Tag: writing

RPG Design Tips #5 – Making Your Editor Happy

About to send in your RPG manuscript? Want the editor, developer, and publisher to say good things about you to other industry professionals? Want to get more work from them? Here are things you can do to make that more likely:

1. Read the manuscript to yourself, ideally out loud. Also, if possible, read it to someone else who plays RPGs. If you really want to be thorough, read it to someone who doesn’t play and see how much they understand. Do you (or they) hear anything that sounds forced, confusing, wordy, or redundant? Fix it.

2. Copyedit and proofread your manuscript. The fact that you are using a professional editor (or your publisher is) doesn’t excuse you from fixing typos, checking to make sure what you wrote makes sense, and striving for consistency. Make it as perfect as you can before the editor sees it.

3. Run spell and grammar check. We all have errors we’re prone to making, and software can help catch some of those. I would turn on the checkbox that makes it check as you type. It will underline extra (or missing) spaces, obvious typos, and other errors. Don’t blindly follow the suggestions, however. It’s a useful tool, but it will often tell you things are wrong when they aren’t.

4. Read and internalize the house style guide and submission guidelines/requirements. The editor will ensure you are following it, but they will be unhappy if you make little effort. This is even more important if you are sending a manuscript through a publisher’s submission window rather than work for hire. The same is true for using style and mechanics templates.

5. Research public domain references and other potential copyright or trademark infringement. The goal is to avoid creating extra work for the publisher because that can lead them not to hire you again or not to approve your submission. When in doubt, leave the reference out.

6. Check that you aren’t duplicating mechanics the publisher has already published. And if you’re designing for a game with OGL, check that the core rules don’t already have your mechanic.

7. Playtest your mechanics. It might not always be possible to do this, but if it is, it’s well worth the effort. Mechanics might seem great on paper, but sometimes you (or your players) discover things you didn’t realize. Maybe the mechanic is broken when combined with another common option. Or perhaps, no matter how elegantly designed it is, it’s simply no fun.

8. Become familiar with the kinds of things the publisher is known for before writing if you aren’t already. That doesn’t mean the publisher won’t want to publish something different, but if you know their product line, reputation, and vibe, you are more likely to make them and their customers happy.

9. Communicate early and often. As soon as you have a concern, let the publisher know. This could be about something you don’t understand, your ability to meet the deadline, potentially controversial content, publisher expectations, contract details, scope changes, or anything else. Game designers are often so afraid to disappoint or piss off their publisher that they don’t tell them about problems until it’s too late.

10. Send them your bio. If they ask for a bio for the book, promotion, or website, you definitely want to send it to them. Don’t make them ask you multiple times. This is free publicity! Don’t be afraid to ask for examples of what other people have done so you can get a sense of length and vibe. Similarly, let them know how you want to be credited if they ask or if it’s not obvious.

0

RPG Design Tips #2 – Designing for Accessibility

There are a lot of things folks do when creating RPG products that make them harder to read and understand. This is challenging for all readers, but it disproportionately impacts people with disabilities related to information processing, executive function, language, and vision. Here are things to watch out for:

1. Giant walls of text. It’s better to overuse headers and subheaders than to underuse them. Clear and consistent headers give readers places to pause and absorb, and they make it much easier to find information.

2. Lack of topic sentences. Don’t rely on the header alone to tell readers what the section is about. Headers get moved around or changed in editing, and text gets rearranged, so you always need the first sentence to establish what’s being discussed.

3. Use of terms you don’t define until later. The first time you use a term that doesn’t have an obvious meaning, you need to define it. Don’t wait until a later section. Otherwise, readers are left scrambling to figure out what you mean.

4. Unclear formatting guidelines. You need to have a clear guidelines document that establishes when to use which headers, when text is bolded or italicized, how to use bullets and lists, how much space should be between headers and lines, etc. The more thoughtful and consistent you are, the easier your products will be to read.

5. Overuse of italics and bold. Italics are hard on the eyes, and this is disproportionately true for folks with disabilities related to vision, language, and information processing. Italics have their place, but you should never use them for more than a few words at a time. Similarly, avoid using bold and italics for dramatic emphasis, and reserve them for specific visual signifiers, like names of game elements.

6. Poor TOCs. A TOC that doesn’t drill down into the portions of chapters, or conversely, one that drills down too far—makes it hard to find things quickly. The same goes for inconsistent TOC structuring. Make it easier for your reader to find what they’re looking for.

7. Missing, inaccurate, or incomplete indices. I’ve never heard anyone complain that a product’s index was too complete or too accurate. A good index can make people forgive any number of organizational sins.

8. Whacky or small fonts. Just don’t. I know they seem like a way to add visual appeal to your product, but that appeal wears thin almost instantly. Trust your art and layout folks to create visual appeal without needing hard-to-read fonts.

9. Lack of a glossary. Not all products need a glossary, but many over a certain length benefit from one. I’ve never heard anyone complain that a book’s glossary was too long, but people definitely notice when it’s hard to figure out what a game term means.

10. Unhelpful citations. Avoid telling readers about “the chart below” or “the encounter on the next page.” Similarly, avoid citing the specific page number. Things move around during editing and layout, yet creators often forget to update these references, leaving readers scratching their heads. You will miss something. Instead, cite the table, section, or other reference by name and with established formatting. You might say “See Chapter 7 for more information on medusas” or “see the Medusa table.”

Did I miss any?

0

Up ↑