A few questions on overall design of a new game

[slade the sniper]

Greetings,
I have made my first post in the Connections area and have gotten quite a bit of useful feedback so far, but I am now on a different track.  I am seeking some general, um, opinions about several different topics, but because I am new, I don't really know where to post them exactly so if this thread needs to be moved, I'll understand, and as time goes on, I hope not make as many rookie mistakes.

1.  How many people create indie-RPG's as a source of income?  That is not to say that if they make money, great, if not, no sweat.  To be more specific, I am asking how many people use this as a primary income source.

2.  How much value added is artwork to a Role Playing Game?  While I have played many RPG's over the years, and the enjoyment of the game has not mattered in the least bit on the quantity or quality of the artwork, the artwork has been the primary selling point at the point of purchase.

3.  What is the general consensus of multi-part games, most notably, D&D3E, where 3 books are "required" in order to play the game.

4.  Is there a general consensus on the multi-genre gaming world.  I know that I have seen fantasy and science fiction elements intertwined numerous times, sometimes with excellent results and sometimes with poor results.  The game that I am currently "designing", was created to be a bridge between my wife's love of fantasy games and my infatuation with sci-fi (specifically cyberpunk/dark future) games.  The project began as a way to show that fantasy and sci-fi (both presented as close to their original genre's as possible instead of as a light and fluffy Star Wars/Space Opera/Star Trek clone or a Call of Cthulhu quasi horror game) could interact with both being equal/equivalent and not having one placed ahead of the other.

I created this project for my own (and my gaming group's) amusement and enjoyment, without regard to its commercial success, but with an eye towards simplistic rules design, a deep and immersive setting with internal consistency being key.  In light of this, I would simply like to let others see it (mostly for the fact that I have been working on it for the past four years) and get some feedback on how well I accomplished my goal.

-STS

[Willow]

I don't think you'll find much "general consensus" here or anywhere else Slade.  But here's my answers:

1) I don't know for sure, but I wouldn't quit my day job until the money is already coming in.

2) Artwork doesn't attract me that much, but it is a need for many people, and helps sell as an "impulse buy."  This will be influenced by whatever your sale-model will be.

3) I generally don't like them- I like to have all the core rules in one book, and then expand outward if I like.  Most indie games sell a smaller, more honed package, and you don't see too many multi-book games.  (Burning Wheel comes to mind, but the Burning Wheel rulebook and the Character Burner are sold together.)

4) There are alot of cool ways that twist genres in unexpected or unconventional ways.  However, your presentation of that is going to be what sells it, not just the genre concept.

-Willow

[MatrixGamer]

You're sniping with a shotgun here!

What is more important than people's opinions on the questions is what your answers are to them. What do you want to get out of it? "Actions are judged by intentions." so the Hadith goes but intentions precede action.

If you want game selling to be your primary income then your actions will look very different than if you're just doing it for beer money. As a general impression, the more money you want out of it the more business like you need to be. I'm not quitting my day job but I want Hamster Press to make money (influence gaming - that's my ego talking) and help fix up my 100+ year old barn. Consequently I'm working towards being more and more professional.

Depending on what you want you will make different things. For instance there are people on this forum who oppose the three tiered distribution model of game selling. They correctly point out that it poorly serves indie games. Others want to try it out. A few of us do in house production, others favor PDFs and POD only. Only you can run the numbers and see which one makes sense to you. If multi volume games flip your switch - want to make one? Keep in mind that WotC didn't start off making D+D 3rd addition this way and TSR certainly didn't. That takes economies of scale that none of us have.

You might get more useful information if you ask about specific formats. People can share their first hand experiences - tragedies and triumphs. A targeted rifle works better than a shotgun unless you are playing Call of Cthulhu.

Chris Engle
Hamster Press = Engle Matrix Games

[Selene Tan]

There's some pretty good stuff about making money from games in Where is the money? at Story Games. In particular, Tony describes a strategy that lets you "bootstrap" your way up.

[Jake Richmond]

My own answers:

1. Not me.Wish i did.
2.I think art has greatvalue, bot as a way to present your world setting and as a tool for illustrating you mechanics. Not many people use art to show rules, but it can be done. Its something Im going to be trying soon. Also, as you said, art is often what makes someone pick up a book in the first place. Strong art can sell a book, bad art can ruin it. I'm not sure about the effects of no art.
3. I don't think very many games can get way with requiring multiple books. Everything you need to play should be packaged in one volume. I have no problem with extra books with more material though. For the CrossRoads of Eternity we did a second book focused entirely on magic (biggr then the first). But you didn't have to have that book to play the game.
4. I'm not even sure what your question is here. I give you my permission to make whatever kind of game you want though.