Whoi are the good reviewers?

[Michael Hopcroft]

I just released the latest edition of HeartQuest: Romantic Roleplaying in the Worlds of Shoujo Manga at RPGNow, and I was wondering if anyone had any advice on who the best people to have review the game would be in terms of getting good exposure of the sort that actually convinces people to buy the product.

By the way, this is to be followed up by a print release in about three and a half months.

[clehrich]

Try Ken Hite.  Apparently a number of people on the big end of the industry think he's the only one talking intelligently about games on a regular basis.

Chris Lehrich

[Michael Hopcroft]

Try Ken Hite.  Apparently a number of people on the big end of the industry think he's the only one talking intelligently about games on a regular basis.

Not a bad idea, but last time I sent a product to ken Hite for review he all but expelled me forcibly from the industry IIRC. I don't think he ever wants to hear my name again.

[taalyn]

I don't know about the industry at large, but I will say that my game purchases over the last several years have been exclusively from systems promoted here. I don't see why you don't ask Ron, Clinton, Mike, or one of the other big names here to review HeartQuest.

[Michael Hopcroft]

I don't know about the industry at large, but I will say that my game purchases over the last several years have been exclusively from systems promoted here. I don't see why you don't ask Ron, Clinton, Mike, or one of the other big names here to review HeartQuest.

Should I be waiting for these big names to approach me, or should I approach them first?

Anyway, i think you should definitely buy my game. 8^)

[taalyn]

You got yaoi variations in HeartQuest? Or is all I really need to do is create male love interests? Gotta have something for us gay gamers out there... =)


A.

[Michael Hopcroft]

You got yaoi variations in HeartQuest? Or is all I really need to do is create male love interests? Gotta have something for us gay gamers out there... =)

Although the sort of explicitness implied by the term yaoi wpould be very difficult to roleplay, there is a mention in HeartQuest on shonen-ai and shoujo-ai games, and we do have a gay couple in our set of example characters who have actually gotten praise from some circles as being both well-drawn and non-cliched.

In Japan, a lot of the manga about homosexual men is read by heterosexual women, just as in America most of the 'slash" and yaoi fanfiction is written by women. You would not believe the number of fangals i;ve run into who insist that every improtant male character in Gundam Wing is a closeted homosexual (although I'd have a hard time seeing Qatre as closeted., I have a hard time seeing the others as gay). And CLAMP is very fond opf their gay (Yukito, Touya) and lesbian (Tomoyo) characters -- and that in a series whose supposed target audience is tweener girls.... 8^)

Which is odd given that, at least when it comes to adults, Japan has a notoriously consaervative and intolerant culture. Which the creators of shoujo manga love to tweak....

[DanielSchenström]

My main exposure to new games is enworld.org and rpg.net, especially the latter with it's frequent reviews and huge review database. Everytime I'm interested in something I go there first.

I can't give you the name of a single reviewer unfortunately, although you might want to read a few reviews first. The important thing to me is not the score, but the explanation of the setting and the important parts of the system.

[ethan_greer]

I've always enjoyed Dan Davenport's reviews on RPG.net.

[Cynthia Celeste Miller]

I've always enjoyed Dan Davenport's reviews on RPG.net.

Dan did a terrific review for Cartoon Action Hour.  I definitely recommend him, as he truly does a thorough job.

Steve Darlington is also a fantastic reviewer, though he has stated that he's extremely short on time these days.

[GB Steve]

I'd look through the database on RPGnet to find reviews of similar products and then choose somebody who did a good review of one of those. It helps if you choose somebody who has done a lot of reviews as with a recognisable name, people are more likely to read the review.

You could also try www.GamingReport.com and/or Pyramid. Matthew Pook does a lot of reviews for Pyramid. He's a friend and I could ask him if he would review your product if you like.