Exclusively online RPG publishing

[Fade Manley]

I posted another version of this on the RPGnet forums, but in more concise form here about publishing:

If I want to publish my RPG as a website rather than a PDF or hardcopy, what are the advantages and disadvantages of this as compared to, say, publishing it as a free PDF? I don't mean putting up a website for the RPG to offer additional content/product support, but putting the entire game up in webpage format.

To begin with I can see it as being much easier to edit and add content to later on, and I'm rather enamored of the way one could organize an RPG entirely online. Rather than making everything divided into sequential chapters, I can simply divide it up by individual subjects and categories, for easy reference. It also fits my own style of setting writing--short essays on various subjects--better than trying to wedge everything into proper chapters. I think this sort of division is easier for online reading than having everything in one chunk.

However, I haven't seen this done well, though I don't doubt it has been somewhere. The only place I've actually seen an extensive RPG entirely online have been systems like FUDGE, where it's simply the entire text of what could be a book placed into a single document, or sites like FATAL which, content aside, do much the same sort of info-dump. It's awfully tedious to scroll through single documents like that, but I haven't yet seen examples of breaking up and organizing into separate documents an entire RPG.

Has this been done well, and if so, where? I really shouldn't pursue this form of publishing if people have already found good reasons for why it doesn't work, or if it's the sort of thing no one will wish to use as a resource. I do realize that it's less conveniently portable than a single PDF, after all.

[xechnao]

Fasa's earthdawn exists as an html version but not online though ( only on a CD that you have to buy )
Likewise, what do you mean an rpg as a website? Do you also mean online? A free one or a one that you have to pay a membership for example and access the files whenever you like with your account?

[Nathan]

Well, here are somethings to think about....

How would someone print out the game? PDFs are very useful because they offer a highly compact, cross platform way of printing files with images, layouts, and so on. HTML has some benefits of its own, but it can often render in a browser differently. (for example -- netscape might show a website differently than internet explorer.) With a PDF, it looks the same no matter what sort of computer they are using.

If you set up all of your html docs within certain limits and maybe without as many image files, this could work great. On the other hand, if I wanted to print out your game, I would have to go to each file and print, print, print, and print. You see what I mean? It could be a major hassle.

Certainly, there are ways to get around this. You could offer the main rules & main setting info in one html file for printing -- then do all the tidbits as separate pages. That way, someone could print the main stuff, then print the rest at his or her leisure.

Well, I'm just throwing out stuff. Good luck -- it sounds like you are having fun, which is the key.

Thanks,
Nathan

[Fade Manley]

I mean as a free website, likely; if I want to charge, I'd go with a PDF or hardcopy.

As for the printing issue... Well, yes, that's the major drawback I see. And thus the 'exclusively' part. It simply wouldn't be practical to print it out, unless it was also available as a PDF file, at which point I might as well just go for a PDF anyway. What I'm wondering is if the advantages of it being available only as a website are enough to make up for those sorts of disadvantages. I personally don't bother printing out PDFs I get--I prefer to read things on a computer screen--but if very few people feel the same way, the whole thing likely won't work.

[brainwipe]

I originally published my free RPG, Icar,  as HTML but have now moved over to PDF. Here's why:

You can set up style sheets so it prints exactly the same on all browsers (you need to be careful, though).

There's no method of pagination. This means that if you have an image on an HTML page, it may be cut between two pages. The solution to this is to have one HTML page per page of the printed matter. The problem with this is that you have to print each page separately. People won't want to do this. To then update and insert pages can be a real chore. Also, altering the graphics or style can be very difficult indeed.

HTML games are looked down on - as being inferior. People are suspicious of the quality of an html game and are less likely to play it.

HTML is easy to steal from, PDF has security features that stops easy cut-and-pasting. This sort of theft is very rare and thus a minor point.

I still have my technology section in this form of HTML (zipped up) but will convert it soon. Hope this has been helpful.

[ethan_greer]

A couple of my games appear in HTML format - HarnFudge, Toast, and Pollies.  They're all accessible from this link if you'd like to take a look.  Since I have no illustrations, they print out okay; I'm not sure how they'd work with illustrations.  The only real issue with printing is the client's browser, since that's what does the actual printing.  Personally, for a free game, I think that a well-organized HTML file is superior to PDF, simply because HTML is by design formatted to be read on-screen.  PDFs with a nice print layout are a pain in the ass to read on screen IMO.  Hope that helps...

[Daniel Solis]

Many, many years ago I made a World of Darkness game centering on intelligent Zombies. I published the whole thing online in HTML format and once it was completed, people almost immediately began asking for a PDF document or at least printer-friendly versions of each section. Keep that in mind when you're making the page.

[samdowning]

One of the reasons why I like the downloadable game so much is that I can play it on a laptop and do a CTRL+F to find whatever I am looking for.  No need for an index!  But that seems to be just me (and now Heather).

Anyway, I started creating a version of Arrowflight in HTML and showed it to a lot of people back in 2000.  Their first impression was, "Nice!  Now how do I print it out?"

I think the world isn't ready for it yet.

[Lxndr]

You can do a control-F in pdfs too, to find what you're looking for; pdfs also share the ability to hyperlink with HTML files.  The pdf, in my opinion, is a good compromise between "I want to print it out" and "I want to read it online."  It handles both, in other words.  It certainly handles them better than, say, a word document or a *.txt file.  Not that I haven't seen/run/played/enjoyed games written in those formats either.

On the other side of the coin, I think LAPTOPS are still too expensive for me (and probably a lot of gamers) to own, especially if the only reason they might want to purchase it is for gaming.  99% of my computing "needs" (in the loosest sense of the word) are satisfied with my desktop computer.  So, the financial investment necessary to "run it from the text on the screen" is too high, and thus the utility of things meant to be run on the screen is diminished for me as an individual.  Laptop prices ARE going down, however, so that might become less of an issue in the future.

[Mike Holmes]

Put me on the list of people who want to see HTML games.

I don't print. I don't need art, but even if it's there, that's OK, I don't print. I want fast, searchable, maleable (I can manipulate it easily with copy paste, etc), intensely linked, and using other web features. Like sounds to play when people enter areas, etc.

I've said all this before, here. I actually prefer online documents to books. But apparently I'm in a small minority right now.

OTOH, everybody I know has a laptop (we'll be using them next week to play the tabletop version of Europa Universalis, ironically). So that's not a downside IMO. I look forward to the day that I can carry my whole gaming library in my laptop. That would rock.

Mike

[Fade Manley]

Thanks for the advice and links. It looks like I should plan on making a PDF version available, even if I do try to have the game available as a website as well. I only game online these days, so a website version is far easier for me to deal with than juggling pages on my lap while I try to type, but from what I'm hearing it does sound like this opinion is far in the minority among gamers. I suppose I can simply organize the information from the website for the PDF and offer it for download if I still want to do this for free; it might not be so elegant as a game written specifically for PDF format, but it would be printable and I could have it both ways.

[Lxndr]

Remember, pdf doesn't necessarily mean "not used online."  :)  You can bring the pdf up in one window just as easily as you could bring the html up in one window.  I'll probably never print up most of the pdfs I download, whether free or paid for.  Doesn't mean I won't use them.

[Mike Holmes]

If you can swing the multiple versions, that just seems value added. I can't see a downside to it. My ultimate wish would be for purchase to include a hardcopy, a PDF, and access to the text as a website that was updated frequently.

Mike

[Fade Manley]

If you can swing the multiple versions, that just seems value added. I can't see a downside to it. My ultimate wish would be for purchase to include a hardcopy, a PDF, and access to the text as a website that was updated frequently.

Mike

Now that's something I'd like to do... Unfortunately, looking at the practical aspects of publishing, I don't think I have the funds to do hardcopy,  barring unexpected events like suddenly winning the state lottery or finding myself in the will of a recently deceased rich relative. My own preference would be for a website and then something hardcopy; I think I'm going to aim for website and PDF, and try to do both well if I can manage it. I suppose I'm not intextricably tied to the standard organization for PDFs, after all.

[Matt Machell]

People seem to expect PDF these days. Course when you do a PDF, they then expect all the bells and whistles like TOCs, character sheets they can type into then print, etc. You'll never be able to please everybody, so go with what you are comfortable creating.

At the end of the day, the content is what people want. If it's good enough, the format doesn't matter.

-Matt

PS Good to see you here Gobi, I remember when Zombie: The Coil first appeared, good stuff.