This week I updated the rules for the playtest version of Navigator RPG. I really think that the rules are reaching their final iteration.
You can download the game for free. The game will always be free as a PDF, although the printed rulebooks will have costs attached to them that are unavoidable. From a business perspective, I hope to make the money that keeps the business running on printed books.
You can get the playtest version here:
As always, I am open to comments and suggestions and nothing is set in stone. One of the most fun parts of working in games is art selection. This afternoon I have a table full of art to consider for the final cover. Once that is chosen the files go to print layout.
Exciting times!
Funding Game Design
Over the years, I have tried three different models of funding game design.
- Self Funding, which is the most restrictive. You have to put up your own money to make the game.
- Crowd Funded, this works well if you have a massive existing audience for your game.
- Buy Starter, using Pay What You Want of the playtest to fund the development of the game.
Being able to compare all three options, Buy Starter is the least stressful and most enjoyable. If the paytest doesn’t generate the interest and trickle feed of money needed to fund the game development then it probably will not be a successful game.
The converse of that is when you see downloads by the hundred and a flow of funds coming in, it helps motivate and keeps the project forging ahead.
Navigator in this instance is the icebreaker, carving a trail. As soon as the game is live, work starts on the Fantasy version of the ruleset! Looking ahead there is no reason why not to go to places the original d100 system never went, with modern-day, post-apocalypse and steampunk versions. Every one of them inter-operable and coherent!
Exciting times ahead!