Alan H. said: If you develop a game that runs smoothly on Roll20 and set it up ready for a GM and players to jump ln in and start running it, you have yourself a module. The Dev team (really friendly helpful people, I can say this from personal experience) will help you get that content onto the Marketplace. They don't need $100 from you to do that. They will do it with no up front costs, so long as you show them a product they think meets their quality standards. + That was the first thing I looked into. Why hack-and-slash a path when there is a perfectly good gate to walk through? And of course they don't require a fee to add content to the Marketplace. How boneheaded would that move be... They then take a portion of the sales (very fair %, if you ask me) for distributing it, and the rest goes to you. Take a look at "The Quiet Year" to see how someone set up their own RPG/Storytelling game and brought it to the Marketplace as a module. + Hell, since I like Roll20, I plan to renegotiate for just 50% of the revenue from my game if it ends up on here. And 'knighting' as a Roll20 "Sponsor", of course... I have high confidence in my designs and it is to be reflected in my Rev %. I only plan to hold onto at least 2% of even my most epic IP(of which this game will be the earliest manifestation). That would give you a pot of money you could use to host and run a tournament, including offering a subscription, commissioning artists for exclusive content and whathaveyou. I'm sure you immediately grasp the possibilities. You'll also note though, I'm sure, that there are overheads to running a tournament. If I were running a VTT engine as a product I'd be wary of setting up a tournament and spending a good deal of man-hours organising and ensuring it is fair, plus advertising it, with an untested product. + The Business Model is always one of the first things I consider. If I don't think I can make a decent return on my investment of time and Dev funds, then I don't even pursue a design/project. Perhaps that is mercenary, but when your average yearly income is as low as mine has been for the past decade+, you tend to consider the $ side of a possible Dev very carefully. And I've seen a few games rushed into the Mobile market without sufficient Play-testing and have a good idea how ugly things can get. One needs almost flawless Gamplay right from the start, especially in the tRPG market. A little tweaking is fine. A major overhaul [i]after[/i] release would be a major disaster, jading the initial player base and hurting the reputation of the game and its designer before potential players. My advice, and it is meant as nothing more than a helpful suggestion, is to use your idea to generate a buzz around your game and run tournaments to show the success and viability of your business model before going to someone else (the Roll20 devs, for example). This is for two reasons. One, it means if you do go to them and ask to partner up, you're already a success and you've shown how it can and does work. Roll20/The Orr Group themselves have done just this before going to the big publishers and talking to them about generating official content. It's less risk than going into business with someone who is still getting their proof of concept out there. + I am designing first for tRPG, then adapting to vtRPG.. If it works out there, it will obviously work 'in here'. And the attractive quality of proven designs and business models is just common sense. You shouldn't crawl into bed with it until after you are sure of what it is... Two, if you start it up and run some tournaments that are hugely popular, you'll be making money doing it. You might decide at that point to partner with Roll20, but equally, you might see a business opportunity elsewhere. If you're tied to one platform on day 1, sure you get support, but you also lose freedom. Give yourself those opportunities first and then decide. + I guess the hind-sighted "Gee, I wish I had picked that path instead because I could have made 10x more $" is certainly a legitimate point. And since I'm ultimately trying to raise revenue for a new kind of MMORPG(based on this same game design), doing whatever will result in the most revenue, should be my aim. However, I believe in returning faith for faith without regrets, brand loyalty and all that. Roll20 seems like a great medium and a good cause. Better options or not, I would have no qualms about making the vtRPG incarnation of my design an exclusive here. I would just retain the rights to Publish the tRPG version through any other Publisher of my choosing in the future(near or far), with or without Roll20 being entitled to a % of the revenue generated from those sales... I'm not sure you've mentioned what sort of RPG you're planning, so my advice is just generic, but I think there's some good points in there and I hope you find it helpful. Good luck, and I look forward to seeing your module on Roll20 some day! + I purposely have not mentioned the Genre, because I sincerely believe that the first designer to create a great, Tournament-oriented title in it will 'win all the marbles'. I've saved up 10 months of my wages for the Dev of this project(v/tRPG not planned until very recently) and intend to pour the next 12 months of them into it as well. I know I have a big mouth. :O And I'm 'putting my money where it is'! ;($)
