Digital Publishers Group

[wyrdlyng]

FYI, off of d20 Weekly:

PDF Publishers Unite

Recently, a group of like-minded adventure gaming e-publishers have formed a consortium dedicated to the continued development of PDF role-playing games and related materials. This consortium, called the Digital Publishers Group (DPG), will work toward ensuring its members maintain the highest standards of quality possible and educating the general gaming public in regards to the versatility, entertainment value, and viability of electronically distributed adventure gaming materials.

To coincide with this mission, the DPG has recently launched its own portal web site, www.digitalrpg.org, which will serve as a repository of information regarding electronic publishing and adventure gaming.

Additionally, the web site will contain articles on a diverse range of topics; a catalog of electronic gaming materials, with links for purchasing, reading reviews, requesting information from publishers, and downloading free samples and products; news coverage of current events in both the general and e-publishing industry; and updates and news from DPG members.

Current members of the DPG include BTRC, Contested Ground Studios, Christian Conkle (Lightspeed), Deep7, Dreaming Merchant Press, Microtactix Games, Mystic Ages Online, Politically Incorrect Games, Rogue Publishing, and Spectre Press.

Other e-publishers interesting in joining the DPG should contact the organization at membership@digitalrpg.org.

[Michael Hopcroft]

Do you have to be exclusively digital to join this organization? And what are the real benefits?

[pigames]

Hey. I just noticed this thread.

Do you have to be exclusively digital to join this organization? And what are the real benefits?

Let me tell you. :)

You don't have to be exclusively digital - just offer digital (pdf) documents as part of your line.

Benefits: we're looking into that. But, we have reports of increased sales occurring shortly after the site went officially live on Monday. Connection? It seems that way. We also have a member discussion list and share info just like here at The Forge. Plus a list of press contacts. We will be adding other features for members in the future.

We're not trying to compete with any existing site. We want to work together to advance the digital (pdf) market.

Brett Bernstein
Politically Incorrect Games
www.pigames.net

Digital Publisher's Group
www.digitalrpg.org

[Ron Edwards]

Hiya Brett,

Welcome to the Forge!!

I talked with Greg Porter for quite a while at GenCon, and he got me onto the Digital RPG mailing list. I've been a quiet participant there for a couple of weeks until I get the lay of the land.

As far as I can tell, what you guys are up to is tremendously compatible with some of the recommendations that have arisen from the Forge (and its antecedents). Nearly everyone here is already, or is considering, PDF and similar means of publishing as part or all of their lines.

It might help to explain that the Forge isn't an organization, just a site. We don't exist as a policy-making body or even "seal of approval" at all. The plan is simply to facilitate one another's success and provide a fairly rigorous critical environment as well.

Rather than being medium-based, the Forge's focus is economically-based, in that the concern is "independence" - or rather, self-publishing. Clearly this has a strong potential overlap with the digital media, though.

I hope that the combined experience here will be a resource to everyone in the Digital Publishers' Group and my perception is that many potential members for the Group - and I mean real, publishing, active RPG guys, not would-be publishers - are here.

Make sure to check out Anvilwerks, Memento-Mori, and my own Adept Press for some examples. Also, tons and tons of stuff in the Resource Library (link at the top of the page), which represents a far wider conceptual selection than the three I mentioned, should be grist for the mill.

Best,
Ron

[Ferry Bazelmans]

Brett,

Any chance you can get me on that Yahoogroup? I enquired right away when I saw the post on RPGnet and got a reply from James Stubbs welcoming me aboard and to sign up for the Yahoogroup. I got a notice saying I wasn't allowed to view the group since I wasn't a member (I was logged into Yahoogroups at the time btw). I have the feeling that since it isn't listed in the directory, I can only access it if I am invited (through Yahoogroup's own system). I tried contacting Mark (Bruno I suppose), but his Hotmail address was unavailable. A PM on RPGnet didn't do much good either...

Hope you can help me...

Fer

[pigames]

Brett,

Any chance you can get me on that Yahoogroup? I enquired right away when I saw the post on RPGnet and got a reply from James Stubbs welcoming me aboard and to sign up for the Yahoogroup. I got a notice saying I wasn't allowed to view the group since I wasn't a member (I was logged into Yahoogroups at the time btw). I have the feeling that since it isn't listed in the directory, I can only access it if I am invited (through Yahoogroup's own system). I tried contacting Mark (Bruno I suppose), but his Hotmail address was unavailable. A PM on RPGnet didn't do much good either...

Hope you can help me...

I've forwarded your post to Mark.

[Cynthia Celeste Miller]

I would very much like to have my company (Spectrum Game Studios)join this group as I feel it could be the kick in the pants the online publishing industry needs.  And if we can help someone out with the group (and vice versa) then all the better.

Thanks.  :)