hunter
Ancient - Absent Friend
Went that route early on, ran into the same bullshit most other larger publisher ran into and dropped them. Amazon isn't worth selling direct to. They order in ones and two, just enough to fill the orders they may have. When you add in the cost of shipping and returns you can end up easily losing money.
Our stuff is still available through Amazon, but they buy through the regular book distribution channels now.
Products less than about 96 pages don't sell well. TA1 was released as a stand alone, and while it still sells, it doesn't sell well enough to justify doing the rest of them that way. Hence the Yiarn Cardee Catalog and EPIC Adventures compilations in the works.
Hunter
M
Malenfant
Guest
I think SJG came to that conclusion too, which is why they stopped the Planetary Surveys and other small books they did. Plus they easily get lost among the bigger books on FLGS shelves.
Of course, this is where PDFs come in rather useful
The Hinterworlds Rambler
SOC-14 5K
Re-huminations:
Perhaps some form of simple, standardized Press/Marketing Kit, and start by sending it to capital or major city-based gaming stores or on the Convention circuit, of course. Like:
2 People, 2 T-shirts, (Hats might be pushing it, but I still want one, what?) The book, Maybe a TA or three, and some simply transportable though eye catching sign or poster?
Maybe a map of some sort, with the nice cardboard heroes type dudes from the book, One side of the Map could be for a simple shootout on a ship ala Snapshot, the other for a (limited, quick) ship to ship fight?
How would character creation be shortened to hold the intrest of a passer by? Would it even need to be shortened/streamlined? How fast could it be presented? Would a "Script" of sorts need to be written to present the material?
Compleat Strategist in NYC is a good place, but Neutral Ground NYC has a setup to actually play games (tables and the like) as well as retail. that, and NG gets a lot of interstate customer traffic
What about foreign markets? Didn't Trav do well in Japan back in the day? Or would translation be too expensive? How bout Germany?
A promotional CD-ROM business Card with Traveller Lite on it? I have an old freind, a schoolmate that has a company that makes these, and he is in Atlanta. Could be Expensive, or could not, depending on my finagle roll...
Perhaps some form of simple, standardized Press/Marketing Kit, and start by sending it to capital or major city-based gaming stores or on the Convention circuit, of course. Like:
2 People, 2 T-shirts, (Hats might be pushing it, but I still want one, what?) The book, Maybe a TA or three, and some simply transportable though eye catching sign or poster?
Maybe a map of some sort, with the nice cardboard heroes type dudes from the book, One side of the Map could be for a simple shootout on a ship ala Snapshot, the other for a (limited, quick) ship to ship fight?
How would character creation be shortened to hold the intrest of a passer by? Would it even need to be shortened/streamlined? How fast could it be presented? Would a "Script" of sorts need to be written to present the material?
Compleat Strategist in NYC is a good place, but Neutral Ground NYC has a setup to actually play games (tables and the like) as well as retail. that, and NG gets a lot of interstate customer traffic
What about foreign markets? Didn't Trav do well in Japan back in the day? Or would translation be too expensive? How bout Germany?
A promotional CD-ROM business Card with Traveller Lite on it? I have an old freind, a schoolmate that has a company that makes these, and he is in Atlanta. Could be Expensive, or could not, depending on my finagle roll...
M
Malenfant
Guest
What a constructive idea! Why didn't I think of that!
Maybe QLI should stop paying people for TAs and EAs while they're at it. Or perhaps not produce any books at all for a while too?
EDIT: I mean, really. These forums probably give T20 and QLI a lot of publicity - if people want to ask stuff about the game, they'd usually get pointed here, and people will tell them about it. You'd be amazed at the difference a discussion forum can make to the perception of a game - if it's not being talked about anywhere, it enhances the perception that the game is "dead" and therefore not worth bothering with.
I'd have thought that shutting down the forum for a year in order to pay for 30 seconds of publicity on TV that has no guarantee of attracting that many people would be bordering on insanity.
RainOfSteel
SOC-14 1K
Yes, Beebop.
I'm not sure whether it was on the TML or here on CotI, but I'm supposing you missed out when someone posted their University of Rhylanor develops "Jump Gates" (ala Beebop) to facilitate rapid in-system transit of vessels. It was ITTU, of course, but it was quite a cool idea.
Many consider it quite Traveller.
RainOfSteel
SOC-14 1K
Analog, and Asimov's, and F&SF, etc., all experienced declining circulation over the 90s, mostly due to the expansion of the internet and gaming (all kinds). For a while there, in the mid 90s, editorials in them discussed fears of the death of a profitable SF short-story market. I stopped subscribing myself in 1999, so I'm not sure what has happened since then.
When I left, their core readership was every bit as hardcore over their reading SF as the core gamers of Traveller are about Traveller itself.
Hmm, maybe there's a relationship there.
M
Malenfant
Guest
I can see the Bebop/Traveller similarity now you mention it - I never really thought of it that way before, is all.
Not entirely sure how many Traveller 3I games centre around a bounty-hunting campaign though. Beyond the Heroes:Bounty Hunter book that SJG produced, has the campaign concept even been mentioned anywhere else in Trav's history?
Not entirely sure how many Traveller 3I games centre around a bounty-hunting campaign though. Beyond the Heroes:Bounty Hunter book that SJG produced, has the campaign concept even been mentioned anywhere else in Trav's history?
RainOfSteel
SOC-14 1K
Bounty Hunting campaigns? Yes. At least one JTAS article mentions it.
Basically, starship skip-tracers are, effectively, bounty hunters.
One of my major campaign ideas centers entirely around a group of skip-tracers/bounty hunters.
The Hinterworlds Rambler
SOC-14 5K
About 30,000 dollars for a national 30 second ad, not counting cost of production.
Cost factors depend on:
"What show"
If the spot was purchased before the new season (called an "Upfront") this means taking a risk on a show that may or may not do well,
"What time"
What timeslot the ad airs on the schedule...
I'd guess around 60,000 dollars for a mid range spot in a good time slot.
Cost factors depend on:
"What show"
If the spot was purchased before the new season (called an "Upfront") this means taking a risk on a show that may or may not do well,
"What time"
What timeslot the ad airs on the schedule...
I'd guess around 60,000 dollars for a mid range spot in a good time slot.
The Hinterworlds Rambler
SOC-14 5K
Actually, its not a guess. My wife is a Producer/Director of local-level ad spots. She knows many things...
THAT would depend on the network, AND the time slot. Most outlets at a local level (cable nets and local stations) bill on a schedule...so many spots in THIS time slot, so many spots in THAT timeslot...or a total number of spots spread out over several dayparts (6am-6pm, 12pm-12pm, etc.). The Sci-Fi channel is probably one of the more affordable outlets...seeing as most advertisers don't see them as having all that attractive of a demographic.
A national buy, direct to one of the channels might save you some money...but a test-run in a local market, bought through a local cable company might be advisable, before dropping some serious change on a national tv ad. Contact a FLGS, arrange for a co-op deal (where the advertiser offers to cover at least half of the ad cost) and test the sucker in a small market.
Man, I can almost SEE it now...
OPEN ON VAST STARFIELD.
ANNOUNCER VO MOODY THEME:
For centuries, mankind dreamed of reaching the stars...(interrupt with static in the background...and underneath a faint, urgent voice).
ANNOUNCER: When he finally reached them, what he found there were riches beyond belief...(static again...voices becoming clearer)...and danger beyond imagination.
SHIFT STARFIELD TO BATTERED SPACECRAFT TUMBLING INTO VIEW...VENTING ATMOSPHERE, LIGHTS FLICKERING.
FADE UP TO V/O WITH STATIC BG: ...ayday, mayday...(static)...is the free trader Beowulf...(static) are under attack...(static)
UP HEAVY THEME MUSIC
FOLD IN VERTICAL REVEAL OF classic "TRAVELLER" logo...
ANNOUNCER: Traveller...adventure in the far future.
Don't just WATCH science fiction...LIVE science fiction. Ask about it at YOUR local game store or book store TODAY...
M
Malenfant
Guest
Thing is, you'd have to advertise it in a way that (a) didn't make it look ridiculous (i.e. do NOT have lots of kids clustered around a table rolling dice, making silly faces, and yelling "dude! you shot me! My Character's dead!" while everyone cheers ) and (b) actually put across the impression that this was a tabletop RPG and not a movie or a computer game.
Has TSR or WotC ever run any D&D ads on TV? How did they do it?
) and (b) actually put across the impression that this was a tabletop RPG and not a movie or a computer game. Has TSR or WotC ever run any D&D ads on TV? How did they do it?
hey hunter, check out the Japanese Fansite - Nice pics topic, especially the second list of websites. they sure look like traveller to me. do you specifically appeal to any foreign markets? there might be quite a nascent fan base over there who just might get very heavily into the otu imperium or any other well-developed background.
given the amount of animation they do over there they likely might be interested in new settings and topics, especially one as well established as the imperium.
given the amount of animation they do over there they likely might be interested in new settings and topics, especially one as well established as the imperium.
