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Hey guys and Gals at Paizo,
I have a SPECTACULAR business proposition for you.
Ready for it......
It'll be the best thing since "Self Rolling Dice"
ITS.........The DUNDJINNI REPLCEMENT PROGRAM.
I can see it now......Create your own Battlemaps on the Paizo branded Battlemap creator.
Could sell it in 2 different versions.
**Paizo Battlemap creator Basic.
------------ OR -------------------
**Paizo Battlemap creator PRO.
Simplify the user interface so someone could belt out a battlemap in no time.
Have Battlemap Templates where DM's could start out with a blank building or dungeon with a themed template......
--Temple
--Dungeon
--INN
--castle
--etc.........
Put a really nice user interface skin on it with paizo art or advertisements for new Paizo products to come out soon with every update to the software.
The opportunities are endless!!!!
So what do you say guys???
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I have my doubts about the viability of such a product. 1) Paizo should have plenty of backgrounds, icons, etc. from the maps they publish, although it would need an interface; 2) Paizo has subscription income from the maps they sell and mapping software would likely cut into those sales and 3) the recent decision to release PDFS along with the map subscriptions means you can probably do much of what you are talking about at home.
I have my doubts about the viability of such a product. 1) Paizo should have plenty of backgrounds, icons, etc. from the maps they publish, although it would need an interface; 2) Paizo has subscription income from the maps they sell and mapping software would likely cut into those sales and 3) the recent decision to release PDFS along with the map subscriptions means you can probably do much of what you are talking about at home.
Good points......But the Dungeon Decor-type symbols from those Battlemap subscriptions could be included with the battlemap subscription for this Battlemap software.
Basically details that their marketing dept. could iron out.
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Paizo is nor a software company. In order to be a software company you need a number of things:
1 - project manager;
2 - employee programmers;
3 - development machines and platforms, including client server version control (e.g., Perforce);
4 - QA testing facilities;
5 - Online portal capable of license management and enforcement.
To the best of my knowledge:
1- Paizo does not currently employ anybody with experience in application creation project management;
2- Paizo has a few coders under salary, but their role is focused on supporting in-house IT for the webstore, this website, and to a lesser extent, Paizo's internal network and .pdf lines -- they are not stand-alone application developers. That's a huge issue for Paizo, as they don't really even have the room to add significantly more staff in their current digs (as I understand it);
3- Paizo is a Mac house and does not have a PC based development network and has no network capable of supporting Perforce version control. It's all well and good to be a "Mac only" house when you are an end user in the publishing business. When you actually try to make money selling Macintosh based software instead of PC? Pretty small club (good luck with all that);
4 - Paizo does not have any Beta/RC/QA testing facilities or staff at all; and
5- Paizo has a large presence with an online portal for sale, but it is not designed in any way for license management and enforcement. It would require significant and expensive changes to add that capability - and none of the software for it is Mac based.
All of this suggests that unless there is a kick-ass product idea that Paizo is pretty much certain that it will sell to virtually all of its Adventure Path core subscribers for more than $30/yr on an ongoing basis, they are virtually certain to lose money on any such project in the short to medium term.
I don't foresee any project that Paizo is likely to release to be able to make a substantial enough profit to justify the risk. It is a far, FAR wiser bet to license out the project to somebody else -- risk free.
Paizo is nor a software company. In order to be a software company you need a number of things:
1 - project manager;
2 - employee programmers;
3 - development machines and platforms, including client server version control (e.g., Perforce);
4 - QA testing facilities;
5 - Online portal capable of license management and enforcement.
To the best of my knowledge:
1- Paizo does not currently employ anybody with experience in application creation project management;
2- Paizo has a few coders under salary, but their role is focused on supporting in-house IT for the webstore, this website, and to a lesser extent, Paizo's internal network and .pdf lines -- they are not stand-alone application developers. That's a huge issue for Paizo, as they don't really even have the room to add significantly more staff in their current digs (as I understand it);
3- Paizo is a Mac house and does not have a PC based development network and has no network capable of supporting Perforce version control. It's all well and good to be a "Mac only" house when you are an end user in the publishing business. When you actually try to make money selling Macintosh based software instead of PC? Pretty small club (good luck with all that);
4 - Paizo does not have any Beta/RC/QA testing facilities or staff at all; and
5- Paizo has a large presence with an online portal for sale, but it is not designed in any way for license management and enforcement. It would require significant and expensive changes to add that capability - and none of the software for it is Mac based.
All of this suggests that unless there is a kick-ass product idea that Paizo is pretty much certain that it will sell to virtually all of its Adventure Path core subscribers for more than $30/yr on an ongoing basis, they are virtually certain to lose money on any such project in the short to medium term.
I don't foresee any project that Paizo is likely to release to be able to make a substantial enough profit to...
Paizo farmed out the production of Pathfinder Battles to WizKids....
Whats to say they couldn't do the same with a Battlemap making program?
They could farm it out to such companies as:
**Lone Wolf Developement.......guys who did Hero Lab.
**Fluid entertainment........the guys who originally did Dundjinni.
**Besides all the other small software developement companies out there that take on jobs from companies who either don't have the expertise to do it themselves or just don't want to do it themselves.
Paizo is nor a software company.
It is a far, FAR wiser bet to license out the project to somebody else -- risk free.
I have offered to do this for them, via my MapForge mapping software. What do you think? 1 in 100 chance this could happen? 1 in 1000?
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I have offered to do this for them, via my MapForge mapping software. What do you think? 1 in 100 chance this could happen? 1 in 1000?Paizo is nor a software company.
It is a far, FAR wiser bet to license out the project to somebody else -- risk free.
Right now? Zero chance. If MapForge gets established as a reputable piece of software (i.e. is actually released, is a self-sufficient business, and is well known enough), you may be able to work out a licensing deal. To do that, email licensing@paizo.com -- they won't negotiate such things via the forums. See also this FAQ
@skizzers,
Right, but I was hoping to get Paizo involved early-on, so they could help shape the development of the software, request specific features they might want or need, be assured it meets their quality standards, addresses their concerns (e.g., they probably want strict restrictions in place to ensure that maps created using their content cannot be published or used commercially), and generally be a participant, rather than simply watch from the sidelines.
For anyone interested in this topic, I posted some more info in this thread.