Monday Meeting: All Things Are Better With More Arms

(Reposted from WhiteWolfBlogs)

Before getting to the Monday Lunch Meeting Notes, here are a few thoughts that have arisen based on some emails I received last week (although we did talk about these at lunch too). I got an interesting message from one of our Mummy: The Curse Kickstarter backers where they let me know that they didn’t think that they’d back any more Kickstarters since while they appreciate all the “free stuff” they really didn’t like having to wait for the KS edition while the PoD was available. They much preferred to just go to DTRPG and click on an available product that’ll be sent pretty fast (instantly if a PDF). Their tone was that they wanted to be supportive, but that KSs just don’t work for them. My response to them was to suggest that they probably shouldn’t back any more of our Kickstarters. Not in a dismissive way, but because we really don’t want backers who aren’t comfortable with the process and/or aren’t really excited about the Rewards. Because the whole point of adding Kickstarters to the Onyx Path business methodology is to add fun to how we all make these great projects, not to force folks to adopt a process they’re not in tune with. We’ve said this a few times, but it bears repeating here: Kickstarter is not a pre-order system, but a chance for backers to enable, and be engaged with, the creation of the project. Some folks really get into that- they love the whole participatory aspect of a KS- but some don’t and there’s nothing wrong with that. Like I said to our concerned fan, the KS support is awesome, but so is showing your support by purchasing the PDF or PoD from DTRPG– we need both those kinds of fans, and more!

And that point is similar to some other messages I got concerning our Open Development Process and why project X is more or less Open than project Y. And by similar, I mean that in the same way I don’t want fans to try to adopt systems we’re using that don’t work for them, I also don’t want our creative teams trying to force themselves to work to a strictly defined set of Open Dev processes if those processes actually impede their quality of work on their projects. Some developers and writers thrive on the immediate feedback and intellectual bantering that goes on when they post whole swathes of their current project for the fans to see, others want to percolate and iterate their work until they, the creator, is ready to present a polished, finely-crafted work to open consumption. And most fall somewhere in between and are comfortable with different feedback loops at different stages. There’s really not a magic formula for “optimum genius” with this, or all creators and their creations would start to seem the same. And so, in the interest of encouraging as much pre-publication interaction with you great folks as possible, but not forcing it, you’re going to see varying levels of how we define the “Open” part of the Open Dev Process with each project.

And now, the meeting: not much on the Approvals end of things as we’re in a slight lull of project parts needing to go to the Approval Board. Eddy and I talked about the V20 Rites of Blood project he’s developing and how the idea of referencing other books in a text has been changed by the easy availability of the White Wolf backlist on DTRPG. While we agree that telling a reader “look it up, we’re not writing it again” isn’t how we want to go, the accessibility of old WW PDFs and PoDs means that adding a reference can be done specifically to let readers know that there is broader or deeper or just additional info at a place if they choose to access it. As opposed to telling a reader to look it up in a book that’s out of print and expensive to get a hold of. We also went over a definition Eddy found of just what long-term fans want from new editions: “What I liked before, but different”. Maybe, yes/no? Neither of us is sold on that being all there is to it- what do you think?

Here’s some more of that, but different updates:

–  God Machine Chronicle (nWoD) Had to reorder proofs after discovering a couple of mechanical errors so we’re again waiting for PoD proof copies. Still trying to get this on sale in April.

–  Strix Chronicle Fiction Anthology (VtR) Strix is in Editing.

– Blood and Smoke: The Strix Chronicle (VtR) Crisis handled, new authors working on the project, and we’ve pushed back our release estimate by a month to compensate.

– Mummy the Curse – The single volume PDF and standard color PoD, as well as the “virtual box set” PDFs are on sale and doing great. We’ve added separate product listings for the Player’s Book, the Screen PDF, and the SAS. Sent the KS edition files to the printer.

– Exalted 3rd Edition:  Voice-overs came in mid last week, Ian is working on the KS video. I’m putting in the Reward Tiers all wordified, and the main text and we’ll combine these efforts with a KS preview for the dev team. From there we’ll submit. Sketches are all approved for the map and the artist/cartographer is moving to finalize the painted map- looking at printer samples this week that might be related to the map.

– V20 Hunters Hunted 2:  New sections are in layout and almost all the art is in and in for approval. Justin is reaching out to writers for the HHII Fiction Anthology and has signed Bill Bridges, Rich Dansky, Alan Alexander, Matt McFarland, and more to come.

– V20 Anarchs Unbound is in editing and we are getting art for it.

– Deluxe Werewolf 20th Anniversary Edition:  Sent the Deluxe W20 files to the printer (both Standard Deluxe and the Heavy Metal Edition). So far, no issues with the printer- hoping to see printer proofs this week. The W20 PoD versions look good right now, but waiting on new proofs. Mike Lee is three quarters-way through the W20 “Houses of the Moon” novel.  The Storyteller Screen files are going to press with W20. Bill has prepared the W20 Anthology outline and contracting prospective writers.  The Skinner is in layout and almost all the art is in. Jess Hartley is writing the White Howlers Tribe Book  and the W20 Cookbook is being outlined. Check out some news here: http://whitewolfblogs.com/w20/2013/03/18/w20-cookbook-update-white-howlers-outline/

–Deluxe Mage the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition has Phil Brucato writing like a maniac and developing his writers, also like a maniac. Art notes and contracts out to our full-page artist, once we have some feedback from him I’ll look a posting an art blog along with Phil’s developer notes. Very early sketches for the fulls look awesome. We are very sad that Quinton Hoover, one of the artists we had hoped to work with to provide new art for the book, passed away last week. He was an amazing talent and his work improved every project he was in (check out MtA first edition’s Sons of Ether Tradition Book).

– W20 Changing Breeds is in layout.

– W20 Rage Across the World: Most of the art is in but a bit continues to trickle in.

– Guildhalls of the Deathless (MtC) is being written.

– Conventionbook: Progenitors (cMtA) is onsale now at DTRPG: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/113471/Convention-Book%3A-Progenitors.

– Conventionbook: Syndicate (cMtA) is in editing and art direction.

– Mage Translation Guide is almost done in Editing.

– W20 Book of the Wyrm is being written and red-lined. Check out the W20 blog notes: http://whitewolfblogs.com/w20/

– Trinity Continuum: Looking at the schedule to start setting up writing.

– Scion:  Scion: Extras, has had a huge number of downloads- thanks! We’ll be offering a PoD version next week that we’ll charging for, and will drop a small price tag on the PDF as well next week, since it will have been out free for a month, so get it free now.

– Demon: The Frutang: lots of example of play commentary including from Black Hat Matt McFarland’s play test are up on the new Demon blog: http://whitewolfblogs.com/demon/ Check it out, there are quite a few playtests posted now and they give a very interesting (if early) look at the game. Text is being redlined and Rose is trying to get early art notes together.

– Free RPG Day Project: Reap the Whirlwind, for VtR, is a combined 64 page booklet that combines a revised version of “Into the Void” and additional rules files from the Strix and God Machine Chronicles. This will be available at participating friendly local game stores June 15, and is on its way to the FRPGD warehouse.

Reason for Drinking: We’re up to a quadruple shot, but very close now to when the EX3 KS is ready!