Ethics of Indie proselytizing and the PDF

[Tim Alexander]

Hey Folks,

When I'm pitching a new game to players, I generally hand out the book to let them borrow for a few days and let them get comfortable with the game before we start to negotiate play. Having just ordered a copy of the Dust Devils PDF, I'm left with the question, "How do I hand out the book for this in a way that won't hurt the developer?"

Obviously I don't want to ship off a copy of the PDF to my prospective players, since that essentially cuts the developer out of the picture in a way I'm really not comfortable with. I'd like to simply say, "Hey, it's like eight bucks, go buy this." This often works with games that grab them conceptually, but it's not always an easy sell. In this particular case, these folks aren't necesarily Western fans. I'm pretty sure they'll enjoy it once they get their hands on it, but they're not interested in buying sight unseen.

What I think I'm settling on is printing a copy of the thing and handing it to them, and then using that as the table copy of the book when we play so as to arrange it coming back into my hands and giving them incentive to buy the thing.

What say ye developers? Do you see any issues in handling it this way?

-Tim

[ethan_greer]

I would handle it almost exactly as you describe, with one caveat: when you loan out the hardcopy, do it with the explicit understanding that you'll get it back.  Doing so makes it exactly like loaning out a printed product in every way.

[Matt Snyder]

You're going to get it straight from the horse's mouth. I can't stop you from printing out Dust Devils for your group (or, indeed, sharing the file). I don't even want to try. In fact, I pretty much encourage it, because it means they're gonna see something they wouldn't have before. And, it means they're that much more likely to PLAY the darn game. That's my goal, not padding my trust fund (believe me .... )

Hopefully, they'll like the game. They may even come to a point where they say, "You know what? I LIKE that game. Heck, I had more fun playing that than I did half the crap I've bought for $25 or more over the years. I think I'll go buy the PDF to show my appreciation."

Either way, I'm happy that they checked it out and that you threw down cold hard cash to check it out yourself.

In other words, my unspoken policy is much more like, say, shareware than it is like brick-and-mortar local game stores. Check out the game. I can't really stop piracy if it even happens. I sure as hell can't stop a social group sharing my game (and I don't want to!). So, I'll do my best to encourage fun in actual play, and have faith that a good game means people will show their support with their money.

[Ron Edwards]

Hi there,

Speaking only for Adept Press, here's my call: anyone who buys Trollbabe or Elfs is free to print out copies for all the players in his or her group. I'm a little less happy with copying the PDF file to the players, but I'm willing to live with it if everyone takes an honor-code approach and doesn't copy it out further.

In terms of print games, I freely admit that I photocopy relevant text sections for players in my group. In many cases, they buy the games themselves after a session or two. I think my minor bootlegging thus serves the interest of the publisher in the long run.

Best,
Ron

[Clinton R. Nixon]

Speaking for Anvilwerks, printing out the text for others is fine.

I currently am putting the text of all my games online, sans art, so people can point prospective players to the website and let them see the game. (See http://www.anvilwerks.com/index.php/TheShadowOfYesterday/TheShadowOfYesterday to see the beginnings of this.

[Tim Alexander]

Woohoo! Responstastic. Let's start with:

Ethan: You're right, I'll be very up front about the return of the paper copy. I also think you're mostly right on it being the same, but I still have my PDF, which is a lot more than I would have loaning out the book itself normally. It's a bit of a nit obviously, but it might be relevent since the fact that I don't have my book is often a motivator in me wanting to get it back. :)

Matt: First off let me say your attitude is really benevolent while being pragmatic, which I love. That said though, I want 'em to send you money if they like it, and I want to handle it in such a way as to make that most likely. :)

Ron: The bootlegging for the greater benefit approach is what I'm hoping to achieve with the print copy loaner, but I definately want it back to encourage purchasing. I think even when I buy Elfs/Trollbabe I'll handle it this way.

-Tim