Quote from: FASERIP;566683'Mutant Future' is neither of those and you can actually deduce its genre from that title.


If you want people to check out your games, then you'll want something to catch their attention, no?

'Other Dust' is dull. That shit about the nanite swarms sure sounds nifty, but I wouldn't know that from just skimming the internets, because I (generic consumer 'I') might think the game as unimaginative as its title.

You really are a dick and an ungracious one at that.

Quote from: Teazia;566670Spoken by someone who knows.  But you seems to have a pretty good track record with releasing quality material over different genres on a consistent basis (moreso than some "pro" companies).  It must not too much of a financial black hole either, otherwise it would be no can do.  I wonder if you have made a greater return than if you had written for a project that pays, like say Kobold Quarterly or even a Paizo product.

Honestly, I can't imagine KQ or Paizo paying me nearly as well as I make on my independent efforts. I started offering stuff in January of 2011, and since then I've moved a bit more than $50K in books. After subtracting print costs and handing OBS and Mongoose their cuts of the take, it comes out to a bit less than $20K net, out of which I've had to buy art for my books. I do everything else myself to cut down overhead, even if it shows at times. When I factor in the number of hours I've spent working on the material, it comes out to an hourly wage that'd make a burger flipper sneer, but by the standards of indie RPG publishing, it's been a ripping success. Other Dust cost me $2,413 in art, and it's already made $3K in its first week. A lot of indie games with an actual art budget are lucky if they make it into the black in their first year. Of course, now I need to budget for my next project's art. I'm going to have to pay through the nose to do that one right, and its market potential is... well, let's just say I'm not exactly expecting to move 200 units in the first month.

Quote from: FASERIP;566683If you want people to check out your games, then you'll want something to catch their attention, no?

I want to make games that are fun for me to make. If people check them out later, or if I can make them more market-friendly while still keeping them as enjoyable to make, then sure, that's great. But one reason I don't do kickstarters for potential projects or take pre-orders for my stuff is because I want to do exactly what I want to do, when I want to do it, how I want to do it, with a complete disregard for anything but my own aesthetic.

I think the potential of modern desktop publishing software, POD printing, and all-comers front ends like OBS has yet to really sink in among hobbyists. We have a lingua franca in the OSR, we have the tools to make games, we have a storefront that can distribute them to thousands... what exactly is keeping us from doing whatever we damn well please? Sure, most of it will be junk, but most of everything has always been junk. I can sit down, write whatever I want, and put it up for others to obtain without the slightest concern over marketability, return on investment, or niche targeting. And I can do it for the cost of a single set of proofs.

I can write all I want, sell as much of it as people want to buy, pick up any project at any time and put it down just as easily, and I don't need to ask anyone permission for any of it. Indie RPG writers have never had it this good before, and I intend to enjoy every bit of it.

Quote from: SineNomine;566758Honestly, I can't imagine KQ or Paizo paying me nearly as well as I make on my independent efforts. I started offering stuff in January of 2011, and since then I've moved a bit more than $50K in books. After subtracting print costs and handing OBS and Mongoose their cuts of the take, it comes out to a bit less than $20K net, out of which I've had to buy art for my books. I do everything else myself to cut down overhead, even if it shows at times. When I factor in the number of hours I've spent working on the material, it comes out to an hourly wage that'd make a burger flipper sneer, but by the standards of indie RPG publishing, it's been a ripping success. Other Dust cost me $2,413 in art, and it's already made $3K in its first week. A lot of indie games with an actual art budget are lucky if they make it into the black in their first year. Of course, now I need to budget for my next project's art. I'm going to have to pay through the nose to do that one right, and its market potential is... well, let's just say I'm not exactly expecting to move 200 units in the first month.

I want to make games that are fun for me to make. If people check them out later, or if I can make them more market-friendly while still keeping them as enjoyable to make, then sure, that's great. But one reason I don't do kickstarters for potential projects or take pre-orders for my stuff is because I want to do exactly what I want to do, when I want to do it, how I want to do it, with a complete disregard for anything but my own aesthetic.

I think the potential of modern desktop publishing software, POD printing, and all-comers front ends like OBS has yet to really sink in among hobbyists. We have a lingua franca in the OSR, we have the tools to make games, we have a storefront that can distribute them to thousands... what exactly is keeping us from doing whatever we damn well please? Sure, most of it will be junk, but most of everything has always been junk. I can sit down, write whatever I want, and put it up for others to obtain without the slightest concern over marketability, return on investment, or niche targeting. And I can do it for the cost of a single set of proofs.

I can write all I want, sell as much of it as people want to buy, pick up any project at any time and put it down just as easily, and I don't need to ask anyone permission for any of it. Indie RPG writers have never had it this good before, and I intend to enjoy every bit of it.

Rock the fuck on Mr. C I for one will continue paying good money to you for what has never failed to be a quality product. In fact, I'm going to go buy Other Dust right now. Oh, and the name is fucking cool IMO.

Edit: I am now the proud and happy owner of a brand new digital copy of the, according to "FASERIP", poorly named Other Dust I must be completely lacking in taste and discernment because I think the name is fine. I'm ok with this.

Edit 2: I'll start reading more into it and share more in this thread, but I can say right away that I love the cover image.

Quote from: SineNomine;566758well, let's just say I'm not exactly expecting to move 200 units in the first month.

Hey, if you come up with a snappy name this time, who knows? You might bump that figure up a bit.

Quotehow I want to do it, with a complete disregard for anything but my own aesthetic.

My advice to you is sincere, but because it's negative, you're not hearing it. Or so it seems.

You put a lot of work into your game. Why hobble it with a prosaic name?

The fluff text from OD is pretty strongly bringing to mind Dark Sun. I would totally love to run DS as a more "normal" PA rather than it's RAW fantasy PA. It's certainly causing OD to scream adventure potential at me, like pretty much all the rest of Mr. C's stuff. Good job so far brother

Quote from: Sigmund;566913The fluff text from OD is pretty strongly bringing to mind Dark Sun. I would totally love to run DS as a more "normal" PA rather than it's RAW fantasy PA. It's certainly causing OD to scream adventure potential at me, like pretty much all the rest of Mr. C's stuff. Good job so far brother

My favourite thing so far was the Survivor. That guy looks fun as hell to play.

I may need to get a(nother) copy for a friend, so he can run it.

Quote from: FASERIP;566866Hey, if you come up with a snappy name this time, who knows? You might bump that figure up a bit.

My advice to you is sincere, but because it's negative, you're not hearing it. Or so it seems.

You put a lot of work into your game. Why hobble it with a prosaic name?

I'm working on building a flawless reputation for uncompromising indie integrity so that I can sell out when the market finally peaks. Why do you think I'm writing at this rate? I've got to be ready, and those CafePress t-shirts won't design themselves.

Lol

Your books are the long tail baby, since you own them, your family can make money off them for 100 years.  Quality material that is readily available tends to stick around better than junk.

Quote from: SineNomine;566982so that I can sell out when the market finally peaks.

Great news.

I'll wait for the sell-out edition when the game's name isn't so bland.

Hey Kevin,

Since you are in this thread I'll ask if The House of Bone
and Amber might see the light of day under the Sine Nomine imprint?

Quote from: Fiasco;567033Hey Kevin,

Since you are in this thread I'll ask if The House of Bone
and Amber might see the light of day under the Sine Nomine imprint?

I expect it probably will eventually, redone as a Labyrinth Lord adventure in my Red Tide setting. The rough draft is already complete, so it's just a matter of reskinning, polishing, and providing maps. I'll likely save it for a dead spot in my schedule, though, since I've got another project on my plate right now, and after that I want to finish up a Fighting Fantasy-esque SWN book I've got a quarter-complete. I might do it around Christmas if no more immediate entertainment pops up.

Thank you so much for your answer.  I look forward to seeing it at some point.

Quote from: SineNomine;566667"Other Dust" is a pain to track on Google, but I wouldn't change it.

Not even for the sell-out edition?

Quote from: FASERIP;567131Not even for the sell-out edition?

The front cover of the sell-out version will be titled "Consciousness: Fall/Rising" and depict strong, independent women in sensibly-armored burkhas peacefully overcoming pasty-skinned cisgendered oppressors who remain blind to the internal contradictions of their post-apocalyptic neo-patriarchal phallocentric disaster capitalism. If you flip the book and turn it over, the back cover will be titled "Mutant Tits" and consist entirely of poorly-traced pornography and screaming white men with flamethrowers implanted in their biceps who are waist-deep in clinging naked women. I will then begin two opposing kickstarters to fund my groveling apology and blanket condemnation of one or both of the book halves. Stretch goals will include a tone poem depicting the horror of possessing a penis and a limited hardcover reprinting of the December 2007 issue of Xtreme Juggs with nipple shields and swords sharpied in.

Quote from: SineNomine;567195The front cover of the sell-out version will be titled "Consciousness: Fall/Rising" and depict strong, independent women in sensibly-armored burkhas peacefully overcoming pasty-skinned cisgendered oppressors who remain blind to the internal contradictions of their post-apocalyptic neo-patriarchal phallocentric disaster capitalism. If you flip the book and turn it over, the back cover will be titled "Mutant Tits" and consist entirely of poorly-traced pornography and screaming white men with flamethrowers implanted in their biceps who are waist-deep in clinging naked women. I will then begin two opposing kickstarters to fund my groveling apology and blanket condemnation of one or both of the book halves. Stretch goals will include a tone poem depicting the horror of possessing a penis and a limited hardcover reprinting of the December 2007 issue of Xtreme Juggs with nipple shields and swords sharpied in.

:rotfl: