Independent Online publishing setup

[RPL]

Hi everyone,

I play RPGs for years now (gezz, almost ten) but only recently did I decide to dwelve into the world of game design.

Has a result I have a short game about Japanese Horror movies and I’m developing another one about sacrificing who/what you are in face of adversity.

I don’t plan to make a big deal out of this, I especially don’t want to make a financial enterprise out of it. I want to make games because I like them and I think there are some things that I think I can say through them.

So my plan goes some what like this:
   1) Write games with publishing intents, that means making documents with a formal book structure, art, reviews, play tests and finishing’s all ready to play;
   2) Export said books into pdf format;
   3) Make those pdfs and other materials available on a web site, probably a blogg, so that any one can download them for free

That is it for now, maybe in some distant future I’ll try some hardcopy publishing, but for now that’s not on my agenda.

So my questions for this topic are as follows
   1) What is the best way to go about this?
   2) Are there any legal constraints or obligations I should be aware off?
   3) What is the best way to advertise said site?
   4) Any other advice related to online independent publishing?

That is it :)

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can give me in this matter.


All the best,
Diogo

[Chris_Chinn]

Hi,

That sounds like you've already got a good direction.  You may want to check out Lady Blackbird, or other games by John Harper- he puts up a lot of free PDF games for folks to play. 

Playtesting and writing about it, getting folks to write up Actual Play reports, here, or on other sites, will bring more eyes if you want more people to know about your game.  Obviously, linking on forums and sites when you have a new release is a good way to go, as well.

The one concern to be aware of is whether you simply publish the game, or put it under some special Creative Commons License. 

If you publish, the copyrights automatically belong to you, and while certainly, as a PDF, it will be passed around the internet, no one, legally, can sell your game (aside from you) or make books, or make alterations, etc.  This may not be an immediate issue as a free game, but if you're thinking about selling it later on, it might be worth holding on to your rights.

If you publish under something like Creative Commons, granted everyone the right to republish or alter it... well, there's no getting your ownership rights back.  For many folks, that's not a problem (which is why they published under it), but some people later find they'd rather have more control and not people using their game or mechanics for things they never expected it to, or to have to find themselves competing in print against other folks on their own work.

Basically, think hard before you do Creative Commons, because you can't go back.

Chris

[RPL]

Hi Chris, thank you for your feedback,

I’ve check out John Harpers site. First of all, it’s a gorgeous thing, design and illustration wise, also it’s exactly what I’m after. Unfortunately I don’t have the web knowledge to pull it off, so the question is Wordpress or Bloggspot? Does anyone have a stand on this? Also any other suggestion that is user friendly and free is welcome.

I really liked your opinions on Creative Commons, I haven’t made my mind yet, although not adhering to it seems like the most comfortable spot, on top of that I can do some rights managing as I see fit. You want to use my game to endorse your nazi-propaganda … no! You want to use my game to make a module for a children game… go for it.

All the best,
D.

[Chris_Chinn]

Hi,

I use Wordpress for my blog because it has a lot of powerful, useful tools (link and view tracking, etc.), and free space for files if you want to make them downloadable.  Blogspot may have improved in the years since I've used it and also offer this at this point, but I'm not sure.

Chris

[Clay]

On the web front, I'm a gigantic fan of Drupal.  You'll have to buy some web space to do it, but even the cheapest hosting options can usually support Drupal.  And if you contact me privately I can hook you up with people who have the right hosting and good service. 

I use it because in the space of half an hour I can have a pretty decent site up and running.

[Drew Cass]

Hi,

I use Wordpress for my blog because it has a lot of powerful, useful tools (link and view tracking, etc.), and free space for files if you want to make them downloadable.  Blogspot may have improved in the years since I've used it and also offer this at this point, but I'm not sure.

Chris

I agree you can get a wordpess host package these days for very cheap along with a domain. I post a history blog on blogger and run a Podcasting website with word press through dream host. I find wordpress to be a better product if you are willing to spend a little money becuase you can find a template and any amount of widgets you might need to serve your needs.