Too good to be true?

[Michael Hopcroft]

A convention organizer is so interested in The Kevin & Kell Roleplaying Game that he is giving me a full ride next yhear to his convention. ALL expenses paid -- airfaire, lodigng, admission, even meals.

I'm not going to say which con it is for fear he may get besieged with simialr requests from other publishers and change his mind about mine.

Anyway, i was wondering whether this was really too good to be true and whether I should have followed my gut instinct and turned him down flat? the conmvention is next year, in New Jersey (which means they;re going to be buying some very expensicve plane tivckets) and suqrely between origins and genCon indy timeframe-wise (but not, as far as I know, ont he same weekend as either). i reflexively accepted the invitation, but should I change my mind? What can I possibly give him in terms of prrestige and publicity that is worth that great an expense?

[Andrew Martin]

What can I possibly give him in terms of prrestige and publicity that is worth that great an expense?

Why not make The Kevin & Kell Roleplaying Game the best it can possibly be? Don't disappoint him.

[DevP]

He could just be a true fan of K&K, with ties to con purse-strings.

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Michael,

This isn't a decision we can help you with, especially if you're asking about what you should have done after you've made the decision.

It could be a disaster.

It could be a bad thing with a few good things in it.

It could be pretty good, just not as good as it sounds.

It could be as good as you can possibly imagine, and even more besides.

Since you're the only person who knows who this other person is, and since it's your company and your game, then you know what? It's your judgment which comes into play. You can't replace it with our judgment.

In order to give this thread some substance, I'll change the topic slightly. Anyone who's published a game: have you participated in any sort of similar deal? How did it work out, and why do you think it worked out that way?

Best,
Ron

[jdagna]

A couple of years ago, GenCon was making a big deal about the fact that they had the guy who played R2D2 at the autograph area.  It's probably safe to say that no one really cares about that actor in particular - you never hear or see him at all - but there are plenty of Star Wars fans who might be interested because of the connection in any event.   And, while GenCon probably could not have got George Lucas, Mark Hamill, etc. to show, they could certainly get this guy (see, I can't even remember his name).

The same thing can apply here.  If you want to attract K&K fans, but you don't think you can get the creator to come, you go for the creator of the K&K RPG.

You may also be overstimating the expenses for the organizer.  A round-trip plane ticket purchased now would run less then $300.  A hotel room costs more, but there's a con in NJ that offered free hotel rooms to their GMs who ran a certain number of events.

In my mind, the real question is why your instinct is to turn down something like this.  These kinds of offers could make or break your plans for running a successful publishing business.  It also seems silly to worry about other people making the guy change his mind - he wants the K&K RPG, not some other RPG.  

If you're worried about a catch, send him an e-mail and ask very specifically what he really means, something like: "I'm very happy about your offer and have started making plans to attend.  I just want to double-check what I'll need to be arranging on my own.  As I understand it you'll be paying for..." and then list the items like travel expenses, lodging, food, etc.  That way there's no chance for miscommunication and you both know exactly what the deal is.

[Michael Hopcroft]

A couple of years ago, GenCon was making a big deal about the fact that they had the guy who played R2D2 at the autograph area.  It's probably safe to say that no one really cares about that actor in particular - you never hear or see him at all - but there are plenty of Star Wars fans who might be interested because of the connection in any event.   And, while GenCon probably could not have got George Lucas, Mark Hamill, etc. to show, they could certainly get this guy (see, I can't even remember his name).

The same thing can apply here.  If you want to attract K&K fans, but you don't think you can get the creator to come, you go for the creator of the K&K RPG.

I rememebr that genCon. I got to talk with Kenny baker for a few moinutes. When it came time to get his autograph, i asked for a picutre from Time Bandits (in which he also appeared, wasn;t stuck in a robot, and was quite good.

And the creator of K&K will be there. In fact, having me come to the conevntion was partly his idea.

It's pretty much determined I'll go now. I'm just hoping it doesn;t affect my plans for GenCon 2005 (where I'm hoping for a space at the Forge booth, and where I KNOW I will have to pay my way from whatever revenue my books generate or whatever other funds I can raise).

I got a private mail on this subject, by the way, which cleared up several points. And also gives me a reliable phone contact.

Now I'm out. I'm going out tpo a ballgma etonight, putting aide my troubles of three hpours of watching guys who would rather be somewhere else (Portland has the AAA affiliate of the S.D. padres, and I'm sure all the players would rather be with the big club -- which is caught in a pennant race.)