch some form of fundraising venture. This is unlikely to be a conventional crowdfunding activity, but that process will be given three months: one month of planning, one month of fundraising, and one month to resolve a fulfilment date. So by the end of September I will have a clear picture of what I can afford the finished product to look like, which will mean I can then lay out a clear pathway to market
Regards,
Robey
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Post by valander on Dec 12, 2017 17:33:20 GMT
Can't wait to see the final product. Best of luck, and I'll keep an eye out.
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Post by Precinct Omega on Dec 15, 2017 9:51:02 GMT
I'm going to brainstorm a finance plan later today.
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Post by Precinct Omega on Mar 20, 2018 11:58:58 GMT
So here's the scoop so far on where Zero Dark is at and what's happening with a release.
Within the next two weeks, I will finalize writing work on the rules of the game and hand the manuscript over to a rules-breaker. He's like a sub-editor, but I don't need him to check my spelling and lay-out. I need him to work out how to break the rules so I can tie up loopholes and fix obvious flaws. I'm not fixated upon having a watertight rules system, because I think players are intelligent beings and, anyway, who doesn't like a good argument about RAW versus RAI. It keeps things interesting!
I should have notes on this process back by the end of May so I can make last-minute adjustments as necessary.
In the mean time, I am working furiously on painting up minis and terrain for use in the photography. My brother-in-law did most of the photography for HW and has agreed to help out with ZD. This provides me with well-lit, high-quality TIFFs more than adequate for a print edition if we get that far. I will also be doing the rules illustrations - images explaining some of the more complex rules interactions - in April/May and writing more of the setting and background.
This should all mean that, by the end of June, as planned, the manuscript, with illustrations and photography, will be finished. But it won't be all that sexy-looking.
So I have a number of options.
1. Just release the manuscript. I can put it up as a digital product via Wargame Vault for a few quid and call it job done. This has the benefit of putting the product into players' hands quickly and making me a little money, too. It's low stress. But also does something of an injustice to what I think will be a game of quality.
2. Approach potential publishers. Osprey probably won't be interested, as they already have three games on their catalogue - Black Ops, Rogue Stars and Scrappers - that do similar things to Zero Dark (but not as well, obviously!), but I'll ask. There aren't many other independent publishers, but I will approach those through whom I have any sort of "in". The advantage of this approach is that a publisher will carry a lot of the risk of getting the product properly laid out, formatted and supported with artwork and graphics, as well as distribution. All I have to do is sit back and wait for the royalties. The down side is that it's unlikely to happen!
3. Crowd-source the funds to turn the bald manuscript into a proper piece of wargaming product: a book in the same format and finish as the original Horizon Wars that can sit proudly alongside it on the shelf. Then publish it as an independent product. The advantages are that it will create a market for the game, raise its profile and put it into the daily wargames conversation (in a way that, I tend to feel, Osprey did not do with Horizon Wars...). Also, it has the potential to make me a lot more money. In theory, if sales were equivalent to what they are for Horizon Wars, then instead of earning a little casual pocket money, it could be enough for me to do this full time or, at least, cut down my other work to focus on games design and publishing. The disadvantages are... immense. It will be a lot of work when I'm already working full time. I will put all of the risk on myself and my family. It will mean venturing into publishing and distribution - areas where I have no expertise at all.
4. Approach private investors: similar to crowd-sourcing, but getting larger sums from a handful of investors. The advantages are similar to the advantages for crowd-sourcing, but investors need paying back, so the amount of money I'm going to personally accrue will be smaller. However, I will also have the input and advice of investors to tap into when pursuing success, so the risk is also spread more widely. The disadvantages are that most of the work will still be mine to do, and I will also have to approach potential investors with a coherent business plan and persuade them to give me money.
There are, of course, options to do a hybrid of these. I could do a mix of 1 and 3 or 1, 3 and 4. I could do 1 and, if it proves popular, use that to leverage my way into 2.
Crowd-sourcing may not be a goer, simply because people expect "stuff" from a gaming Kickstarter and I have not "stuff" to offer. I don't do miniatures or components. In fact, it's a core ethic of my design that you should be able to play the game with stuff you already own (or have always wanted an excuse to own!). Will people back a KS for nothing more than rules?
Also, the most successful crowd-funding campaigns are those that already have most of the work and a good amount of investment done. So 3 and 4 might be a viable combination: raise a small amount of private investment to fund the preparatory work for a crowd-funding campaign.
Anyway, by the end of June there will be a product. What happens after that... will depend. But I would welcome your thoughts, suggestions, pointers and recommendations.
If you were going to crowd-source this, what would you want as a reward? There's a book and, obviously a PDF, to be made. But there's very little else to offer. Art prints? Ownership of some of the minis from the photography? Signatures and personal dedications? Copies of Horizon Wars?
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neuzd
New Member
Posts: 7 
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Post by neuzd on Mar 22, 2018 19:21:31 GMT
Awesome to hear that you're on schedule!
I would really like to see a book like Horizon Wars and I wouldn't need anything else. I'd even say that if a Kickstarter was in the pipe I would be perfectly alright with seeing just the book and not being stressed and pushed to spend for additional stuff.
Whatever the plan if it ends up as a digital book, it's an insta buy anyway.
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Post by WarbossWalton on Apr 4, 2018 2:41:53 GMT
I agree that the Kickstarter route might not be terribly lucrative because that model relies on escalating rewards. Although I could see you adding easier things as rewards, like unit counters (like what Two Hour Wargames does)
Would Patreon work? It's not quite as reliant on rewards. Maybe you could even pitch this out there as an actual investment opportunity like you mentioned above? I bet you could find a couple of players that mwould be willing to invest.
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