So you’re probably wondering why I’ve called you all here…I certainly resisted joining Facebook for a long time, so why now? The answer is because I’ve decided to take on a big project, one that will require a broad level of support if it is going to succeed, and the common wisdom is that you can’t achieve that these days without being on Facebook. So here I am. As for what the big project is, some of you know I’ve been working for a while on designing board games. I have five of them that are in different stages of development. A couple I have prototypes for and have played many times. A couple others I’ve played a bit but am still revamping things, and another exists solely in my head. But I’ve decided to press forward and attempt to actually publish one of my games. From the dawn of time until the very recent past, this was an extremely difficult thing to do. It required either trying to sell your idea to an existing game company that more than likely had no interest in even looking at it, or saving up $20,000 or so of your own money to print a bunch of copies and then hope you could actually sell them somehow. But that’s not the case anymore. If you’ve not heard of a site called Kickstarter, you should check it out. It allows people to take whatever kind of creative project they can describe, and ask for money to help realize it. You would think that sounds like a pipe dream, but people really do it and succeed. In the case of board games, it’s created the perfect incubator for new games and designers. In my case, I will need about $18,000 to print the minimum of 500 copies. But rather than simply asking for donations, the site lets me make a business arrangement with the donors. If they donate $35 for example, then when the game is ready, they will get a copy of it sent to them. Essentially this amounts to doing presales, and if people believe in your game, they will make the requisite donation. Around 50% of the games on there make their stated goal. However, if you don’t make your goal, you get nothing, but neither do you owe anyone anything, and the donors simply keep their money. I plan to run a 30 day campaign from mid-October to mid-November. My goal will be to get 500 or so backers and a minimum of $18,000. If I make it, then we’ll create the art for the game and go to production. Now I’m not necessarily asking all of you to buy the game or make donations. The game isn’t for everyone. But if you could help spread the word about the game and the campaign, that would be quite helpful indeed. I’ve created a Facebook page for the game describing it in more detail, and it could use some Likes. So you’re probably wondering by now what is the game. It is called The Trilateral Conspiracy (formerly known to some of you as Conspiracy Theory, but that name was taken). It’s partly a strategy game, but really more of a game of intrigue and social interaction. Nominally the players are all heroes trying to expose a Conspiracy. However one of them is secretly an agent of the Conspiracy working against them. It is more complex than The Resistance though not as involved as Battlestar Galactica if you’re familiar with those. The other twist is that players start out with different levels of loyalty and may switch to the other side as the Conspiracy grows in power. The game has playtested well and it’s been about 50-50 in terms of which side wins. Consequently I believe this game could have a bright future and you could be a part of making it happen.
Posted on: Sat, 17 Aug 2013 04:24:16 +0000
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