Welcome to QT Games

D&D 4E Inspires me to play something else

2011-11-17T13:09:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've blogged. Lots has been going on, some good and some not so good. I'll update you more later. I kind of hate to make my first post in awhile be a rant, but heck, maybe a kick in the pants will get someone off their duff and do a better job. Who knows?

It seems like every time I read an article about D&D 4E or read something in one of the rulebooks, it inspires me to play a different game instead. It's not all bad, however. There are some things 4E does right, but it's a pretty sad commentary on a game that was once great as far as rpg's go. Of course, even when it was great, it had many problems.

Fortunately, a good GM and good players can help make any game more fun. But GM's and players shouldn't have to work so hard at it. Just one of the reasons why I set down to revamp my own RPG in the first place. And just as WotC is looking back on 4E now and trying to sort out what to do about the mess they made and how to fix it, I've looked back on Cosmothea, even in the middle of revamping Cosmothea 4.0 and saw that some of my own design decisions should be reconsidered. And so I'm working on a 5th edition now.

Now mind you, my own players could gripe about plenty of things they don't like about Cosmothea, since it's incomplete, with more holes than Swiss cheese, and we're still using some temporary rules, but that's just it - those are temporary holes and issues - I'm not claiming my game is all done and the hottest thing out there, like WotC was. I'm not working on Cosmothea 5E because I want to make a boat-load of money. WotC has no choice in the matter. No matter how good D&D were to get, they are forced to change it. Period. Whether for the better or worse, they have to change things.

So, what are the sorts of things I read in DnD 4E that bug me? Well, lots of things, like healing surges, lack of an interesting magic system, the way roles hamstring creativity, the way the class powers largely all feel the same, item creation, lack of significant non-combat skills, the combat lag issue, just to name a few. It's just a shame that WotC had so much talent and potential and still managed to put out a game that fails on so many levels.

Now, if you are enjoying 4E, I'm not saying you are a knucklehead or anything, I'm glad you're having fun. I'm just saying they could have done a much better job and it's a shame for those that want to play DnD that they didn't.

And then we have indie designers like myself, who barely have two pennies to rub together, and so of course we can't afford to invest like the bigger companies to put out a beautiful product, though we can put out one with decent rules, given enough time. Me, I'm stubborn, and I insist on putting out a product with high production values or none at all. But that's another issue - we aren't designing 8 hours a day - we just don't have time for that sort of thing, so games like Cosmothea take forever to produce.

My own budget is still languishing, but I'm not giving up. As I said, games like DnD 4E inspire me that there's still room out there for better games! Gamers aren't stupid, nor are they silent about what they dislike. They will only stand for WotC's games for so long, and then as many have already jumped ship to Pathfinder and other games, more will follow.

So this means that WotC is backpeddling fast, as some of their articles suggest. Mike Mearls all but said 4E was a blunder. The sad thing is how many people spent money on DnD 4E when they could have invested in better games. I used to be a WotC online guide of sorts and so WotC gave me my 4E Phb free as a "thank you for my service," but I must admit I did pay for a few of their products to check them out. And I must admit that when I heard they were coming out with a 4E years ago, I never suspected they would toss D&D into the trash, make a totally different game, and call it DnD.

Like I've said before, they did some things right, but I still haven't found a game that will replace Cosmothea for me, and so I'll keep plugging away at it, on a poor man's budget till something changes. Meanwhile, a full staff of WotC designers, Green Ronin Designers, and other designers who actually get paid to design full time, will work at a much faster rate to try and do something worth playing.

A Company with Passion (Part 2 of 2)

2010-06-15T10:05:00.000-07:00

All my life, I've met people who were smarter, richer or more talented. But only a fool gives up just because there's someone out there who's more qualified. If we let that stop us, we'll never get anything done. Many of the greatest achievements of man would never have come to pass. Just because someone's smarter, doesn't mean they are the right person for the job. Just because someone has more money than you, doesn't mean they can do what you can do. Just because someone has more talent, doesn't mean they have your vision, your passion, your creativity, your potential. I've met many people who seemed to have loads of potential, but never seemed to get anywhere. Because Potential is not dependent upon intelligence, money or even talent. Not really! Sure, those help, and I'd like to think that the team and company we've put together does have a reasonable amount of each, but true potential often requires other, less obvious traits.

Look back over history and you'll find numerous examples of people that seemed to have little or no potential, yet they accomplished far more than anyone could have imagined. The exciting thing for those of us, who are smart enough to know there are smarter people out there, is that there's far more to being successful than having a high IQ, piles of money, and a big resume. Passion and faith can move mountains, conquer kingdoms, produce works of art and literature that touch their fans to the core, and accomplish more than intellect, money or talent could ever hope to achieve alone. We are our own greatest enemies. No one can defeat us but ourselves. QT Games may never produce an award-winning RPG or board game, novel or other product. We may never win the hearts of millions, inspire someone to make a movie about our storylines or setting, but our potential can only be snuffed out by losing faith, giving up, and cowering in the face of great odds, never chasing our dreams nor giving it all we've got. All it takes for us to be defeated is for us to do just that.

Intelligence is hard to come by. Wisdom is cheaper and will often get you farther. But if you must have someone who is smarter on board, get someone. Money is hard to come by, but it should never be considered insurmountable. There's lots of money out there. If we need more money than we have available, we'll move toward acquiring more. If you think for a moment about how much money you likely throw away on entertainment over the course of the year, you likely have more money than you realize. You might have just enough. If we need more talent, we'll work hard to develop it, and bring more talent on board as needed.

Figure out what you need, and go after it. Do your homework. Be positive. Be realistic. Be aware of your strengths and weaknesses and if you have a team, then those of your team as well. Be motivated. Be prepared. We've done these things to the best of our ability. We'll keep doing them. We'll likely make mistakes, get beyond them and move forward in faith. Believe you can do it? Great, then follow your dream!

Success requires movement. Action. Sacrifice, Passion and Faith. I have all that. My team, according to his or her own passions and goals shares these to one degree or another. Each will have to face the future with their own eyes and make their own decisions. Indeed, these are exciting times. As success is not dependent upon being smarter, richer or more talented, I believe we have little to fear. Just as I can use improvement, so can they, but we are not giving up. We refuse to allow our weaknesses to overcome us, stifle us. Come what may, I have no regrets and I don't believe they will either, not if they share my view of potential and success.

Of course, not everyone is meant to write the world's greatest song, paint the world's greatest painting, win an Oscar, etc. and that's OK. We may never win anything, become rich and famous, but we can accomplish much if we're willing to - if we don't give up! Being happy is nothing to shirk at, and we may well accomplish more than we even dream, if we're committed - If we share the qualities I've described. Regardless, you can never let others drag you down, stifle your enthusiasm, rain on your parade, and if they do, you don't have to choose to give up, throw in the towel, allow others to diminish your potential, drag you down.

Each member on the QT Games Design Team, just like you, has the potential for greatness. It may not seem that way to you, but as history shows us, potential often lies not in those obvious, visible qualities, but in the invisible. It only seems like the most successful people are the smartest, richest, most talented, best looking, whatever. How many at the top have fallen? How many through history have risen from meager beginnings to topple empires and change the world. How many talented people do you know that have never been on American Idol or who had potential, but never followed up on it? Do you have a passion for producing a great RPG game and the faith to follow up on your dreams? Contact me. I'd love to talk with you!

Together, we can accomplish anything, period. It doesn't mean we will. We are our greatest enemies after all. We can shut down our own dreams; let our passion fade away as so many people do. We can let ourselves become distracted by meaningless pursuits, that's what has defeated so many around us. I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm too driven for that outcome. I'm too ... stubborn. The future is a great mystery, but if we don't try, if we don't give it everything we've got, then we've already failed.

People of passion don't let little things get in their way. We all have setbacks. Life doesn't always go the way we want it to. Things don't always work out, but people of passion have true potential and can accomplish much. The most powerful things in the universe, such as love, hate and faith, are invisible. So if someone tells you that you don't have what it takes. If you look at yourself and you don't think you have what it takes, don't believe it! The heart can be deceiving above all things. If you don't have passion, find it. If you don't have faith, find it or ask for it. Hang out with people who have it! If you need to improve your education go back to school, read a book, do something! Think. Dream. Pray.

If we don't chase our dreams, we'll always regret our inaction, always wonder what could have been, and never live the sort of lives we were meant to live. And if we do reach some measure of success as the world sees success, well that will be cool, but success should never be the goal, nor riches, nor being the best at something - just doing our best at something. So, yeah ... these are exciting times indeed!

A Company with Passion

2010-06-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

This 2-parter digs into what it means to be a company with passion and even a person with passion. Even if you think your company has it together or that you personally have it together, I think you might still find something to sink your teeth into or at least something interesting here.

The dynamics of developing a product line by yourself, with just 1 freelance artist to assist is far different than working together with a full team. I knew this when I set about to pull together a large team of talented artists, designers and others to develop not one game book, but an entire line of gaming products. With relentless determination, despite a questionable budget, unshakable devotion, despite knowing that my competitors include big names like Dungeons & Dragons, Star Wars, Mutants & Masterminds and others, we are moving forward, finding our way, and going against the odds to publish the Cosmothea Roleplaying game. We are driven, passionate, and excited!

Are we nuts? Are we stupid? You may have your own opinions on this matter, but we're pretty sure we're neither nuts nor stupid. Don't you realize how hard it would be to compete in the game industry? Haven't you researched the market, trends and cost factors? Don't we realize how few people break even; much less make a serious profit when they enter the industry with goals as ambitious as yours?

Those are reasonable questions, and I'll address them, but let's take a step back for a moment. Just what are our goals?

Having designed over two dozen board and card games that I'm still dreaming of getting on the market one day, you would think that QT Game's first offering would be a board game, especially when we do plan to publish board and card games. Nope. Our focus is currently on our initial release, a complete roleplaying game. Not some 30 page mini RPG either (not that there's anything wrong with those), but we've got our sights a lot higher. Is this unrealistic? We don't believe so.

WotC is not the only ones who know how to put out a good product. Paizo, Green Ronin, Steve Jackon Games and others have made a name for themselves, and we believe that with a quality product, passion, good marketing strategies, the right timing, and a host of other factors, even a small-time game company can follow their dreams, and put out a high quality product line. Drawing on the combined experience of a large team, insisting upon high quality art and design, despite a tight budget, we're not willing to back down just because it's hard work. And we're not starting from scratch either. The Cosmothea RPG is not a new game, as I discussed in a previous post.

The game may be rough around the edges, like any game still in its Alpha stage, but we have faith, are working our tails off, keeping our eyes open, and believe the game has the potential to be something great. Maybe not the best game ever made - it's too early to make such claims, and we'd rather the public makes such claims for us, once the game's been on the market awhile. There's plenty of room for multiple games on the market. Every game on the market from the smallest to the most popular, has people that love it and people that hate it. We aren't asking ourselves questions like, "Can we really topple D&D 4E? Can we go toe-to-toe with Star Wars?" Such questions are neither necessary, nor truly helpful. Instead, we ask ourselves questions like, "Does the market have a need and room for a game of this type, one that covers fantasy, science fiction, superheroes and all the sub genres in one huge setting when there are already so many games out there?" and "Is Cosmothea the sort of game that a large number of people could get excited about?" To these and others we've asked ourselves, the answer in each case has been, "Yes, and in some cases, "Heck Yes!" Or something to that effect.

Ok, back to the top - if you're still with me ... we know that this is going to be hard - very hard. Yes, yes, the odds are stacked way against us! Are we wrong to follow our dreams? Don't answer too fast! It's more complicated than you might realize! People have become very successful (millionaires in fact), with far less visible potential than we have as a game company. There are many factors that go into having a dream, and then seeing it fulfilled, having potential, and realizing that potential to its fullest – becoming truly successful. Heck even the definition of "success" is way more devious than one might imagine.

Success to one person is making a million dollars. To another, it's being happy. Oh, wait. That's it - Bob's basing his definition of success on the notion that he's easy to please. He'll put out a pdf of Cosmothea, let it languish on RPGNow or some other Indie Store for a year and half, sell a dozen copies to friends and family, know he's done his best, and find satisfaction in that; his definition of success. Ok, next blog - no, wait! That's not what I mean - not exactly. I do believe that you can be poor and more successful than many rich folk, and I do believe that doing your best is something to find satisfaction in, but we are not interested in publishing a game to stroke our egos or put something on our resume in hopes of getting a "real job."

Then why are we doing this when we know the odds are stacked against us, and that there are smarter, richer and more experienced people out there?

QT Games: Alive and Well!

2010-03-30T16:32:00.000-07:00

Here's some quickie updates for those who have little time, like myself, but still want to be In-the-know:

• QT Games is now QT Games LLC now that I've got all the legal docs out of the way!

• We're up to a team of 10 talented designers, writers, artists and supplemental staff and have a slowly expanding base of playtesters.

• The Art Department at QT Games is continuing to pop out beautiful paintings that will make the Cosmothea rpg pop off the page. We are doing our absolute best to avoid compromising on quality, preferring a page without artwork to one with mediocre artwork just to fill the gap. We're putting this thing together right, and while we're bound to make mistakes (and likely already have), the game is looking very nice so far, and plays nice too, and we'll be playtesting it for some time to come, to get the kinks out).

• Our Cosmothea Tabletop playtest games are going full steam ahead, with lots of excitement generated and smooth sailing thus far! The Cosmothea Play-by-Post playtest games slowed down a bit during my talent search and forming of the LLC, but now we're about back in full swing. These long-running games were first introduced on the WotC site and now run on the QT Games Forums, where you can also find out more about the company and our first offering, the Cosmothea Roleplaying game.

As for me, I'm looking forward to the days ahead. We're staying above water just fine, and will hang on tooth and nail, despite the economy, the 800 pound ape in the room, and whoever else wants to step in the ring.

The Future Looks Bright

2010-02-27T13:13:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I posted. One could assume that QT Games fell off the map, but actually, we've been busier than ever - hence posting has nearly halted. I will continue to use this blog from time to time, moreso as we get more followers. Currently, most followers are using the QT Games Forum to keep up on the latest news, ask questions, etc. This blog will serve more for the purpose of Game Company diary and general State of the Union, for now at least.

After two Open Calls for team members (and a significant response, dozens of emails going back and forth, reviewing resumes, samples of work, considering contracts and negotiating with hopefuls to join the QT Games Design Team), we've finally completed the team! Now, as soon I get over this bad cold, we'll start the ball rolling at a faster clip!

Of course, just because I'm no longer the only one designing the Cosmothea Roleplaying Game doesn't mean that progress makes an immediate leap forward. If it takes me 1 month to design something, that doesn't mean that adding a second designer results in twice as much output or a third designer results in three times as much output. It's much more complicated than that and will likely never yield such output for a variety of reasons. Still, it's a good thing, and our team is much larger than 3 members.

It takes time to train a team on a new game system and a new setting - now Cosmothea is not new, but it's new to them, as it is not on the market yet. This is Cosmothea's 4th version - a major revamp, but there is much already done, so there is much for them to learn before they are able to move forward effectively. And my own time is diminished as I now have a team to manage, teach, assign tasks, review, edit, meet with, motivate, etc. So, the larger the team, the more time you spend doing things other than game design. Still, this is a good move for QT Games, and fulfills our first company goal. I have been saying for a year now, that the only way an RPG game company could be truly successful - even a small one, was with a dedicated team. I still believe that, and while it remains to be seen how dedicated each member is on a team, I feel really good about those on board currently. Good stuff is coming, but it's going to take some time.

There are other factors to consider with this move, of course. I didn't have to worry about paying myself or how committed I was to the project. Now there is the matter of paying writers and designers, drafting contracts, spending money, spending time communicating with others, team dynamics and juggling differing personalities, etc. but I was expecting that, and have been doing some legwork in that regard, so we should be OK in that regard, though such factors should not be taken lightly.

The game is shaping up, despite the lull while I spent a couple months or so, forming the team and also becoming an LLC (Now called QT Games LLC). With that behind us, we can turn our attention to the reason QT Games was formed. :)

Game Designers, Writers, Artists and Enthusiasts Wanted

2009-11-10T08:31:00.000-08:00

I live in Las Vegas, but I don't go to the Strip, and I don't gamble. I value my time and money, and so I carefully consider both when making decisions. And yet, with all the rpg's out there, I still believe that in the coming years, there will be room for good, solid new pen-n-paper RPG on the market. D&D 4E may have a stranglehold on fantasy for a large portion of the gaming community, but there are still many, many gamers like myself who are looking for more in an rpg.

In light of the split between traditional D&D'ers who used to follow D&D from version to version, but due to 4E being D&D in name only for the most part, and are now looking for other games ... maybe something closer to 3.5 but more polished with the ever evolving needs, styles and interests of gamers, and for those who are looking for a scifi game but aren't into Star Wars, there's still room to breath ... to flex one's creativity, and make an impact.

It wouldn't be easy, of course. It would take more than just a good game - it would take the right timing, business model, distribution, marketing, solid team of designers, writers, editors and artists, but I believe it is possible. That's why, despite the odds, I haven't given up on the Cosmothea RPG.

Time will tell, however, if the best course of action for a freelance or small time game designer is to make the next great product or support the products already out there. Of course D&D and D20 in general is not for everyone, nor is every setting. Fortunately setting designers, with the ever increasing time crunch in our society, time is a limited commodity, so there's still plenty of room for a solid, well established campaign setting, though currently gamer dollars are tight (I figure by the time the latest version of the Cosmothea campaign setting and the rpg is finished, we'll see an upswing in the economy, so I'm not terribly concerned in that regard, though there are many factors to consider regardless of the state of the economy, of course).

As for my work on Cosmothea and other design projects I've had on my plate over the years, I've never felt the creative juices flowing more freely and never found anything more rewarding than working on a project without a big corporation lurking over my shoulder, or someone telling me I have to do things some way I just flat don't agree with and know in my heart are the wrong way to do things. Sure we'd need structure and a solid, unified vision, and I think that's very doable with the right group of talented people.

And QT Games isn't just looking for people to help produce Cosmothea, but also those that want the benefit of working together to make their own products better as well. Not a community persay, but a team with goals and brainstorming and working together to achieve them without neglecting our families, day jobs and other commitments.

Unlike the big game companies, you and I can afford to express ourselves, take our time and do it right, and when we know we're working toward a goal we believe in, we can do so much better than someone who is being told to do something because that's what the big wigs said they wanted. I want to work on a project I can really get behind, and personally, 4E, as good as it does some things, just doesn't cut it for me. I'm not bashing it persay - I know many like it, especially around here, and I love aspects of it, but there's just too many design decisions that make my stomach sore just thinking about. I can't see myself ever designing a 4E adventure or supplemental work, so I'm instead working on something I believe in ... something I love.

Whether you join the QT Games team and work with me on the Cosmothea RPG one day or not (or on one of your own projects), I wish you the best as you strive to do what you love to do and what you find worthwhile. I'm not sure if we'll ever make a dime on Cosmothea or not, but when all is said and done, I'll know that I did a good job, that my time was well spent, and that I didn't compromise on what I believed in. I believe that others who team up on this and other projects will feel the same way.

If nothing else, it should provide a good resource to troubleshoot, explore and see if our ideas are truly viable like we think they are. If you've never shown something you've created to others without helpful feedback during your life, then you are probably perfect and don't need QT Games, but you probably still need networking. But I'm betting that even the big boys at WotC benefit from brainstorming, editing, etc.

If you don't like something, change it. If you do it the way everyone wants you to, but not the way you know to be right, you won't find a great deal of satisfaction in it, though it might line your pockets with a bit more dough, maybe, but then contrary to the cliche, money's never made me even slightly happy. It's a mere tool to getting things done. We'll need money, sure, but I won't let money decide how I'm going to design an rpg. That's one chain I don't need. I did not create QT Games to be a non profit organization - that's not what I'm talking about here.

People that contribute significantly to a QT Games product will be compensated in some form or another, sometimes with cash or trade work (like art, web design, etc. as mutually agreed upon by contract), and hopefully one day by product income, but I don't want anyone walking away feeling like they wasted their time. I won't put up with that from myself, so I'm certainly not going to see a committed team member do that. I'm in it for the whole team, not just myself.

Whatever you choose to do, proceed with caution, enthusiasm, wisdom, considering the cost and the rewards, knowing your strengths and weaknesses and the steps you need to take, what expectations are realistic and what you consider a success and worth your time, and then make sure you do it with your whole heart, so that your work will shine and be something you can be proud of, come what may.

If you've been having making feats or spells or powers or monsters or a campaign setting, etc. in your spare time, then you've tasted the excitement and satisfaction of working on an rpg just for the fun of it - for the hobby. That's cool, and even if you aren't looking for a big project, you can always work on a small, but important segment appropriate to your interest and availability? Why not consider joining the QT Games team and using your talents along with others to put together products that just might bring you more than satisfaction in the long run?

Maybe we won't make it, but maybe we will, with the right strategy and products, and if you spend time designing things anyway, you aren't losing anything, only growing in experience! We're looking for friendly, positive and talented gamers who can work together toward a goal. Success won't come easily, but it will be a fun ride! Think about it, and contact me if you're interested. Thanks!

Best regards,

Bob Whitely

QT Games

Is There Hope for Game Designers?

2009-10-15T23:52:00.000-07:00

Since I’ve spent a great deal of personal time designing over two dozen board games and a pen-n-paper rpg and campaign setting over the past 30 years, and have also done a fair bit of research, talked with others about, and banged my head against the wall regarding the game industry, I thought I’d share my thoughts on the topic. (Note: This discussion is mainly regarding book-length rpg’s, not micro rpg’s, which have some, but not all of the design headaches of bigger games like D&D, Pathfinder, etc.)

It has never been easy to publish a good, successful rpg, whether you are the 800 pound gorilla, a smaller, yet established game company, or a sleepy part-time designer working from home, staying up late at night trying to churn out brilliant game mechanics and fluff. It is a Herculean project, and not for the feint at heart nor the casual gamer. Heck, it’s not even for published designers, at least not by themselves.

It’s one thing to design a good homebrew game, it’s another matter altogether, to put together a professional, quality product, publish it yourself (or through a 3rd party) and make even a little money off of it. I’ve come across a fair number of game designers over the years who have attempted to make their own roleplaying game with the hopes of getting it on the market, and some who have done so, but are now hoping to make some money doing it, but in the vast majority of the cases, things just haven’t worked out.

One game designer I ran into at GenCon several years ago had been approaching companies to pitch his rpg prototype. He was pulling his rpg along on one of those luggage dollies inside a case, and I had one of my board game designs tucked under my arm. He was well dressed and friendly, if tired and frustrated-looking. He confided in me that his wife was fed up with how much time and money they’d been spending trying to get his game on the market. He proceeded to show me a rather unimpressive, clunky-looking rpg, and said that his wife pretty much told him he didn’t need to bother coming home if he didn’t have good news. I felt horrible for him, of course, but I wasn’t entirely surprised.

The thing is, this is not your father’s pen-n-paper game industry. Heck, this isn’t even your game industry. A lot has changed since the early days and even over the last couple years, with the state of the economy and a pile of rpg’s both good and many bad, saturating the market, many of which are wasting away on shelves and in garages or are only being played by the designer and a few close friends. Even the PDF market has been shaky for rpg products.

Then there’s WotC who drastically changed D&D into something completely different, but has the same name. That caused a ripple through the industry (Some like it, some hate it, but it’s certainly not for everyone and for those of you who didn’t know this, some people hate D&D and d20 games altogether).

There’s also Paizo of course, who saw the gaping hole left behind, and came out with their own spin, trying to stick fairly close to what had been done before, hoping to snag those gamers who weren’t keen on 4E. There’s still a few successful companies out there holding their own, like Steve Jackson Games, Green Ronin and some others, but it’s not been easy. Game companies that can’t handle the heat, are altering their business plans considerably or are getting out of the business altogether. Many smaller startups already have, and over the years, there have been many, many casualties. Those that are fairly strong or have other sources of income (such as Goodman Games), are constantly monitoring the industry, reviewing various factors such as distribution, production costs, profit margins, changing fan base and other factors. Game companies, like other segments of society, are tightening their belts, carefully considering each new project and are moving forward soberly and cautiously, working very hard to stay in the game and thrive.

There are no guarantees, not for WotC, and not for the rest of us. Some seem to be doing pretty well, but many, many others never made it out of the gate, and a large number of those that did, never made it very far down the track. I am NOT saying to give up designing your own games, nor am I saying that there’s a trick to going it alone and competing with the big boys. There isn’t. Sure there’s things you can do to increase your chances of success, but the odds are stacked against you, and stacked pretty high. But if you love designing games like I do, you probably aren't about to quit.

Is it possible to overcome these problems as a part-time or even full-time, game designer working from home? And what about established game designers who are chomping at the bit to design the next cool rpg, but are no longer with a game company in this difficult industry? Game design jobs are far and few between, and often require that you've already been working with another game company, and even for a veteran game designer, there’s only so much work and money to go around.

Furthermore, even if you can somehow manage to (and actually want to) get a job with a company like WotC or Paizo, you might not be keen on working on 4E or Pathfinder, one which you may feel went a bit too far, and the other that may not have gone far enough for your tastes; is there hope for you? Is it possible to design a solid, maybe even great full-blown rpg without working for one of the big name companies? Is it easier to get hit by a falling meteor than publish your own board or rpg, and are the odds better that you’ll get hit by a meteor two days in a row, than make money off your own published game? Well, I’m not a mathematician, but as near as I can tell, and from the research I've done, the answer is almost certainly no, or at least very highly unlikely - not without a team, and that’s what this blog is about.

Why didn’t I just say that in the first line? Because I believe there are a number of game designers out there (and I used to be one of them) that believe you can do it all by your lonesome, with maybe only an artist to assist you, and if you’re lucky, a good friend with both editing talent and time, and a bunch of friends to playtest it.

You'll want to check and see if you are wearing rose-colored glasses here, because I think I was at one point, and once you've been wearing them for awhile, it's hard to understand. I can't tell you how many times I've heard game designers (and probably heard myself say), "Yeah, but this game really rocks. This one's different. It's original/unique/innovative/way better than D&D/going to change the industry forever," etc. Almost everything's been done already. The best we can hope for is to put a fresh spin on things, try to be innovative (though innovative alone doesn't cut it - it also needs to be good), and realize too that innovation is only innovation till someone else comes up with the same idea and gets it on the market first. I can't tell you how many times that's happened to me, but suffice it to say, quite a few.

It took awhile before my eyes got opened all the way, and I’m betting there are many out there who are just like I was or who are recovering from the blow of reality setting in. But with all this in mind, I’m still not ready to give up. I guess I’m stubborn that way, but I can tell you this ... no matter how good I think Cosmothea is ... if I don't have proper team support ... one day I will set it aside and tackle a different project - one that can be done alone. I think Cosmothea has great potential, but that's not good enough. I need a team of devoted designers and writers working on it.

I’ve always known I’d have to take my Cosmothea RPG through rigorous playtesting, including blind playtesting, and multiple revisions before it was ready for the market, but I no longer believe you can compete, no matter how good you are, as the sole designer/writer of a book or multi book-length rpg. You may only see one name on the cover of a rule book, but you know as well as I do that there’s always a team (sometimes a big team), working on every professional-level rpg. Now a splat book or supplement to an existing rpg, that's doable, but that's not the focus of this blog. Sure there’s the lead designer on rpg's, but without a good editor and a full team of full time game designers and writers, how can you hope to compete?

Very simply, IMO, you can’t. I know that’s a hard pill to swallow for some, but I’m pretty sure it’s dead on. I may be wrong, of course, but look around you, do some digging on the internet, and I think you’ll agree. Now smaller projects like board games, and adventure modules are still doable, but some of the same considerations are at hand. When even the big boys can’t seem to put out a book without a long list of errata and mistakes, sometimes huge mistakes, you can see how it will take many minds working on your project.

Of course, I’m not saying that you have to be full time to make it in the industry either, nor that if you were, you’d have any guarantees of success regardless of talent. There’s something to be said for timing too, and if you’ve got a religious bone in your body, for prayer as well. Interestingly, if you are working on an rpg and don’t have any products on the market yet, you are actually more resilient than many established game companies as you have little to no overhead, just blood, sweat and tears to be concerned with.

So, you can take your time and do it right – again, as part of a team, or you’ll likely never make it. There’s an exception to every rule, but just how bad do the odds have to be before you call it quits or join or form a team and do it the right way? Leave out the team and you might as well be spitting in the wind on any big rpg project.

If you are just out to have fun and don’t care if you ever get published or make a dime, you have nothing to be concerned about. There's much more to successfully publishing and actually selling your rpg than having a team (and by team, I’m of course assuming you have talented people on your team – they need not be professionals, but they do need to be talented and committed).

There are many other factors to consider as well, but this blog post has already overstayed its welcome , so perhaps we’ll tackle some of those in another blog post. I know I don’t have all the answers, but I’ve made my decision. I’m forming a team to finish development on the Cosmothea roleplaying game.

I created QT Games with the intention of producing quality rpg products and board games, starting with Cosmothea, but hopefully other products as well in the days ahead, including perhaps some of yours if all goes well and you’re interested. Those of you who have your own projects, after considering all the factors, if you still want to press on, I wish you the best of luck and hopefully you’ll be able to assemble a team of talented, enthusiastic and committed people, and do well.

Those who are interested in hearing more about the Cosmothea rpg and possibly joining the team, please contact Bob Whitely at: info @ QT-Games.com (dump the spaces and you’ll have my email address) or PM me. You can also reach me over at QT Games. I’d love to hear some of your own experiences in the game industry, research you’ve done, and your thoughts on other factors at play, such as market dynamics, purchasing habits, print vs. PDF, distribution, etc. Thanks!

Diving into Game Design

2009-10-15T23:41:00.000-07:00

I started designing RPG & boardgames around the 6th grade and it became a passion that hasn’t diminished over the years. Now having designed over 2 dozen games and with hopes to publish a few of them through my QT Games company, I am as excited about boardgames and card games now as in my youth. That said, my cousin introduced me to D&D in 1979 and I fell in love with it!

My current focus is on roleplaying games, and the Cosmothea roleplaying game specifically. I am now on my 4th major revision of the game and am very excited about it. I opened up a website and have a small, but thriving forum (HERE)

The first version of the Cosmothea rpg was a percentile game with options to play superheroes, science fiction characters and with hopes to add fantasy rules one day. At that time, I had separately written my own DM’s Guide (with many of my own monsters and magic items, my own combat system, etc. as I had great difficulty getting a hold of an AD&D DMG (took me a year and a half – I was on a long list at my game store here in Las Vegas). So by the time I was able to get a hold of a DMG to actually play AD&D according to their rules, I had already caught the game designing bug and I was hooked for life!

Along the road, WotC posted a monster design contest in their Dragon magazine, and I won first place! That was very encouraging, especially after I had submitted a few boardgames to them, that didn’t get published (though one of them got as far as 3 levels of revisions requested by WotC (then called TSR so that was pretty gratifying!)

As for my design work on D&D and Cosmothea, I already had the makings of a new game system and ended up rolling my fantasy rules into Cosmothea (which went by a different name back then), and made a new version. A few years ago, I made Version 3, which was rebuilt from the ground up with an eye at simplicity and fast play and was more of a minis game with very strong roleplaying elements overlaid and all the fluff and began putting in it goodies long-time Cosmothea Players recognize – my own magic system, a new class system and other fun stuff. I never finished it though. See, while I really loved version 3 in many ways, it was tied to someone else’s product and their whims. I had wanted it to be compatible with the D&D Minis game (version 1) so I could use their minis cards and convert on the fly, hoping to one day make my own cards! The early playtesting went even better than I could have imagined.

In some ways I really miss that simpler game. But I would have to make a slew of cards and resimplify the latest version in order to do it again, and I’m very happy with this latest version so far. Still, I’m planning on including an ultra lite rules version of the new Cosmothea game as an alternative, for players who like lite rules.

Anyway, after a short period of time rushing like mad to finish version 3, it was announced that D&D Minis version 2 was coming, which meant that all future cards would be incompatible with Cosmothea, so I started trying to make Cosmothea compatible with version 2. The new minis game was supposed to be compatible with D&D 4E, but that hadn't come out yet. I only had a few sample cards to even know what it was like. It was fun converting my game, but exhausting work. Well, it wasn’t long before I discovered that D&D Minis v.2 wasn’t the direction I really wanted to go in, and I wasn’t sure I cared for 4E, if it was anything like the minis game. I was also being encouraged by others to publish Cosmothea and I couldn’t do that with Cosmothea v3.

Then I brainstormed and came up with some cool ideas for a complete revamp of Cosmothea. The fluff and setting was all the same, but the game mechanics were different. It only vaguely resembles the v3. game I showcased on the old WotC Gleemax blogs. I am in the middle of another ground up version, this one and any future versions are not compatible with D&D and are going their own way. So far, the game looks very promising, and I have a number of PbP games using the rules (some are using an ultra-lite version of the rules for faster PbP’s and others use the full version.

I’ve got a long road ahead of me, and am looking for others to join the team. I have a regular artist on board and she’s wonderful - Pippa, of course! I continue to brainstorm and am making steady progress. We just celebrated our 30th anniversary of the Cosmothea Campaign Setting in July of 2009, which will be included in the final product. We had contests and lots of fun. I keep brainstorming, designing, and things are looking good. No doubt it will go through a number of changes, and I’m thrilled that many have jumped on board to see it through, but I don’t want it to take forever, and two or more heads are better than one, so yeah, I’ve been looking to expand the team.

I’m also looking for others with similar interests (even those that don’t want to participate with Cosmothea). Iron sharpens iron, and I figure it’ll be fun to network, hang out, discuss industry trends, etc.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Bob

X Marks the Blog

2009-10-15T23:36:00.000-07:00

This was originally posted on my old blog, but I thought I'd repost it here and hopefully you'll find it an interesting diversion from my usual blogs, which will be almost entirely focused on the Cosmothea rpg game design and the game industry, but eventually I'll also spend some time blogging about other fun stuff I've designed over the years.

Ok, this blog is all about the X, but don’t worry, this blog is rate PG (hmm ... did I just lose a large portion of my audience or is anyone even reading this?) Anyway, I was reminded the other day of how the “X” has popped up throughout my life, so I thought it might be fun to explore the X for a moment. Join me, won’t you?

Way back around 1983, 3 years before the Marvel comic book, X-Factor, came out on the market, I created my own complete comic book (with a color cover) that was called X Factor: Dawn of the Greatest Hero. It had nothing in common to the X-men spin off, other than the name, but it was the first time I remember using the X in a big way. Marvel seems very fond of the X as well, making numerous books sporting the X. Even Wolverine’s daughter (actually a modified clone of Wolverine – don’t ask – is called X-23, or something like that). The more I think about it, the more the X has popped up all over the place. I still remember an old audio superhero cassette tape I had as a kid in which somebody fell into a vat of Chemical X! It sounded so mysterious, and while it’s now cliché, I still enjoy using it.

When I created my very first forum name, I wanted it to be Nexus, not NexusX, but the name was taken. Stubborn, I added an X to the end, an example of my abuse of the letter over the years. Why so fixated on the X when there are so many other interesting letters in the alphabet? It all started when I was a kid and saw a pirate map in a movie. We’ve all heard the term “X marks the spot” ... but why use an X to symbolize treasure? Simply because it's an easy letter to write and perhaps the pirates lacked an education? Got me.

To some people, the mysterious X actually stands for Christ. Around the 15th or 16th century, if I’m not mistaken, people were using the X all over Europe to stand for Christ. In Greek, X is the first letter of the word, (Xristos, meaning Christ). Later, thanks to the economy of letters, printers would sometimes shorten Merry Christmas to Merry Xmas and as time passed, people used it for shorthand and like myself saw it as a sign of laziness at best and disrespect at worst. While some may use it for that these days – and certainly the porn industry seems obsessed with the X, the original intent was quite different. X marks the spot, the greatest treasure we could ever hope for (whether we realize it or not). Christ is our treasure, the savior of the world. It’s funny, or sad, that while Christmas is supposed to be the celebration of Jesus’ birthday, we’re the ones who get all the attention and all the gifts. At least now I can say Merry Xmas without feeling guilty! There, I’ve said it, now on to more X goodness...

Ok, I picked the X for NexusX because of Xanadu, not Christ (I didn’t even know about the true definition at the time). Xanadu, as those of you who read my blog know, is the name I gave my first rpg design (now called Cosmothea). So, I got in a habit of putting an X after anything I thought was cool. While writing my novel, Beyond Xanadu, I would put a small x after the file name of a version of a chapter that I wrote to show it was good to go. Inevitably, I’d end up revising the chapter and changing the small x to a big X, then to an X2, X3 and so on. It was getting out of hand! So when I had to modify the name Nexus so I could use it around WOTC forums and elsewhere, I naturally added the X, which always reminded me of my rpg, Xanadu. I also used it in naming my web design files, since my website was named Beyond Xanadu.

X has also been used in place of a signature, as an identifying mark, used for authenticating documents like wills, contracts, etc, by illiterate people, so maybe the aforementioned pirates were in the same vein. Education was not always stressed, and sometimes adults, lacking a proper education, would use an X to sign their name. I think it usually required a witness, since the X was not a very good identifier. Courts would sometimes require the testimony of witnesses that the signer was mentally or physically incapable of signing their name and were there to ensure the validity of the X. Thankfully, these days education is taken more seriously, and I’ve never had to resort to using the X, but I thought I’d throw this bit in since it’s relevant. Hmm ... where else has the X appeared in my life?

Over the past 2 years, the X has raised its head like clockwork in the form of the Xbox. My sons and I have become addicted to Halo in all its incarnations. We've also found Morrowwind and other cool games. While loads of fun, the XBOX has caused a rift in the time continuum, resulting in less time for other things like Cosmothea and DDR (Dungeons and Dragons Reloaded - my version of the classic game we all know and love!) Psychologically, it's easier for them to turn on the TV (itself a time-sucking device for billions of people) and then the XBOX, than it is for them to find where they stashed their character sheets and dice. Then this Xmas (Yay, I can say it now and hold my head high!) the whole family pitched in and bought an XBOX360, which is making the rift even deeper (Halo 3, Assassin's Creed, Dead Rising, and others).

I hope they get over it soon, because frankly, I'm climbing the walls with excitement to play some D&D! No matter how exciting an XBOX game is, to me at least, it doesn't hold a candle to sinking my teeth into tabletop roleplaying! After all, I can suspend disbelief in a more powerful way with a character that I've built from the ground up, nurtured and battled with. Ok, Halo 3 is amazingly cool, and I look forward to trying out Oblivion, but that's all on a screen ... nothing beats spending time with friends and family roleplaying - at least not in my book!

Ah, when I decided to redesign my website a couple years ago, I named it Studio X (I had planned on using the site primarily for freelance graphic design, illustration and web design, not just gaming and my drama ministry). A few months went by and on a whim I did several searches on Google one day for a number of names I’ve used in game designs, and also typed in Studio X. I found out that one of my board games used a name that was already out there and also that the makers of Stargate (the movie) made their own rpg (they are just trying to get under my skin – I’d already changed my own rpg from Xanadu to Stargate inspired by a video game called Stargate that is unrelated to the movie and predates it like my own rpg does).

Anyway, if all that wasn’t bad enough, I also found there was an existing Studio X, so I had to change my freelance service to Studio Xanadu. I mean a this point, with X tied to me like a chain, and popping up in so many things I was working on, using Studio X (being a shortened form of Studio Xanadu) just seemed predestined! But alas it was not meant to be. Studio X became Studio Xanadu, but it’s still a cool site with lots of fun stuff, and much more to come if I ever find the time! Has the X popped up in your life somewhere? Share your X secrets! (No porn, please!) One day I hope to spread out and try another letter of the alphabet, but I can’t think of any other letter that has so much impact. I mean – NexusB ... it’s missing something! NexusF ... nope. So NexusX it is! Well, Studio X … er Xanadu is currently under construction or rather in stasis while I work on one of my other sites – QT Games. (Click here to go there).

A Game Designer's Diary 1

2009-10-15T23:32:00.000-07:00

Devoted to game design, art and writing, this blog focuses specifically on the development of the Cosmothea roleplaying game, including the challenges, process and a diary of my journey. Sometimes I'll also take a break to talk about life and being a gamer.

Having written drafts for two novels (one which included an outline for a trilogy, including conceptual art and a great deal of world and race design work), I'm no stranger to chaining myself to a desk for long hours over a great period of time. I relish the thought of applying my creative juices to a project, pushing the envelope of what's been done, the sacred cows, and focusing on what I'm trying to accomplish and how best to do it. Yet designing an rpg - not one of those charming little rpg's that are only 25 pages or so, but a full blown one, including a detailed campaign setting, feels like a herculean task.

I often feel like I'm in a room full of toddlers who all want attention at once, and I have to figure out how I'm going to deal with each of their individual needs, help them reach their potential, and also keep from going crazy - all while holding down a full time job as a graphic artist. That's what designing an rpg is like for me. It's crazy. It's fun. It's exhausting, and it's very rewarding, even though I haven't gotten a paycheck yet.

I'm not starting from scratch, however. The Cosmothea RPG has been around for a long time, but I'm rewriting it and redesigning it almost from the ground up, drawing on years of game design experience (it's never enough) and a campaign setting that's been around for 30 years come next month. (In fact, we're going to throw an online party and probably do a couple contests in mid-late July to celebrate! More on that HERE). Anyway, I thought I would begin laying out some of the thought processes that went into choosing to design an rpg, when there are so many out there, and also why I'm designing it the way I am.

I'll try to make this both interesting and informative, to those of you who were wondering about what it's like and some of the concerns that go into it. I'd also love to hear your thoughts on the matter as well. Thanks for visiting. I haven't posted in awhile as I've been designing like crazy, and although I am still doing just that, I thought this designer's diary might prove helpful (hopefully not just to me) as getting things down on paper helps you to think about it twice, so we'll see where this goes. More to come!