Having recently attended the GAMA Trade Show in Las Vegas, I can honestly say that what I was originally trepidatious about turned out to be an incredible experience that really opened my eyes concerning the tabletop gaming industry, and was an amazing help in allowing me to plan for the eventual ship of this product.
GAMA is a show dedicated to the convergence of all the various factors of the tabletop gaming industry, from creators, to producers, to distributors, to publishers, to retailers, and even (for the seriously diehard and curious) to consumers. However,..the focus here seemed to be getting the attention of the retailers, those who own the game stores that will eventually be stocking and selling the product, as well as a venue for the creators and producers of the games, who are drawn to potential publishers and others who can help their game become a reality. For me,..this trip was all about the latter...
Please allow me to mention at this point, that I owe the very idea of going on this trip to David Wheeler, owner of Dragon's Lair. He not only suggested it be a good idea for me,..but also strongly supported the product itself and, when he discovered I had decided to go after all, did me the amazing favor of taking me under his wing and personally introducing me to many key people there with whom I could discuss and hype the Dárdünah game. Additionally, David was incredibly enthusiastic about the product, and always had great things to say about it as he introduced me to the many people in the biz who seemed able to help me out.
Of the many things he did for me at the show,..one of the most useful to me was to help me get set up to have a Focus Group of retailers from across the country individually scrutinize and critique Dárdünah to determine what issues it may have that could impede potential popularity and sales. At first I was really scared that Dárdünah would hold up well to such scrutiny, especially considering that this was really such a home-brewed project. I waited my turn and watched as the group of about 8 people critiqued the fellow before me who had created a card game. To me,..it looked pretty slick... To their more critical eyes,..there were many issues with that fellow's game,..and their were pretty sparse on the compliments. This scared me a bit,..and I thought "Oh GOD,..what have I signed myself up for? Am I about to have a new orifice torn into me?"
Instead, I was delighted to discover that the retailers had really GREAT things to say about Dárdünah. They loved the art. They thought the use of animal people as characters was a GREAT idea. They loved the fact that it was NOT European-based fantasy. They were excited that it seemed to be able to appeal to both male AND female gamers. The rich and garish colors were a refreshing change of pace to the somewhat gothic color schemes of other games. They had some really great ideas concerning certain things to focus on for a potential booth, as well as potential packaging and sale’s themes. They enjoyed the fact that it was not a "level-based" game like D&D, and that you actually spent points to purchase the attributes of your character. And they enjoyed the very alien setting and richness implied in the world's cultures and backdrop. Finally, they praised the layout of the books, the beauty of their interiors, and the production quality in general, amazed that these books were prototypical.
The ONLY problem they had, each and every one, was the name of the game itself. They worried that the name would be too alien for most potential buyers, and didn't give a sense of the world itself. It was hard to read, hard to pronounce, and created no initial response except confusion, which is bad. I told them that Aaron and I, long ago, had discussed changing the name of the game (not the world) for these very reasons, and that we had originally considered naming it "Shard", not only to give reference to the shattered nature of the world itself (unknown to most of the world's inhabitants) but to also be evocative of the fact that crystals are so important to the theme of the world's cultures. There were initially suggestions pertaining to adding another word to it (such as Feral Shard, or perhaps Primal Shard), but in the end, after discussing it with Aaron and my own gaming group,...I decided to keep it simple. "SHARD" it is... (see attachment download to view the new logo design as if it were on the Welcome Booklet cover)...
With this small change,..requiring a new logo and a little bit of added writing to back it up, I think we are well on our way to finishing a fantastic game,..if the reactions of the retailers are any indication. And they weren't the only ones who seemed impressed. Four other publishers seemed willing to take Dárdünah and help get it on the shelves WITHOUT requiring ownership of the property, whereas before I had been worried that I was going to have to self publish. PSI Publisher Services (who distributes the Whitewolf, Palladium, and Steve Jackson products), AEG, Studio 2, and Mongoose Publishing all expressed interest and willingness to publish, with Studio 2 being the most helpful and enthusiastic, and Mongoose (who handle products such as RuneQuest) a close second.
All in all this was a fantastic trip. The only slight change in plans is the nearly universal urging by all to NOT attempt to publish this year, and to wait till next by bringing it out and introducing it officially at next year's GAMA. Doing this will help me AND the retailers position Dárdünah (now SHARD) so that it can make the best market splash as possible, and will certainly give me more time to give it the polish and refinement it deserves.
Thanks all for your continued support and playtesting...
Scottie
GAMA is a show dedicated to the convergence of all the various factors of the tabletop gaming industry, from creators, to producers, to distributors, to publishers, to retailers, and even (for the seriously diehard and curious) to consumers. However,..the focus here seemed to be getting the attention of the retailers, those who own the game stores that will eventually be stocking and selling the product, as well as a venue for the creators and producers of the games, who are drawn to potential publishers and others who can help their game become a reality. For me,..this trip was all about the latter...
Please allow me to mention at this point, that I owe the very idea of going on this trip to David Wheeler, owner of Dragon's Lair. He not only suggested it be a good idea for me,..but also strongly supported the product itself and, when he discovered I had decided to go after all, did me the amazing favor of taking me under his wing and personally introducing me to many key people there with whom I could discuss and hype the Dárdünah game. Additionally, David was incredibly enthusiastic about the product, and always had great things to say about it as he introduced me to the many people in the biz who seemed able to help me out.
Of the many things he did for me at the show,..one of the most useful to me was to help me get set up to have a Focus Group of retailers from across the country individually scrutinize and critique Dárdünah to determine what issues it may have that could impede potential popularity and sales. At first I was really scared that Dárdünah would hold up well to such scrutiny, especially considering that this was really such a home-brewed project. I waited my turn and watched as the group of about 8 people critiqued the fellow before me who had created a card game. To me,..it looked pretty slick... To their more critical eyes,..there were many issues with that fellow's game,..and their were pretty sparse on the compliments. This scared me a bit,..and I thought "Oh GOD,..what have I signed myself up for? Am I about to have a new orifice torn into me?"
Instead, I was delighted to discover that the retailers had really GREAT things to say about Dárdünah. They loved the art. They thought the use of animal people as characters was a GREAT idea. They loved the fact that it was NOT European-based fantasy. They were excited that it seemed to be able to appeal to both male AND female gamers. The rich and garish colors were a refreshing change of pace to the somewhat gothic color schemes of other games. They had some really great ideas concerning certain things to focus on for a potential booth, as well as potential packaging and sale’s themes. They enjoyed the fact that it was not a "level-based" game like D&D, and that you actually spent points to purchase the attributes of your character. And they enjoyed the very alien setting and richness implied in the world's cultures and backdrop. Finally, they praised the layout of the books, the beauty of their interiors, and the production quality in general, amazed that these books were prototypical.
The ONLY problem they had, each and every one, was the name of the game itself. They worried that the name would be too alien for most potential buyers, and didn't give a sense of the world itself. It was hard to read, hard to pronounce, and created no initial response except confusion, which is bad. I told them that Aaron and I, long ago, had discussed changing the name of the game (not the world) for these very reasons, and that we had originally considered naming it "Shard", not only to give reference to the shattered nature of the world itself (unknown to most of the world's inhabitants) but to also be evocative of the fact that crystals are so important to the theme of the world's cultures. There were initially suggestions pertaining to adding another word to it (such as Feral Shard, or perhaps Primal Shard), but in the end, after discussing it with Aaron and my own gaming group,...I decided to keep it simple. "SHARD" it is... (see attachment download to view the new logo design as if it were on the Welcome Booklet cover)...
With this small change,..requiring a new logo and a little bit of added writing to back it up, I think we are well on our way to finishing a fantastic game,..if the reactions of the retailers are any indication. And they weren't the only ones who seemed impressed. Four other publishers seemed willing to take Dárdünah and help get it on the shelves WITHOUT requiring ownership of the property, whereas before I had been worried that I was going to have to self publish. PSI Publisher Services (who distributes the Whitewolf, Palladium, and Steve Jackson products), AEG, Studio 2, and Mongoose Publishing all expressed interest and willingness to publish, with Studio 2 being the most helpful and enthusiastic, and Mongoose (who handle products such as RuneQuest) a close second.
All in all this was a fantastic trip. The only slight change in plans is the nearly universal urging by all to NOT attempt to publish this year, and to wait till next by bringing it out and introducing it officially at next year's GAMA. Doing this will help me AND the retailers position Dárdünah (now SHARD) so that it can make the best market splash as possible, and will certainly give me more time to give it the polish and refinement it deserves.
Thanks all for your continued support and playtesting...
Scottie