Comments on: Untapped Potential of Technology http://madbrewlabs.com/untapped-potential-of-technology/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=untapped-potential-of-technology Better Gaming by Design Wed, 02 May 2012 06:00:09 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: MadBrew http://madbrewlabs.com/untapped-potential-of-technology/#comment-2949 MadBrew Wed, 05 Aug 2009 11:56:57 +0000 http://madbrewlabs.com/?p=1202#comment-2949 @Stu: You're missing the point. Placing ads in PDFs is not to "counter" piracy, it's to effectively use piracy to your benefit. I wouldn't pitch it like "20,000 copies of my documents are pirated" it would be marketed like this: "my PDFs have a circulation of 50,000" or break it up on weekly downloads or what-have-you. If you could leverage the distribution of your product (as in how many people are downloading it, not just pirates) and sell that adspace, then maybe you just might be able give the product away for free (then there is no piracy at all and you've effectively turned piracy & torrent distribution into a strength). @Stu: You’re missing the point. Placing ads in PDFs is not to “counter” piracy, it’s to effectively use piracy to your benefit. I wouldn’t pitch it like “20,000 copies of my documents are pirated” it would be marketed like this: “my PDFs have a circulation of 50,000″ or break it up on weekly downloads or what-have-you.

If you could leverage the distribution of your product (as in how many people are downloading it, not just pirates) and sell that adspace, then maybe you just might be able give the product away for free (then there is no piracy at all and you’ve effectively turned piracy & torrent distribution into a strength).

]]> By: Stu http://madbrewlabs.com/untapped-potential-of-technology/#comment-2948 Stu Wed, 05 Aug 2009 06:26:27 +0000 http://madbrewlabs.com/?p=1202#comment-2948 The first thing that came to mind when you suggested advertisements in .pdfs to counter potential lost sales of piracy is this: How many businesses will want to market their products to people who they may (rightly or not) perceive as thieves? If I'm marketing .pdf content, I'd think twice about advertising with someone who's sales pitch consisted of "and a lot of people illegally download our content, so your ad will be seen by hundreds of thousands (of pirates)." I don't think you'd have much luck with that sales pitch. There'd certainly be some potential advertisers who'd buy ads solely for the exposure, but I think you'd have a very limited pool of potential advertisers. .-= Stu´s last blog ..<a href="http://www.happyjacks.org/?p=9" rel="nofollow">Happy Jacks RPG Podcast 000</a> =-. The first thing that came to mind when you suggested advertisements in .pdfs to counter potential lost sales of piracy is this:

How many businesses will want to market their products to people who they may (rightly or not) perceive as thieves?

If I’m marketing .pdf content, I’d think twice about advertising with someone who’s sales pitch consisted of “and a lot of people illegally download our content, so your ad will be seen by hundreds of thousands (of pirates).”

I don’t think you’d have much luck with that sales pitch. There’d certainly be some potential advertisers who’d buy ads solely for the exposure, but I think you’d have a very limited pool of potential advertisers.
.-= Stu´s last blog ..Happy Jacks RPG Podcast 000 =-.

]]> By: MadBrew http://madbrewlabs.com/untapped-potential-of-technology/#comment-2947 MadBrew Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:47:21 +0000 http://madbrewlabs.com/?p=1202#comment-2947 @ RevDerrick : Yeah, I bet getting the WiiMote to work is tricky business. I have some MDF sitting in my garage just begging me to create one of these, but I have to many other projects around the house to complete before I get to it. @ RevDerrick : Yeah, I bet getting the WiiMote to work is tricky business. I have some MDF sitting in my garage just begging me to create one of these, but I have to many other projects around the house to complete before I get to it.

]]> By: RevDerrick http://madbrewlabs.com/untapped-potential-of-technology/#comment-2946 RevDerrick Sun, 26 Jul 2009 13:22:07 +0000 http://madbrewlabs.com/?p=1202#comment-2946 Way after the starting gun, but figured I'd throw in a note on the interactive table. I've got a table setup, but not quite to this level. I took the old kitchen table in my game room, sanded it down and painted it with dry erase board paint. This way we can keep track of hit points, conditions, etc with dry erase markers right on the table. I build my dungeons, etc, using maptools, do some covering in photoshop so that I can reveal a little at a time and project it down onto the white table. It works out pretty well, my players all love it. Plus, with the layers in photoshop I can hide traps and such until a player springs one, revealing the previously hidden layer to update the map as it changes to the players. I've got plans for the wiimote setup but have yet to be successful with it. Not sure if the surface of the table isn't reflective enough, my angle is wrong, etc. -D Way after the starting gun, but figured I’d throw in a note on the interactive table.
I’ve got a table setup, but not quite to this level. I took the old kitchen table in my game room, sanded it down and painted it with dry erase board paint. This way we can keep track of hit points, conditions, etc with dry erase markers right on the table.
I build my dungeons, etc, using maptools, do some covering in photoshop so that I can reveal a little at a time and project it down onto the white table. It works out pretty well, my players all love it. Plus, with the layers in photoshop I can hide traps and such until a player springs one, revealing the previously hidden layer to update the map as it changes to the players.
I’ve got plans for the wiimote setup but have yet to be successful with it. Not sure if the surface of the table isn’t reflective enough, my angle is wrong, etc.
-D

]]> By: Trevor http://madbrewlabs.com/untapped-potential-of-technology/#comment-2945 Trevor Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:15:10 +0000 http://madbrewlabs.com/?p=1202#comment-2945 You can find a pretty cool video of the projected game table shown in the article header here: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1339130 You can find a pretty cool video of the projected game table shown in the article header here:

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1339130

]]> By: Canon Puncture 68: If I am the Killy-est Dude … : Canon Puncture http://madbrewlabs.com/untapped-potential-of-technology/#comment-2944 Canon Puncture 68: If I am the Killy-est Dude … : Canon Puncture Mon, 18 May 2009 18:21:43 +0000 http://madbrewlabs.com/?p=1202#comment-2944 [...] The Untapped Potential of Technology - from Mad Brew Labs [...] [...] The Untapped Potential of Technology – from Mad Brew Labs [...]

]]> By: MadBrew http://madbrewlabs.com/untapped-potential-of-technology/#comment-2943 MadBrew Mon, 11 May 2009 14:47:47 +0000 http://madbrewlabs.com/?p=1202#comment-2943 @Oroborous: Cool, I am always on the lookout for new gaming tech... already have your site pulled up. Thanks for stopping by! @Oroborous: Cool, I am always on the lookout for new gaming tech… already have your site pulled up. Thanks for stopping by!

]]> By: Oroborous http://madbrewlabs.com/untapped-potential-of-technology/#comment-2942 Oroborous Mon, 11 May 2009 13:17:50 +0000 http://madbrewlabs.com/?p=1202#comment-2942 Excellent article! The marriage of technology and roleplaying is not very far off. Actually it could have happened years ago had anyone actually had the gonads to do it right and invest. I believe the market is there for the old school pen-and-paper roleplaying on the web. While you wait for iTable or Microsoft Surface and the ultimate roleplaying app, you may want to check out RPGWorkbench (http://rpgworkbench.blogspot.com) which treads where no other RPG tool has gone to date, user friendly, game system agnostic, online/offline experience. In regards to pirating, your points are extremely valid. Who has not pirated software in the past, especially Windows users who are also the most numerous. Recognizing this, an application must provide enough value for users to want to purchase it. I take from the book of open source and the Linux community of whom I chose to be a member. Applications should be free, and you pay for additional functionality when you need it. A well designed application will give you the basics free, and still be useful without being crippled. It will also provide advanced functionality which if properly thought out will entice you to pay for a full license. This is the model I am taking with RPGWorkbench in order to 1) Draw users and entice them to buy and 2) Deal with piracy at the most fundamental level. The try before you buy model is what works in reality and is already supported as a "demo" for many applications. I chose the other direction, you can use RPGWorkbench free for personal use (i.e. offline at your gaming table) but to allow others to connect over the web for a virtual session, you need a subscription license (i.e. each player will need a modest yearly subscription license to connect). Without a license RPGWorkbench will be still useful to help you manage your table-top games. It is still in development, but close to a first beta milestone release once the character generator builder is completed. Excellent article! The marriage of technology and roleplaying is not very far off. Actually it could have happened years ago had anyone actually had the gonads to do it right and invest. I believe the market is there for the old school pen-and-paper roleplaying on the web.

While you wait for iTable or Microsoft Surface and the ultimate roleplaying app, you may want to check out RPGWorkbench (http://rpgworkbench.blogspot.com) which treads where no other RPG tool has gone to date, user friendly, game system agnostic, online/offline experience.

In regards to pirating, your points are extremely valid. Who has not pirated software in the past, especially Windows users who are also the most numerous. Recognizing this, an application must provide enough value for users to want to purchase it. I take from the book of open source and the Linux community of whom I chose to be a member. Applications should be free, and you pay for additional functionality when you need it. A well designed application will give you the basics free, and still be useful without being crippled. It will also provide advanced functionality which if properly thought out will entice you to pay for a full license. This is the model I am taking with RPGWorkbench in order to 1) Draw users and entice them to buy and 2) Deal with piracy at the most fundamental level.

The try before you buy model is what works in reality and is already supported as a “demo” for many applications. I chose the other direction, you can use RPGWorkbench free for personal use (i.e. offline at your gaming table) but to allow others to connect over the web for a virtual session, you need a subscription license (i.e. each player will need a modest yearly subscription license to connect). Without a license RPGWorkbench will be still useful to help you manage your table-top games.

It is still in development, but close to a first beta milestone release once the character generator builder is completed.

]]> By: Roleplaying in society « Cogito, ergo ludo. http://madbrewlabs.com/untapped-potential-of-technology/#comment-2941 Roleplaying in society « Cogito, ergo ludo. Mon, 11 May 2009 05:13:28 +0000 http://madbrewlabs.com/?p=1202#comment-2941 [...] 3-d maps constructed from whatever. PDFs with embedded flash videos. (For perspective on these, Michael Brewer’s post is a good one.) To take even more radical stance, even character sheets are unnecessary for [...] [...] 3-d maps constructed from whatever. PDFs with embedded flash videos. (For perspective on these, Michael Brewer’s post is a good one.) To take even more radical stance, even character sheets are unnecessary for [...]

]]> By: MadBrew http://madbrewlabs.com/untapped-potential-of-technology/#comment-2940 MadBrew Sat, 09 May 2009 12:00:04 +0000 http://madbrewlabs.com/?p=1202#comment-2940 @Tommi: Hehe, yeah I was laying a trap, but I think we did end up with a really good discussion, so thank you too. @Tommi: Hehe, yeah I was laying a trap, but I think we did end up with a really good discussion, so thank you too.

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