Slow down! I want to see the countryside.

[Stainless]

After reading Gareth's latest blog entry I'd like to raise this topic that has been in the back of my mind for some time.

Firstly;

• I like Mongoose Traveller and want to see it thrive.
  I also want to see Mongoose Traveller produced at the best quality that it can be.
  I'm concerned that quality has and will continue to be less than it can be due to this (apparent) drive to get products out the door as fast as possible.

To the Mongoose management, is your (apparent) output:quality ratio really serving your business?

What we see a lot of in the blogs are writers telling us about how many simultaneous projects they have on the boil, how rapidly they are writing and passing it on to the next production stage, how flat-out they are working and frazzled it all is juggling it with other aspects of their job/personal life.

I accept that a business needs to get a certain volume of product out in order to maintain financial viability. BUT, you guys are in the creative process. That often takes quite a lot of time. Time for inspiration. Time to sort out game mechanic bugs, consistency errors, etc. Time to tweek format, weed out typos, etc. Time to rest on the work, return with fresh eyes and revise it for the better. There comes a time of diminishing returns in this process, but from my experience of writing, I wouldn't feel confident I was doing my best if I was working under the model we appear to be seeing from the blogs.

Discuss.

 

[IanBruntlett]

Hi,

I've been buying Mongoose stuff for a while.

The Babylon 5 : A Call To Arms game was made playable by using a third party quick reference sheet that I printed and laminated. The one night I forgot to bring the reference sheets, the players refused to play.

For Traveller stuff, I've found the Mongoose Publishing Forums to be a lifeline. And so has Signs and Portents.

I recently volunteered to be a playtester, with the view to me helping out with the quality control side of things. I used to program systems in 680x0 and 80x86 assembly language so I've got quite an eye for detail

I don't have a silver bullet to kill the quality control bugs - but I figure if the customers of Mongoose keep plugging away, playtesting books and reporting errors/inconsistencies/problems, things will get better

 

[AndrewW]

I recently volunteered to be a playtester, with the view to me helping out with the quality control side of things. I used to program systems in 680x0 and 80x86 assembly language so I've got quite an eye for detail

I don't have a silver bullet to kill the quality control bugs - but I figure if the customers of Mongoose keep plugging away, playtesting books and reporting errors/inconsistencies/problems, things will get better

Yup, that's the way I figure it. And I hope that Prison Planet is at least a little better for the multitude of comments I made on it.

 

[Robin]

Discuss.

I agree with you.

On the other hand, Mongoose is incredibly successful and has many fans.

For my money, the company producing the best gaming products available is Pagan Publishing. However, since 1991 it's produced about a dozen books of consequence. A few years ago, one was left wondering if it still really existed. The quality and creative development of ideas is outstanding, but boy do you have to wait a long time.

Mongoose excels at producing reasonable and usable products in a timely fashion. It may not be quite what I'm hoping for, it may not be quite what you're hoping for, but at the same time I think we have to acknowledge that it's an approach that has made the company a rare success. I can fully understand why they stick with it.

Regards

Robin

 

[PaulofCthulhu]

For my money, the company producing the best gaming products available is Pagan Publishing. However, since 1991 it's produced about a dozen books of consequence. A few years ago, one was left wondering if it still really existed. The quality and creative development of ideas is outstanding, but boy do you have to wait a long time.

They've started upping their rate in the past year or so, with The Mysteries of Mesoamerica just being released.

Usually when looking from a retrospective, it's the high quality material that remains the standout, rather than any consideration of productivity. Exemplar material can take a long time to produce. I'm guessing that Mongoose has to have a certain level of productivity and sales to maintain their infrastructure.

In the earlier days of RPGs companies, they could sell a small(er) range of products to a large(r) audience (rumours of individual AD&D scenarios selling in the hundreds of thousands), today it seems like selling a greater number of products to a smaller number of people to maintain income.

All guesses of course, but that's what it feels like to me.

 

[Robin]

They've started upping their rate in the past year or so, with The Mysteries of Mesoamerica just being released.

Oh yes, it's my current bedtime reading! And their list of forthcoming titles is looking busier, too, so I'm very happy.

I'm guessing that Mongoose has to have a certain level of productivity and sales to maintain their infrastructure.

I think so too, and I think it's served the company well. Unfortunately, I'm personally less inclined to buy much.

Regards

Robin

 

[MongooseMatt]

What we see a lot of in the blogs are writers telling us about how many simultaneous projects they have on the boil, how rapidly they are writing and passing it on to the next production stage, how flat-out they are working and frazzled it all is juggling it with other aspects of their job/personal life.

You have to remember that what marks Mongoose out from pretty much most other RPG companies is that we use professional game writers and designers. Put another way, these are not part-time guys who have Real Life jobs - their RPG work _is_ their job. Five days a week, eight hours a day.

Yes, I am quite happy to admit it is real work

And so, I think, would they. We warn each of our writers before they join us that the work is not easy, and that it is a real job. On the other hand, there are compensations. They work from home. Once they have worked for us for a while, they have salaries that, by any standards, are not bad at all. They get the whole of December off (paid). And throughout the year, they get all sorts of little (and not so little) goodies, sent by Mongoose HQ.

These are exceptional individuals, and they are at the top of the game within the RPG industry - there are few equals, and none better.

It should also be pointed out that 98% of all material we produce is error free, and we always strive for that last 2%.

At the end of the day, where that 2% does cause a problem, we have always tried to take care of you, our customers - be it an FAQ, book swap, or even a free book.

One way or another, we would like you all to think you are in safe hands with our books.

 

[B_Steele]

While it might get rough from time to time, I can assure you that most folk would shrug that off to be with/stay with the Goose. I'm coming up on my 5 years come May of working for Mongoose in some capacity (freelancing included) and I have never been happier.

Sure, I get pulled taut occasionally, but Matt has always backed me up when things get tough.

Do not worry...the pace is not more than we can handle. And remember...I'm saying/typing this with my 2-month old on my shoulder!!!

Cheers all,
Bry

 

[Emryys]

...Five days a week, eight hours a day.... Yes, I am quite happy to admit it is real work :twisted:

Mongoose writing staff...

*I hope you notice the reference of the picture...