For these snapshots, I seem to be going in descending order of completion. Now that Parsec is almost done as far as I am concerned as a writer, Reckoning is where my attention has primarily turned.
We've had a lot of trouble finding playtesting groups that aren't just our friends. There has basically been on "beta" playtesting of this game. We have run about a half-dozen games, though, and two years ago the system was probably 90% done. Reckoning is dice-less and very quick and direct, so there isn't a lot of technical work that really has to go into the system.
The main challenge is revising what is now the playtest document, winnowing it down to a rough draft. Without beta playtesters, though, it is hard to gauge how well we are writing the text as an instruction manual. If Aric or I run a game of Reckoning, it goes really well, everyone has a good time, the system is quickly grasped, and periodically people get scared. I know, though, that this fact is meaningless with regard to how good the text is at teaching players to replicate these experiences.
Currently, the goal with Reckoning is for us to self-publish it and sell it on a small scale for not very much money. We'd love to have an artist join us in working on the project for the love of it, the hope of a small-time publication credit, with the understanding that it may not make money after we've paid to produce it.
Another option that I think is worth exploring is looking for a publisher who would be willing to do layout, artwork, and the actual publishing work on the project. The thing is, we both have day-jobs that take up 50+ hours every week, a number of other writing projects, and for my own part, I'm no longer sure how much I want to learn how to be a publisher. Maybe finding someone who just loves publishing and is good at that is the way to go. We will have less creative control of the game, but also a whole lot of new skills we won't have to learn. We can spend all that time doing more writing and gaming, which is the part that I really love.
I'm inclined to search for a publisher. We have enough other projects going on, that I think I'd rather spend my energy on writing those than on trying to do layout and design (things I'm not skilled at, and don't really enjoy).
ReplyDeleteI definitely think we ought to keep our aim for finishing the manuscript by midyear 2011. Then we blast that thing to every publisher we can find.
Ok - I think I agree, for the same reasons. I would still like to learn layout and design, someday, but that sounds more like an adult ed class at the local college or something, rather than a thing I want to tackle on my own on top of everything else.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a plan then :)