Promoting your own game systems?

[Jockjay]

Yes yes, another game system, made in a shed, by a random bloke who likes gaming.

So a friend and I have been working on a game system we quite like and would like to show people.

I am fully aware of the saturation of the market at the moment, and have zero intention of banging out a kickstarter or such like. At most this would be a 'on amazon for a quid' jobby.

But there is always that 'what if'.

My question is; can exposure be bad? For instance if I had some budding volunteers on the forum who wanted to blast a couple of games out. What is to stop them using said material and beating me to the publishing punch. I have no idea about IP or copyright laws/costs. But once this has a more readable format, I would really like to get it out there and see if anyone likes it. If four people like it and enjoy a few games, then put it down. I will be happy they enjoyed it for a few games. But if someone took the idea and used it for profit, I would be fairly annoyed.

Just wondering if anyone else has done something similar round here and what experiences they had?

Many thanks,

Jay.

[throwsFireball]

Legally speaking, they couldn't do that.

BUT in the real world, they could do that and you'd have no recourse of any sort, especially if they lived in another country.

If it makes you feel any better, almost no one will steal your ideas because they have ideas of their own they think are better. :p

[Jockjay]

They are probably not wrong.

Maybe its like being drunk: " last night I was a social legend" but in reality you were a putrid mess. Perhaps we are like " this game is looking good" when in fact it's a travesty. 

Thanks for the swift reply!

[grubman]

If you have a legible copy of the game, you can post it on Wargame Vault as a beta, and then start a Google or Yahoo group to discuss the game.  This will gauge popularity and playability, and since you have it published and copyrighted at that point you could argue it in any legal battles (although chances are your "original ideas" have already been done, or are inspired by, or variations, of other peoples "original ideas").

You can offer the beta for free, or charge a price (usually not much) with the promise of updating the document regularly up to the final project, so people who give you some money to help you actually get something for their effort in the long run (and feel like part of a community and the development of the game).

[Elbows]

You have a couple ways about it.

You can recruit a small group (say 10-12 people) who state they can playtest at least reasonably often...in addition, try running the rules at a convention (if it's convention friendly) etc.  With the advent of so many PDF-style rules and websites to go with them, you can eventually release your first edition as a "living" rules set.

So hammer out the early tests with a smaller group of gamers...get the game to a playable standpoint, then you can put it up for sale, and any major adjustments or minor tweaks can be instituted after the fact (ie. rules errata, FAQ etc.).  Make sure to have a form of contact if people have questions or issues (ie. a facebook page, a blog, or a dedicated email address).

Most sites which sell PDF copies of rules will actually notify purchasers when you've made an update, so they'll know to go and download the latest version.

With regard to the legal stuff, that's a whole minefield.  Remember most games are a mash-up of previously used mechanics.  It's exceptionally rare to find a game which has genuinely new and innovative mechanics/devices/ideas.  If you have a produced copy and word goes round that a copycat version has come out, there's a reasonable chance the community will respond properly and blacklist the copycat stuff.

When I was concerned about producing a PDF for one of my games, I got some great advice from someone on this site.

Me: I'm a little concerned about people taking the PDF version and putting it up for free download somewhere...
Sage Counsel: If someone downloads something like that for free, they were never going to buy it anyway.

The wargaming community is small enough that most of us realize we need to support companies/products that we like or they may well disappear.  Even for small time producers/designers there is a good support system. 

[Mr. Peabody]

When I was concerned about producing a PDF for one of my games, I got some great advice from someone on this site.

Me: I'm a little concerned about people taking the PDF version and putting it up for free download somewhere...
Sage Counsel: If someone downloads something like that for free, they were never going to buy it anyway.

The wargaming community is small enough that most of us realize we need to support companies/products that we like or they may well disappear.  Even for small time producers/designers there is a good support system. 

Spot on Elbows. Sage advice. PDF is a brilliant option and with burgeoning shelves, my friends and I are not interested in more hard copy unless we really become attached to a game.

In my local gaming community, most folks are willing to splash out for a reasonably priced .pdf in order to join in the current craze and support an author's efforts.

[Garanhir]

I've actually come to prefer PDF.

[dbsubashi]

Isn't Too Fat Lardies still looking for independent authors? I believe so. They will sell it as a PDFs for you on their site, and give you the profits. If it takes off, you can walk away with all rights. Richard Lloyd is looking to diversify the rules market. It couldn't hurt to contact them.

[Jockjay]

Guys this has been some great advice. You are right in the fact the game uses stuff that essentially has been done in some way before (dice, inches cards). But not in a way I have seen.

I will crack on.

Many thanks!

[Silent Invader]

I generally write my own rules and then make them available as free PDFs. The major downside I have occasionally experienced is with the non-playing 'reviewer' who takes detailed  issue with some wordage or mechanic and the rules then become a pedestal to promote their 'superior' analytical and editorial 'expertise'.  One time I found it so frustrating that I contemplated never, ever making my rules available again. 

[Polkovnik]

I wouldn't worry about people copying your rules and selling them. As stated above, this would soon be discovered and most people within the community would not then buy the copied rules. Mark the rules as copyright, and the fact that you have sent them out is proof that you originally wrote them.
Try to get a few people involved in playtesting. The trouble is, if you make your rules available for free, lots of people will ask for a copy and will offer to playtest, but hardly any will actually do so. Most of them will just want to read the rules for ideas. Some will provide feedback from a read-through (which can be useful) but most will not go to the effort of actually playing.
I was in a similar situation to you a couple of years ago when I wrote Sword & Spear. What I decided to do was make the playtest rules available for a small charge. When the full rules were released, anyone who had paid for the playtest rules could just pay the difference, and if they had played and provided feedback they would get the pdf of the finished rules for no extra cost. I think people are more likely to commit the time and effort to playtesting if they have paid for the rules, as they feel they have invested somthing in them.
Set up a forum and a website - both can be done for free and you don't need any IT experience to do so. Try to get plenty of traffic on your forum, so encourage playtesters (including your own gaming group) to use the forum rather than emailing you. Then if/when you do complete and sell the rules it looks like there is already a sizeable community of players.