Bandello - We love indies

[ajso]

[Ron Edwards]

Hi there,

That's an interesting post.

Please tell us more about what you've actually achieved for anyone. No cheerful jargon, please.

Best, Ron

[ajso]

Hi Ron,

So far we've been able to secure funds for two of the developers we work with, however, I can't disclose the name of their companies at the moment. Additionally, we've made it possible for a lot of developers to get in touch with publishers/investors, by making hook-ups or by inviting them to our offices to meet the developers we work with to see their material. We also help the developers prepare for these meetings, be it e.g. improving their pitch material/pitching style or their business case. Ultimately, it's up to the developer and their game to pull it all through, we just aid them in trying to make it all happen.

//Andreas

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Andreas,

Thanks for your reply. Among other things it assures me that you're a person and not merely some flack. However, I am still skeptical about your service's utility to the community at this site. My concerns rest precisely at this term: "publisher/investor."

The mandate for the Forge is self-publishing. It's a nuanced concept with lots of little corners and options, but one thing it's not is work-for-hire. If you're basically saying, "Hey, creative person, here's someone who'll pay you for turning the stuff you create over to them," then it ain't what this site supports. So the presence of publisher in that term is alarming to me. That alarm persists even in the face of promises that creators will "retain rights" of some kind, contractually. I am sickeningly familiar with such contracts. They are all bad. The only good contract specifies the service the outside party provides for the creative person and nothing else.

I'm also curious about who would imaginably invest in a role-playing project in the sense of providing raw funding for the creative person. The return-on-investment for such things in the past is quite clear: disastrous. What would the terms for such investment be? Who in the world are these people?

It seems to me that your first priority in establishing a presence here at the Forge should be transparency. I can imagine no legitimate reason to keep the identities of the role-playing creators secret. At least you could let them know this discussion is occurring, and they might speak up here if they choose, with their names and product out in the open. Similarly, to repeat my question at the end of the above paragraph, the identities of potential investors should be made clear to all.

Without that information, I see no way to consider your promotional information to be viable content at the Forge.

Best, Ron

[Bret Gillan]

I actually have a quick question Andreas. Your website seems to be featuring video games. This is a forum for tabletop roleplaying game publishing. Are your services even for us, or is this a mix up?

[ajso]

Hehe, that surely is a fair question to post :)

You are absolutely right, we focus on videogames. The name of the forum fooled me I guess, so sorry for the mix up. It can be quite tricky just to find the right spot to post :)

//Andreas