World's First Perfectly-balanced Table-top Rpg. Game Module

I agree and my curiosity has a limit of $40.00. I seriously can't picture anything "glorious" in the module for all I know it's just ramblings. That's how much I would be willing to entertain buying the "book" at...

Hmm that's another good point. Couldn't you design the perfectly balanced "sub-module" which is only a part of the perfectly balanced game module? Like have 10 "sub-modules" of 20 pages each? And sell those for $20.00 each. That way it would cost $200.00 to buy the whole perfectly balanced collection???

I am really skeptical about this "perfectly balanced" system and an asking cost of over $600 for a game I've heard nothing about is a pretty tall order.

I'm thinking this game is perfectly balanced according to the author, not to the consumer. Regardless of how "artistic" the author is, if the public isn't connecting with the vision, the artist has failed.

But I have several thoughts about this whole thing.

To me, art is simply about communication. The artist needs to communicate through their medium. A singer communicates through their voice, a paint artist communicates through their paint, a designer communicates through their work. If someone "gets" the vision, the artist is successful. If there's a disconnect, the artist has failed.

Game design is not only a business, but it's trial an error. The problem we face as designers is that there's always the human element that can make our work go out of order. The sad truth is that no game is perfectly balanced. Even a classic games like chess took hundreds of years to evolve and it's still a broken game. For someone to say that they have created a perfectly balanced game that RELIES on the human element is a pretty bold statement.

But is it worth a $600+ drop?

How can the public trust a veritable unknown when they haven't proven themselves. That's a lot of trust given to the audience; what if the audience doesn't like it?

Does this mean I'm trying to shoot down the OP? Absolutely not. It's a reality check. It's hard enough for an established designer to sell a game at $100, much less $600, no matter how good the game is. Plus you're dealing with an age where words are cheap. An encyclopedia book set now is about $600 in nicely bound books with gold leaf stamped onto a (p)leather-bound binding, but I can get my info from Wikipedia for free. People write novels online and sell them for less than $1.

If I'm going to shell out $600 for a game, I'd better see quality components, wood carvings or laser-cut, custom pieces.

And it better be damn good.

So what can the OP do? Demo the game. Go to conventions, get people to play. If it's truly "perfectly-balanced", then it should be easy to win over an audience of gamers, correct? Once it is shown the game is "perfectly balanced", he will have no problem finding funding. It's very simple, a quality product will get funding if the right people see it. If that is not possible, create a more chewable version at a respectable price.

I respect the OP's attempt to create an RPG. But as an instructor that teaches on the college level, has worked in the game industry, is about to release his own card game, and has been a player for (slightly) longer than the OP, I've realized there's far more to being successful in the game industry than just having a great idea. It's work, iteration, testing, iteration, testing, more iteration, more testing, it never stops.

tl;dr version: An RPG by an unknown developer is not worth $600. Period.

That's an idea. WelcrielWawdriqe, have you considered doing a demo game at GenCon? You could even shop it around there and approach some publishers. Meet some scantily clad cosplay girls who do illustration maybe.

Claiming something is one thing. Backing it up is another.

I've learned in my time in the game business that self-proclaimed titles are crap if you can't back it up. I believe you write. I believe you've been in an old D&D club. But writing needs an editor, a singer needs a guide, a game needs testers...even the most brilliantly engineered devices have bugs that need checking.

But what does "perfectly balanced" mean?

Does it mean there's no way to "master" the game? Does it mean the system has its own checks and balances?

Does it mean it's fun?

Dude, I have nothing to gain here. You have everything to gain. I write this because there's a reality we all must face when we make games: it is the consumer that judges whether or not it's a good game (not you). You must answer these questions if you want to make any kind of success off of this.

So you can continue to make bold statements about how you know everything and we know nothing. You can keep talking about how you've actually "done it" and made something "perfectly balanced". But at the end of the day, your game can't be enjoyed if it's not played. Your game can't be played if it's not bought. Your game can't be bought if it's $600. And you can't get people to buy it because you said so.

You're welcome.

Hey, don't let the smegs get you down. People gave Lord Humungus a lot of flack too, but with a little hard work and a lot of perseverance, he formed his own motorcycle gang of marauders and became The Ayatollah of Rock and Roll-ah. That's my motivation for the game I'm currently working on.

I'm going to plug GenCon just one more time though, because I know of a few companies that attend who have women as part of the management and working the booths. You may have to talk to a man when turning in your ticket, but past that, I think you can get though the entire convention without ever having to deal with a guy.

Good luck, man, and I wish you the best with having your game on lulu.

I never believed you. Period. Chess has been played far longer than your great grandpas nut sack and THAT game isn't perfectly balanced. Now I'm to believe some random person on a game designer forum that they've done it? You sir, have an ego bigger than the sun.

You may claim it's "perfectly balanced", but I know it just by the fact you're keeping it so close to your chest that you're afraid of people telling you it's not true.

I'm not looking to take your game from you, that's your weird delusion...just like you think you're a ninja.

You call me typical, but you're a dime a dozen. You're the one that's so committed to your work that you actually believe your lie and shun any real criticism that would make your game better. I keep posting and it's entertaining to me because I've had many of these conversations before in the past. NONE of those people made it.

But hey, maybe you're right. Maybe you DO have a perfectly balanced RPG. The sad thing is that it may stay with you until you die because of that damn price tag. What good is a game when no one plays it?

But I digress. I may be...as you said a "publisher", but isn't that what you want? Don't you want to publish your game? Don't you want people to worship your incredible work? Don't you want to make money from your work?

Apparently not.

Well I'm done here. You're the one that wants help and now you've established yourself as a stickler and a prude. You've ruined your reputation here by your responses.

Good luck in your endeavors!

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/moonlounge

It's on the Internet, so it must be true. This thread is like a train wreck; I just can't look away.

Come to think of it, those brutal and violent game publishers are totally ignoring my brilliance and perfection, too. Maybe it's because I'm not a headbanger, cause headbanger wisdom is priceless. (Obviously.)

Arrgh. I couldn't stop myself. (bites tongue.)

The world owes me. I'm ENTITLED to my millions. Entitled, I say! But, at least my electricity is on. I'm not sure what that says about me. I guess I must be a sell-out to the MAN or MEN, or the bloke, or maybe the dude. I should join a sorority, but I'm clearly not worthy.