Quote from: Gunslinger....... ... By using technology and making it just over comic book cheap (impulse buy), that'd be a mag I'd buy.

 The mag "Knights of The Dinner Table" gets close to this each month in their non-comic strip parts. But it just isn't enough.
 Would LOVE DUNGEON-style quality maps in , but done in black & white.


- Ed C.

Quote from: enelsonSpeaking of magazines...anyone write for and receive Alarums and Excursions. Isn't this mag still around?

Yes it is.  I've been meaning to get some back issues and seeing if maybe it would be fun to participate.  I had one article years ago in Clockwork Hero, a HERO System apazine.  The local Champions campaign had a group membership.  Man, that was a good 'zine.  Bruce Long and Aaron Allston regularly contributed, IIRC.

I miss Shadis.  Closest I ever came to subscribing to a gaming magazine...

I got a Shadis sub when they were giving away game books as promos.  I got one of my various Cthulhu editions that way.

Why aren't they popular anymore? The internet, that's the reason.

I miss several Spanish RPG magazines, which very probably you'll never have heard of, such as Líder, 2d10, Troll... I really miss them :bawling:

Quote from: Tom BI miss Shadis.  Closest I ever came to subscribing to a gaming magazine...

FYI, you can get the earliest Shadis issues as PDFs here.

But you should pick up a copy of a recent Knights of the Dinner Table, if you don't already. You get 80 pages (20-30 of strips) of articles and features, quite a few of which were inherited from Shadis creator Jolly Blackburn.

it's not just the internet.  joewolz mentioned the other big two, that that's time and cash.  who's got either to format/organize and print, and distribute a zine?  it's a dead formula for our hobby.  we barely have enough time as we get older to organize and run (or even just play) games, let alone sink everything into what is such a niche product.  the pdf thing is fun, looks good, and accessible, but i'll be damned if i'll print out stuff just to read on the can or in bed before falling asleep.  

wizard mag isn't a good example, either.  first, they have the price guide thing going on too.  second, kids need to come to the purveyor of comics (comic book place, or bookstore, or newsstand) to get their four-color fix.  it's just another impulse sale in that environment.  i don't think your average game store has that kind of product sales or turnover to warrant the same.

i'll just keep looking for old (pre-issue 100, or so) issues of WD or dragon on ebay for cheap to get my general mag fix, i guess.

Quote from: beeberIt's not just the internet.

I really think it is just the internet, but that's just me.

QuoteJoe Wolz mentioned the other big two, that that's time and cash.

Which to me go back to the internet-for the same price you start, and then run a magazine with you could have a damn nice website. One in which you had all the bells and whistles.

And for less time, in real time and much more dynamically.

QuoteWho's got either to format/organize and print, and distribute a zine?

Well look at people like Jom Bob/Kyle Aaron/ Whatever name he's using. How many posts does a cat like that have? Take the top ten posters at any board, now give them a pay check, and a direction. Easy enough for me to see where that could be pretty cool.

QuoteWizard mag isn't a good example, either.

Really, why?

QuoteFirst, they have the price guide thing going on too.

A part of the hobby, why wouldn't they? One of the eternal questions in the comic book hobby: how much is my shit worth? I mean they're nailing apart of their market dead nuts.

QuoteSecond, kids need to come to the purveyor of comics (comic book place, or bookstore, or newsstand) to get their four-color fix.

Huh? You don't know what the word bit torrent is do you? Downloading comic books, even legally, is getting to be a big business. But even if we limit ourselves to "news stand" or "FLGS" purchases (ignoring subscriptions completely), how are they going wrong?

QuoteIt's just another impulse sale in that environment.

I don't get this, could you explain it?

QuoteI don't think your average game store has that kind of product sales or turnover to warrant the same.

Agreed.

Definitely the internet.  A generalist magazine on the industry would [generally] not have enough info on most people's game of choice.  The genpop of the rpg world could give a rats ass about the other games out there and just as few would even care about a magazine for their game of choice.  I mean D&D is the biggest RPG franchise and they closed Dragon because of lack of interest in the magazine.

Now lets look at the less generic RPG player, those that like various systems like info on them etc...etc... we go to the net, the various forums and official websites to get updated info.  I personally have no desire to read about already outdated info in a mag when I can get new, up-to-date info on the net easily and cheaply.

my thing is, it has to be value-added.  that is, i want some cool free shit in there.  Games Quarterly does that every once in a while, and i still pick it up on occasion. (ok, the last one was primarily for Fishermen of Catan but it also had some good articles/previews*...)

they just don;t offer much i can't get off the internet via forums, homebrew webpages, etc.

-k

*god that sounds like the "i read it for the interviews" argument for Playboy.

I think just about any successful new endeavor has to be a mixed media.  You can start a new magazine, but it has to be heavily intertwined with the Internet side of things.  The costs would have to be low and offset by the online revenues (how's that for a radical thought) as the paper will not be able to be supoprted by advertising.  Use the paper to supplement the electronic, not the other way around.

And no, I don't know if it would even work.

I just have some recent experience in businesses that used to communicate with other businesses starting to really swing away from "Paper is King" to "Electronic Data is King."

I think James has hit a nail on the head.

I'm sure you really meant to say "James has a point on his head like a nail.  Hit him on it..."

Thanks!

You see through me!

Back to free stuff: I like having physical copies of my Wizard-in part because at work I have no computer access, for a variety of security reasons, but also because I get some free stuff at times.

Not much mind you, but enough to keep me happy. Some websites offer similar things-from actual prizes to rating systems, to PDF's. And that's going to increase in my opinion.

I'm sure he was talking about me.