beta readers?

[Michael Hopcroft]

Is there anyone trustyworthy who can look at my current mansucripts and tell me if they're any good? Someone who is willing to say something is crap if he sees it is crap, oir who is willing to say to someone "If you publish this, you will lose your entire invetsment and then some" if the mansucript really calls for it?

[xiombarg]

Is there anyone trustyworthy who can look at my current mansucripts and tell me if they're any good? Someone who is willing to say something is crap if he sees it is crap, oir who is willing to say to someone "If you publish this, you will lose your entire invetsment and then some" if the mansucript really calls for it?

Michael, I think your way of looking at this sort of thing is odd. Do you want someone who thinks in terms of quality, or is this a marketing issue? They're related, but not the same, and you could have a quality game that sells because of that and still lose your investment, depending on the market.

If you want someone who doesn't hold back their honest opinion, I could do that. But I dunno if I'm "trustworthy" by your standards -- I certainly haven't marketed or sold an RPG, so if your concern is mainly sales, my opinion of "crap" might not matter.

[ethan_greer]

Honestly, I'd throw it out in Indie Game Design and see what response you get. If you don't get much response, that usually means there's not much that folks see as being problematic. On the other hand, if people see issues, they'll most likely let you know.

I'm not sure what you mean by "trustworthy," but many many comercial games have been baked in Indie Game Design - I think it's a good, safe, supportive venue.