Free vs. PDF's

[midknight123]

I am wondering. I have some good ideas for some rpgs, but I don't know if I should stick it up for free or try it as a pdf. I can produce a very nice product. Besides time, I don't know the pros or cons of the current industry. It seems that pdfs are starting to take off a bit.

What do ya'll think? (ha ha, I wonder where I am from)
David

[xenongames]

PDFs can be free. Stuff you pay for can be of any format, though PDFs are popular.

Now that I have gotten that out of the way, I think the issue is almost a no-brainer.

Once you have created the electronic file, you can either give it away (as many of us freeware rpg people do) or charge for it (as many companies are doing). Which path you take is a personal choice and not necessarily a business one.

I like the concept of freeware (not "open-source" or "copyleft" but honest freeware) and so offer my games for free. Plus, I honestly do not think they are of a quality I would feel comfortable selling. Since I offer them for free, I am not stressed about making them perfect. I have no illusions about fame or money in the rpg hobby.

Do bear in mind that if you are going to charge for something, be sure to do it correctly (namely, collect/pay your taxes).

[2WS-Steve]

One non-monetary reason to release it as for-pay via one of the online storefronts is that for-pay products get reviewed more readily and people who pay for a product are more likely to give you some kind of feedback. I wouldn't even be that surprised if more people read the thing if you attached a price to it. It's like that weird art-phenomenom that you sell better if you increase the price.

Steven Palmer Peterson
Second World Simulations (http://www.Second-World-Simulations.com)

[Menteroso]

About the time issue:

It doesn't take very much time to produce a PDF. In fact, it takes less time to make a PDF than to print out the document, expecially if it's longer than a few pages.

There's a freeware PDF distiller somewhere on the net, or you can pay for Adobe Acrobat (or something else that makes PDFs, I think the new WordPerfect does...)

What takes time is the actual setting up of the document itself. That's take time no matter what format you wanted to make it.

If you have something you'd like to make into a PDF, you can email me, and I'll help ya out.

[Matt M]

I wouldn't even be that surprised if more people read the thing if you attached a price to it.

I'd disagree with that. On the internet people are more likely to read something if it's free. Admittedly it has to be well presented, well written and free, but that's another matter. People still have this nagging doubt about buying virtual product, particularly from unknown quantities. This is why so many games go for free tryout versions. Trust building.



Matt

[2WS-Steve]

Yah, I'm probably overdoing it with the reading bit. But getting reviews gives you some nice feedback and, depending on the sort of project you're doing, I haven't seen many reviews of free products.

[Gonster]

Originally posted by Matt M


I'd disagree with that. On the internet people are more likely to read something if it's free. Admittedly it has to be well presented, well written and free, but that's another matter. People still have this nagging doubt about buying virtual product, particularly from unknown quantities. This is why so many games go for free tryout versions. Trust building.



Matt

Read it, sure. But I think you've got a better chance of a .pdf game actually being played if you charged for it.

From personal experience, sure, I've made a lot of plans to run some kewl new game downloaded free off the net. I've only actually done it once -- MEXICO 1970, one session, had fun.

I recently purchased CARTOON ACTION HOUR, designing a series, hope to run it a week from Friday.

When LIGHTSPEED comes out, I'll purchase, print out, and run it within a month of getting it -- I've already told some of my gamers about it.

I think there's been psychological studies done on this, but will admit upfront that I could be wrong. Has to do with a person putting greater value on something they actually had to 'pay' for -- and I put 'pay' in quotes for a reason. Money, time invested, creation of settings, etc., are all forms of payment.

Just some thoughts,
Gonster

[Matt_M]

From personal experience, sure, I've made a lot of plans to run some kewl new game downloaded free off the net.

True, but reading and not playing can be applied to many printed games I've bought (Sorcerers Crusade, Tales of Gargenthir, Underworld to name a few).

Course I can only speak from personal experience, and my games have been reviewed and played, and I get plenty of feedback. Others might not have been as lucky. It's a case of putting in the work marketing your games, I suppose, return equal to effort and all that jazz.

One thing to note is that the very best way to get reviewed is to send your game to a reviewer. It's amazing how many people forget this.



Matt

[Michael Hopcroft]

I faced exactly the same dilemma that the person who started this thread did when I began work on HeartQuest. As I put more work into the game and brought more people into the project, it became clear that I would need to get something out of it financially, even a little, for it to make sense. Plus I've always wanted to be in the game business.

So I got a business licence (I live in a state with no sales tax) and began pouring serious money into the process of putting out the game, including buying software and upgrading equipment.

Now Seraphim Guard is getting ready to release its first product both in PDF and print form. I"m nervous as a puppydog about the whole thing, but convinced I made the right decision. Plus I'll have a booth at GenCon. 9Well, quarter-booth, but still).

[Aries]

Originally posted by midknight123
I am wondering. I have some good ideas for some rpgs, but I don't know if I should stick it up for free or try it as a pdf. I can produce a very nice product. Besides time, I don't know the pros or cons of the current industry. It seems that pdfs are starting to take off a bit.

What do ya'll think? (ha ha, I wonder where I am from)
David

I am actually going to go the way of .pdf's because at the current time I do not have the capital to do a print version of the game I am
about to publish.

I will use rpgnow.com to sell my item and then when I have enough money to do so I will put out a print version.

[Krug]

Originally posted by The Lone Gamer


I am actually going to go the way of .pdf's because at the current time I do not have the capital to do a print version of the game I am
about to publish.

I will use rpgnow.com to sell my item and then when I have enough money to do so I will put out a print version.

All the best. I buy about 3-4 PDFs a month and I'm also looking into putting something up for sale at RPGnow.com. You might also look into using Paypal to sell your items direct at your website (you do have one, right? ;) ) as well.

[BigBastard]

Originally posted by The Lone Gamer

I am actually going to go the way of .pdf's because at the current time I do not have the capital to do a print version of the game I am
about to publish.


Do you think that the people who bought your pdf file will purchase the hard copy edition? This sounds like the way I want to go. I have the money for the artwork for at least one core book and a couple supplements.

[Krug]

Originally posted by BigBastard


Do you think that the people who bought your pdf file will purchase the hard copy edition? This sounds like the way I want to go. I have the money for the artwork for at least one core book and a couple supplements.

From feedback gathered at enworld.org, pdf sales have little impact on hard copy sales, so I would say go for it. Perhaps the market for PDFs hasn't really blossomed as yet, and gamers still want that something to hold in their hand.

[Alias]

Have you considered going the "shareware" route? To be more precise, "whatever-you-want-ware", or "donationware".

The idea is to propose the files as free downloads, but asking those who can afford it to send a little bit of money. Give them a proposed price -- say, 10-15$ -- and open a PayPal account.

From my experience, many people associate "free" with "crap", but the Internet works a bit different in that respect. By suggesting a small payment, you put a small pressure on the reader, while not alienating the "free beer" people.

As for file formats, if you have a moderately complex layout and/or illustrations, PDF is definitely the way to go.