Cactus Game Design Message Boards
Open Forum => Off-Topic => Topic started by: Lamborghini_diablo on June 05, 2013, 01:16:07 PM
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Hey guys,
I've been looking for some design projects to do in my spare time, and I started thinking about putting together a Newsletter (probably on a monthly or bi-monthly basis). However, I would need to be supplied with content in order to make this work.
Here is a very rough draft of what this could look like:
(https://www.cactusforums.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi189.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fz18%2FLambo_Diablo_Svtt%2FNewsletterConcept.jpg%7Eoriginal&hash=28a3769189cd2fab1fa34ca9ce382f52a8aa7a53)
(For those unaware, the Latin looking text is a method of filling space to visualize a layout)
Here is my question to you all. Is there enough interest in a project like this? Would you guys (A) Read something like this, and (B) be willing to write and gather content for me to build these?
If you guys are interested, what sort of content would you like to see in it? Content that I could see being included:
Tournament writeups from both an overall (host) and individual (players) perspective
Upcoming Tournament information
Calendar of Events
Misc. events such as the new T.O.S.S. tournament.
Deck lists and descriptions
Card of the month - write about fun or unusual ways of using a card.
Bryon's articles about upcoming sets.
Player-Made card ideas and images.
Rule and REG changes.
Play-by-Plays of memorable games.
Various important events in the lives of players (Marriages, Children born, etc).
Prayer requests.
Let me know what you think about this whole idea. :)
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I would totally read this, and I'd be willing to contribute any way I can. :D
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My thoughts (roughly in order):
1 - Another side project...these usually don't end up going anywhere...
2 - This is Lambo...he did get the wiki thing to finally be useful, and could pull this off
3 - The sample looks pretty good (makes me wonder what all the latin is actually saying)
4 - I would read something like this
5 - I would be willing to write something if someone gave me a specific prompt
6 - It will be important to not duplicate content from the forum
A - tournament writeups already frequent the forum
B - upcoming tournament info is already on Cactus site as well as on the forum
C - calendars haven't worked well in the past as hosts don't keep them updated
D - covering stuff like T.O.S.S. sounds interesting
i - you could get decklists from people as they are eliminated
ii - you could keep track of how people's bracket predictions are doing
E - card of the month is cool. You could get the playtesting history,
Biblical tie-in, and gameplay strategy
F - Byron's articles are already on Cactus site as well as on the forum
G - player made cards are already on the forum, but it would be cool to
have a top 5 cards that have been created since the last newsletter.
H - rule and REG changes are already on the forum, but it's worth repeating
I - it could be cool to announce marriages/births/etc. but it could suffer the same fate as calendar
J - prayer requests are already on the forum, and some people might not like them in print
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The issue with something like this is that virtually all of the information that would be in the newsletter would be available on the forums. The only two ways to fix that is to encourage people to contribute new information (which would be better off on the forums so nobody is waiting for the information) or have less information on the forums (self-explanatory for why this is a bad idea). The biggest thing I could see this working for is new rulings (since many fall through the cracks), but again, that's something best done by simply posting the information on the forums (in a more easily found space).
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1 - Another side project...these usually don't end up going anywhere...
Exactly why I'm trying to gauge interest before devoting time to it. This is also why I'd like to make it a monthly or bi-monthly publication. It'd be a fun side project for the whole community to participate in without requiring insane amounts of time or effort.
2 - This is Lambo...he did get the wiki thing to finally be useful, and could pull this off
Did I also mention that I do page layout for a newspaper now? ;) My first priority with this mock-up was to use what I have learned while using original design elements.
3 - The sample looks pretty good (makes me wonder what all the latin is actually saying)
The latin is all nonsense generated by InDesign. :D
6 - It will be important to not duplicate content from the forum
Very good point, however, this could be a mix of original content and important posts on the forums for each month or two. I know I don't look at the tournaments section very often, but this would put that content into a quick and easy to view format.
J - prayer requests are already on the forum, and some people might not like them in print
These would be published by request only.
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The issue with something like this is that virtually all of the information that would be in the newsletter would be available on the forums. The only two ways to fix that is to encourage people to contribute new information (which would be better off on the forums so nobody is waiting for the information) or have less information on the forums (self-explanatory for why this is a bad idea). The biggest thing I could see this working for is new rulings (since many fall through the cracks), but again, that's something best done by simply posting the information on the forums (in a more easily found space).
True, and this is one of the reasons I asked for opinions before putting a ton of work into it. We would need enough original content to justify this project.
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If the newsletter was available from Cactus' website then it might reach out to more people than just those that visit the forums. Some people aren't the forum visiting type but they might read a monthly newsletter for new information. There may also be people that find the newsletter who didn't know about the forums and who get interested and find us here for further information and fun.
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If the newsletter was available from Cactus' website then it might reach out to more people than just those that visit the forums.
This is a really good point. Perhaps your audience should NOT be us on the forum, but rather use this newsletter as an opportunity to pass on the best info from the forum here to the general populace that doesn't come here.
The downside is that there would be very little likelihood that you would ever know if anyone actually read your newsletters that you put so much time into. But as long as you're enjoying the process of making them, I guess it really doesn't matter.
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I would love this! Go for it! :)
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If the newsletter was available from Cactus' website then it might reach out to more people than just those that visit the forums.
This is a really good point. Perhaps your audience should NOT be us on the forum, but rather use this newsletter as an opportunity to pass on the best info from the forum here to the general populace that doesn't come here.
The downside is that there would be very little likelihood that you would ever know if anyone actually read your newsletters that you put so much time into. But as long as you're enjoying the process of making them, I guess it really doesn't matter.
The other audience could still be people on the forum. Like I mentioned before, this newsletter would be a summary of all the important information for easy viewing, rather than having to discover it on your own on the forums.
Regarding time spent, the most difficult part will be the initial template design. I've laid-out 12-14 full-size pages in about 5 hours at work. So, if I have the content, assembling these wouldn't be very hard at all. It'd be about half a day out of each month or two, and that's probably how long it'd take for each person to write up their articles.
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I feel honored to have my name used as the test for article header length. Also, major props to the Name family (Name and Name, and their thirteen children Name, Name, Name, Name, Name, Name, Name, Name, Name, Name, Name, Name, and Name) for collectively getting the top 15 of every tournament, including Switzerland Nationals.
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including Switzerland Nationals.
I was waiting for someone to catch that. ;D
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I would love to get one of these. What you could do is ask people if you can get the people that placed in events at decent sized tourneys to give you deck lists and records, and then see what decks are going godd and stuff (all by owners permission of course) or you can do the RNRS points and put like, the top 5 in each category and the points they have (or however that works)
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If it didn't run too many pages, this would be a great item to print out and have available at tournaments so players who may not be on the forum but play locally could catch up on Redemption news. Maybe some experienced players could write articles giving tips on various styles of play, deck construction, combos, etc. to help out newer players. (Of course, they'd never give away their best secrets...would they?) Maybe somebody could do some humorous content, too. (The new card format is just screaming "Time for RNJ Graffiti to return!")
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Just because im curious could you make up a quick portrait oriented version (since its landscape currently) on the layout you have?
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Just suggesting maybe a paragrapjh/devotion type thing to add to it to with the card of the month :)
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"Time for RNJ Graffiti to return!"
I was wondering when that was going to happen. Glad to hear we don't have to wait too much longer :)
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I'd read this. I don't have time to sit and read every rule discussion and such anymore, and it'd be nice to have a summary of what was going on in the Redemption community.
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I would be interested in reading this as well, although I think working to not duplicate content on the forums is not a good idea. While I don't think all content on the forums should be in there, I would love to have a condensed summary of the updates and changes to the REG, errata's, etc.. Also I think some tournament info/coverage would also be applicable. I don't always have time to dig through all the tournament threads, winning deck threads. Just my 2 cents.
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Maybe somebody could do some humorous content, too. (The new card format is just screaming "Time for RNJ Graffiti to return!")
... I must have missed something.
Just because im curious could you make up a quick portrait oriented version (since its landscape currently) on the layout you have?
Right now it's a short tabloid size (10.75" tall by 11" wide when closed [so technically, it IS portrait :)]).
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Per request, here it is in a narrower format (pages are now 6.5" x 11").
(https://www.cactusforums.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi189.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fz18%2FLambo_Diablo_Svtt%2FNewsletterConcept-Tall.jpg%7Eoriginal&hash=a02aeea0f3555300a1ccf2617f5f68e09c1c5d73)
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If it didn't run too many pages, this would be a great item to print out and have available at tournaments so players who may not be on the forum but play locally could catch up on Redemption news.
For printing purposes, it seems like it would be best to be 1 or 2 pages that are both 8.5x11.
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If it didn't run too many pages, this would be a great item to print out and have available at tournaments so players who may not be on the forum but play locally could catch up on Redemption news.
For printing purposes, it seems like it would be best to be 1 or 2 pages that are both 8.5x11.
I don't see much of a reason to tailor the design of a newsletter for printing. In my opinion, a newsletter should be primarily focused on putting new rulings, erratas, announcements, etc. in one place so that everyone can be up to date (which would be especially helpful at larger tournaments, so that rulings don't fall through anymore like last year's Nats), along with the possibility of articles, tips, strategy, and the like. Thus, I believe a newsletter should simply be as long as it needs to be, with no pressure to cut material to meet maximum guidelines.