Indie games and players

[GameFind]

Let me first start out with a few things.

1. I didn't realize how big the indie community really was until I came to this site
2. I merely seeking information to help the community as a whole, so no need to flame me.
3. This isn't a shameless plug for my site.

I'm a role-player and love playing those types of games. I usually stuck with the more common games such as D&D and the like.

In creating my site I focused on more common games than the less common ones. I see though that there are lots of people who play indie type games.

So I had a few ideas and assumptions...

The developers want people to play their games and try and spread the word as much as they can. The publishers want to sell more copies of the game materials and also get more people involved in those games so they can sell more products.

Since my site provides a way for players to find games in their local area, I would think it would be a logical choice to work with small developers and publishers to make sure that their game is on my site and provide a link to my site from their site so people who play their game can find others to play with. The developers could urge Game Masters of their games to post if they have openings in their group to be able to promote their games and find new players.

I think this is a win win situation for everyone as it helpings the community grow stronger with more people playing.

Thoughts?

My site is http://www.rpggamefind.com

[Abkajud]

Welcome to the Forge!
Don't see why anybody would flame you; the Forge has a pretty varied reputation, and I'm sure some of the theory can be intimidating, but we don't bite!
The Forge used to have a section of the site full of indie-created RPGs; this site you've got (which I shall peruse momentarily) looks like it could fill that gap. Good times!

-- Abby

[Abkajud]

Wow, I need to read more carefully. Anyway, this still sounds like a pretty cool site! Grats

[GameFind]

Not sure why my post was moved to this category.

First Thoughts says Want to discuss your new game idea? Not sure where to go from here? Looking for basic feedback? Then post here.

I am looking for feedback and discussing this idea. And its just that at this point, an idea.

Oh well.

[Ron Edwards]

Hi there,

I know that the Forge can be difficult to adjust to. I'll start by saying that your posting here is greatly appreciated. People have put up "find a game" links before but they always seem to disappear after a while, and I think having links to something current is an important part of this site.

I moved the thread (only Vincent/lumpley and I can do that), and with any luck, you'll see that it's a good thing. First Thoughts is like a filter. You can put stuff there as a first try at posting at the Forge, and if the topic turns out to fit better in another forum, I move it. It's not a punishment; you didn't do anything wrong nor are you being singled out or noted as having done anything naive. It's truly no big deal.

Stuff stays in First Thoughts if it's mainly about game design. This forum, Connections, is about real-world information, services, and routes of communication. That's what your site is about, so this is the forum where you will get the most response and interest. Moving it here helps you.

So, welcome, and you can always send me a private message if you want explanations or to protest any moderation or thread-moving I do.

Oh yeah - typically, when I move a thread, I send a message to the thread author, but in this particular case, my strategy was knocked askew - people can't send or receive messages until they've posted a few times, as a necessary spambot protection device. So I wasn't able to send you one to explain, through no fault of your own.

Best, Ron

[GameFind]

Thank you for explaining. I didn't think I did anything wrong so I was worried it got moved for that reason.

I am warming up to the new indie stuff. This is a new frontier for me so I am a bit clueless which is why I posted for feedback to see if I was actually on the right track or completely off base which wouldn't be the first time.

I understand there have been many fly by night sites that are like mine in some respects. I am here to stay. My hosting is good for at least another 3 years so I am not going anywhere. I have put a lot of money and time into my site as well so I am not looking to just pack up shop anytime soon.

That being said, I am still looking for feedback from some of you indie developers and publishers. I think having my site as a tool in the process could work very well for all involved and I am willing to do some testing with it to see how it fairs, which I think will be good. The only main problem I see is getting the GM's/DM's that run the games to actually post they need more players or starting a new game. Perhaps building in some incentives would help or special offers for people that do post.

When I step back and look at it from my standpoint, I see the cycle is:

1. Game is developed and tested by the developers and goes to a publisher
2. Publisher then publishes the game
3. Players/Game Masters then buy the game and play it IF they can find people to play with- I think this is where the breakdown occurs

Part of the problem is in my opinion is game masters buy the game, try it with some friends who may or may not like it. At that point, they are left without a centralized means of finding players who do like the game and wish to play. It's really hit or miss and mostly misses based on some feedback I have gotten from people I have talked to.

If the developers and publishers promote a centralized place for game masters and players to connect for THEIR game, it could help the industry overall. It could encourage new players who may wish to try it out just for the sake of trying something new. I know many role-players often play many types of rpg's and are open to learning more as long as they can find people to play it with them.

And yes I do know that some dev's and publishers do have some type of forum in place to help faciliate this process but I find those are not very effective.

Anyway I am open for ideas and thoughts....

Will