Archive through January 09, 2006
Star Fleet Universe Discussion Board: Company-Conventions-Stores-Ideas: New Product Lines Development:
OTHER PROJECTS:
Space Games Magazine:
Archive through January 09, 2006
A million years ago, there was a magazine called SPACE GAMER. It was done in Austin by (Not sure, metagaming? steve jackson?). It covered a lot of sci-fi games and some other stuff. It printed some SFB stuff we sent it. I assume it's been defunct for years.
Crazy Idea #47 for the game company executive who already has way too much to do was to create a new magazine about space/scifi gaming. It could include minis, boardgames, and even RPGs.
Uniquely, the way I'd approach it would be to contact each of the companies that produce space games and offer them four free pages (more if they provided good stuff) to print just about anything. Introductions, designers notes, var8iants, samples, ship diagrams, deck plans, more or less advertising disguised as editorial content, and so forth.
Sold on the store shelves, it would be the "house organ" for every space game that there is. My theory is that anyone interested in any space game would find the whole magazine "interesting bathroom reading" and would find the few pages related to their current game actually useful.
Anybody think this is a good idea? Can anybody give me contact addresses for companies that do space games?
I think it's a fine idea and would provide the perfect venue for Prime Directive, those occasional small but interesting articles.
Would you have any fiction?
Nexus magazine reborn?
Sounds cool to me.
Don't do it. There's a reason Space Gamer is no longer around.
The last thing you guys need to do is a magazine, where everything needs to come out on schedule.
I think that all of the content in such a magazine is already present in websites; Board Game Geek, Star Ranger, and the like.
I'd expand Caplog to include these kind of articles. Go with a glitzier cover and see if you can get real magazine shelf distribution, but starting up a whole new mag - - not a good idea unless you can
1) get someone else to fit the bill
2) hire staff to do it outside ADB
I'd have to agree with everyone else. While I'd love to read such a magazine, it would just get in the way of getting other (more important) things done on schedule.
I like the concept. However, if you are going to do it as a magazine, it will most likely require the ability to do a subscription to succeed. There have been previous comments about ADB not having the resources to do subscriptions for Captain's Log.
Hmmm...
Ya, saddly I hear what these guys are saying. Magazines are an entire business in themselves and a dificult at that.
Spare time is all you have Steve if you have any. I'd have to ask you, would you tell me to go for it if I told you I wanted to do it in my spare time?
I suppose I'm reversing my possition but I'm forced to admit the other's are right. It really is too bad there isn't a magazine already outthere to just become a part of.
Alternatively, I've noticed some companies have Web-zines inwhich the beginings of articles are free and after a few paragraphs there is a link to the rest of the story. You have to log-in to get to the rest of the story. To log-in you have to subscribe. Sometimes subscriptions are free but they sell advertising and use your data to make money. You could just charge for a subscription. In any case you will have to hire someone to manage things.
Then again , I know squat about diddly.
Well that is what I would like my website to be if it was my primary job. A few new gaming magazines have started up in the last few years, like 'Undefeated' but after seeing promo copies at GenCon, I never saw them at my local stores. Shadis was actually a decent gaming magazine with some nice sci-fi coverage in the late 1990s, but they also didn't last too long.
You can find links to all the websites of the space games on my website if you want to shop it around - star-ranger.com
I suspect its too much to do in house. You might try talking an existing game magazine publisher (is there one?) into releasing a special issue dedicated to space games.
You don't have enough hours in the day, as is. In order to take on another task, you guys would have to lose some responsibilities.
The obvious thing would be for SVC, SPP, and KB to concentrate on game/magazine design, and let Mike and more new employees concentrate on printing, shipping, and all of the other production stuff.
Oh, wait. We already tried that and it didn't work, right? What was it called? It's on the tip of my tongue ... I remember now:
TFG
(grin, duck, and run)
(very fast)
(very VERY fast)
I'd support the idea IF it doesn't take away from SVC/SPP game-design time but past history makes it seem like you are reluctant to delegate such matters (as related to publishing this proposed magazine not game design). FC and the RPG(s) has already robbed us of the November 2005 CL and the promised development time (as far back as post GAMA?) devoted for the F&E ISC scenario(s) and module.
ADB doesn't have the staff to support a periodical. You may want to see if any other companies are interested in advertisting/having articles in CapLog - use it as a revenue stream, but ADB is not set up to do any more than that.
I agree that ADB doesn't have enough time. Who on the staff would vett the articles or reviews to make sure they were correct? How could you assure your competitors (in the sci-fi gaming genre) that they would get balanced coverage?
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Loren Knight
I think it's a fine idea and would provide the perfect venue for Prime Directive, those occasional small but interesting articles. Would you have any fiction?
SVC REPLY: Yes, it could be a place for small articles about many games. As for fiction, somebody would have to write it.
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Nick Samaras
Nexus magazine reborn?
SVC REPLY: Not really. Nexus was a house organ for one company.
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Troy J. Latta
Sounds cool to me.
SVC REPLY: Me too.
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F. Michael Miller
Don't do it. There's a reason Space Gamer is no longer around.
SVC REPLY: because the publisher went out of business?
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F. Michael Miller
The last thing you guys need to do is a magazine, where everything needs to come out on schedule.
SVC REPLY: I would not see more than two issues a year and I don’t think that is a problem.
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Michael Powers
I think that all of the content in such a magazine is already present in websites; Board Game Geek, Star Ranger, and the like.
SVC REPLY: Web sites aren’t magazines. Magazines have their own purpose.
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Les LeBlanc
I'd expand Caplog to include these kind of articles. Go with a glitzier cover and see if you can get real magazine shelf distribution,
SVC REPLY: no, Caplog is pretty well branded as what it is and there is no way to change it, also no real reason to. This is a new idea deserving of a new brand.
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Les LeBlanc
but starting up a whole new mag - - not a good idea unless you can
1) get someone else to fit the bill
2) hire staff to do it outside ADB
SVC REPLY: I was actually thinking of having ken do it since he’s looking for things to do.
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Will McCammon
I'd have to agree with everyone else. While I'd love to read such a magazine, it would just get in the way of getting other (more important) things done on schedule.
SVC REPLY: See above. Also note that as each company would provide or vette its own articles, the work on doing the issue is minimal.
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Russell J. Manning
I like the concept. However, if you are going to do it as a magazine, it will most likely require the ability to do a subscription to succeed. There have been previous comments about ADB not having the resources to do subscriptions for Captain's Log.
SVC REPLY: This is another of those myths based on half-remembered off-hand comments. We have plenty of resources to handle subscriptions. We just decided not to market Captain’s Log that way.
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Loren Knight
Hmmm...
Ya, saddly I hear what these guys are saying. Magazines are an entire business in themselves and a dificult at that.
Spare time is all you have Steve if you have any. I'd have to ask you, would you tell me to go for it if I told you I wanted to do it in my spare time?
I suppose I'm reversing my possition but I'm forced to admit the other's are right. It really is too bad there isn't a magazine already outthere to just become a part of.
Alternatively, I've noticed some companies have Web-zines inwhich the beginings of articles are free and after a few paragraphs there is a link to the rest of the story. You have to log-in to get to the rest of the story. To log-in you have to subscribe. Sometimes subscriptions are free but they sell advertising and use your data to make money. You could just charge for a subscription. In any case you will have to hire someone to manage things.
Then again , I know squat about diddly.
SVC REPLY: All answerd above.
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Dean Gundberg (Star_Ranger)
Well that is what I would like my website to be if it was my primary job. A few new gaming magazines have started up in the last few years, like 'Undefeated' but after seeing promo copies at GenCon, I never saw them at my local stores. Shadis was actually a decent gaming magazine with some nice sci-fi coverage in the late 1990s, but they also didn't last too long.
You can find links to all the websites of the space games on my website if you want to shop it around - star-ranger.com
SVC REPLY: I was kinda hoping somebody would send me the email addresses so I don’t have to look for them.
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Tos Crawford
I suspect its too much to do in house. You might try talking an existing game magazine publisher (is there one?) into releasing a special issue dedicated to space games.
SVC REPLY: I don’t see it as likely to have a magazine do that.
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Gary Plana
You don't have enough hours in the day, as is. In order to take on another task, you guys would have to lose some responsibilities.
The obvious thing would be for SVC, SPP, and KB to concentrate on game/magazine design, and let Mike and more new employees concentrate on printing, shipping, and all of the other production stuff.
SVC REPLY: I am not sure it would take that much work if other companies did their own pages. If they don’t, then I’m not interested in doing it.
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KC Grant
I'd support the idea IF it doesn't take away from SVC/SPP game-design time but past history makes it seem like you are reluctant to delegate such matters (as related to publishing this proposed magazine not game design). FC and the RPG(s) has already robbed us of the November 2005 CL and the promised development time (as far back as post GAMA?) devoted for the F&E ISC scenario(s) and module.
SVC REPLY: Good points.
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Andy Palmer
ADB doesn't have the staff to support a periodical. You may want to see if any other companies are interested in advertisting/having articles in CapLog - use it as a revenue stream, but ADB is not set up to do any more than that.
SVC REPLY: Nobody else would be interested in advertising in an SFU magazine, which is why a new magazine would be required. As noted, if other companies do their pages, it’s not that much work on any of us.
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Greg Ernest
I agree that ADB doesn't have enough time. Who on the staff would vett the articles or reviews to make sure they were correct? How could you assure your competitors (in the sci-fi gaming genre) that they would get balanced coverage?
SVC REPLY: Same answer to both. Each company would do their own pages. I do believe I said that in the first post.
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So, what we're looking at here is:
A Space Gamer magazine
Bi-annual
covers many games
published and produced by ADB/SVC
edited/assembled by Ken Burnside
articles by various
revenue from sales and advertizing (so price is lower than Cap Log per issue?)
The next concern of mine is will it have pages like average magazines? By that I mean color on that semi-glossy paper? I'd think that would be important.
I would be VERY proud to write fiction and articles for this. I'm sure you could count on me as a regular contributer. Would you (SVC) be writing any part of it?
Nothing new to add, except to echo comments made previously: my main concern would be that it would overload ADB staff and detract from and delay ongoing projects and products (SVC by your own description you are the "game company executive who already has way too much to do").
Steve, I know this is going back a few years, but try to remember the Nexus experience.
TFG claimed the delays (atleast some of them) were due to ADB failing to provide the articles and content agreed to in the original schedule.(I could pull the Nexus Magazines and read you chaper and verse, if needed):
If you put your self in the position that TFG had in publishing Nexus, you'll be the editor/publisher pulling out hair, beards fingernails and what not trying to maintain the published schedule.
Worse, you will not be able to turn to Ken and Steve Petrick and politely request that they "fix this".... you'll be at the whim of others production schedules, health issues (in as far as they delay promised articles, material etc) and other excuses that will no doubt be out side of your control.
If you are going to do this, then for goodness sakes, approach it in a professional manner and treat it as a "spin off" business.
Appoint an editor, design or designate publishing guidelines so that the "thing" can be produced in house without impacting the normal production of FC, SFB, F&E and GURPS PD.
You also need to develope a business plan for it, since it will be very unlike the way you have structured ADB in its current state.
As far as other game companies interaction is concerned, I imagine you have a variety of reactions. Some will jump at the chance for "free pages", others will be distrustful of you, and ADB's motivations and others will be so overworked that they might not even notice the offer...
While some people will be willing to submit articles and content for ADB's normal terms, some might expect/demand cash renumeration or some other arrangement.
I would hope you would be understanding that not every one has the same values and motivation towards the hobby.
If you decide to pursue this (either as a game store only sale strategy or as a subscription magazine venue) I will be a subscriber, heck I subscribed to nexus in time to receive issue #2 so you can count on atleast one loyal customer!
History:
The Space Gamer was started by MetaGaming, but eventually went over to SJG (don't know how, just that it did), where it spent its best years. It was broken up into Space Gamer (yes, they dropped the 'The') and Fantasy Gamer, and then re-joined back into into one. SJG eventually decided that magazine publishing was putting too much of a strain on them and sold the magazine. They regretfully watched as it bounced between something like 3 or 4 publishers and died a slow lingering death.
SJG got back into the magazine business around '93 with Pyramid Magazine. It apparently did okay in print, and they eventually converted it into an on-line subscription magazine, which they report is doing very well. (I have no interest in a non-physical magazine, so I don't know what it's like.)
The problem with non-house organs owned by gaming companies, is that everyone assumes they are anyway. FBI's Sorcerer's Apprentice was not, but they hardly ever got non FBI-related articles (much less publishable ones). I don't remember if Pyramid was supposed to be or not (I think not, since it was supposed to be a reborn Space Gamer), but they hardly got any non-SJG material either. Offhand, I think Space Gamer is the only one that managed it in the long haul.
*If* you do this, try to line up some people who will do articles on things outside ADB *first* so you can guarantee one notable non-ADB article for the first few issues, and set up to proper perception.
I'm not sure at all it's a good idea.... but if published, I'll buy it. 
Also, Pyramid can run articles on the entire gamut of SJG properties; and, with the polyamorous nature of GURPS, it can run articles on anything under the sun and call it "RPG resources".
I have no doubt that if we offered companies free pages, some would take it, some would say yes but never deliver, and some one not take it. (Those that wanted to be paid would be ignored.) The trick would be to have enough 'reserve' pages (based on the games of ADB and AA) so that whenever the deadline came due, if Starmada had failed to send in their pages, we'd just use more of our own. I would not want to announce a schedule for more than one issue at a time and only when I had a critical mass of finished pages already on hand.
We would certainly approach it (as we do everything) in a professional way. As this would be a uniuqe joint venture of many companies, it would perforce have entirely new ways of doing things. As a business model, however, it's not very much unlike what we do now.
SJG's space gamer went out because the cost of printing got so high for that kind of publication. This just isn't an issue with our in house equipment. What killed SJG-SG just isn't a threat to ADB-SGM.
I would certainly not seek out "fan written articles" since we would have no way to edit them. Anyone who sent in such a thing would be sent to the publisher of that game.
The whole idea only works if enough companies are willing to do their pages. If there are, this is easy and has zero impact on ADB's other schedules. If there are not companies willing to do pages, this is impossible and will never start.
The way to proceed is to:
1. kick around the idea some more
2. ask a tiny group of people I know for their thoughts
3. then send an email to every space game company inviting their input and asking if they want in.
4. If enough of them said "yes, we will send you 4 pages within 60 days" then we can tell all of the other companies "we have enough promises to make this happen so it's worth YOUR bother to be part of it, get busy creating pages." Note that some companies would take the easy route and just grab existing pages out of old products. Some would do new stuff.
5. At some point after that, we will have a "critical mass" of finished pages. When that happens, we announce the product to the wholesalers for 100 days down the road.
6. Companies that sent in easy to do pages ripped off from old products would have 75(?) days to replace them with spiffier all new stuff if they wanted to. Companies that had not sent in pages would have 75 days to send them in. We would have a first-come/first-served procedure. If, 43 days to deadline, we have enough pages then anybody else who sends in pages gets them put in the issue #2 file. If, 15 days to deadline, we lacked 12 pages finishing, Ken and I would expand the pages for our own games (using existing pages taken from existing products) to fill the gap.
Are you envisioning that you would cover computer / game console games?
Trying to compile a list of likely games/publishers....
A Call to Arms - Mongoose
Attack Vector Tactical -- Ad Astra Games
Arclight -
Battle Fleet Gothic -
Battlestations - Gorilla Games
D6 Space - West End Games
Federation & Empire- ADB
Federation Commander- ADB
Full Thrust -
GURPS Space -- Steve Jackson Games
Prime Directive - ADB
Saganami Island - Ad Astra Games
Silent Death -
Star Fleet Battle Force - ADB
Star Fleet Battles - ADB
Starfire - Starfire Design Studio
Starmada -
Transhuman Space - Steve Jackson Games.
A little help to compile the list would be good.