Hi guys. Only four people can see this (Jared, Jess, ‘becca, and Hyrum). It’s the business plan for Wicked Dead Brewing Company. All of you get to see it for specific reasons. Jared and ‘becca because they’re directly involved, Hyrum because he owns his own company and can give us feedback and Jess because he’s effin’ brilliant and sees things I never do.
Please provide feedback and comment. And thanks in advance.
WICKED DEAD BREWING COMPANY BUSINESS PLAN
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Wicked Dead Brewing Company (WDBC) recognizes that no one is producing high quality, low-cost roleplaying games and we fill a niche in the industry no one else occupies. Skipping what most gamers call “filler” (What is an RPG?; How to Roll Dice; GM Advice; using Skills; etc.), we can present books made strictly of rules and setting in 48 pages or less. Art will be sparse, but striking. This branch of WDBC appeals to the “indie” gamer. Because WDBC will have a high production value (compared to other “indie” games), they will be the vanguard of indie press.
Also, WDBC firmly believes in creators owning the rights to their own creations. This adherence to “creators rights” means WDBC is looking to publish the works of other authors while allowing those authors to keep all rights to their work. The “WDBC Presents” series of games is a line of products created by out-of-house authors with WDBC purchasing only the rights to print the material.
This plan establishes us as “the game company who gets it,” a reputation we want to establish and maintain. Gamers already have 17 different versions of “game master advice” and they don’t need to pay for another one.
We know what gamers want. We are the gamer’s game company.
COMPANY OVERVIEW
WDBC is in the business of creating quality small roleplaying games and other games that fill a specific need unrealized in the game industry. We believe our business philosophy is summed up in our mission, values and vision statements.
Business Mission Statement
Roleplayers buy a lot of games, and many of those games come loaded with sections like “What is a Roleplaying Game?” and “The GM’s Job” and “What Exactly Is a D20?” That’s why we at WDBC dump all that stuff and cut right to the quick: the game itself.
Every WDBC product assumes you already know what an RPG is and we cut out all the extraneous stuff to give you what you want: a roleplaying game you can pick up at the store and play tonight. No wordy explanation about what roleplaying is, was or could be. Just the game, the whole game and nothing but the game.
Corporate Goals and Objectives
To carry out our business mission statement, WDBC pursues the following goals:
1. Create intriguing intellectual properties.
2. Develop books on-time and on-budget.
3. Increase the awareness and perception of WDBC by presenting the works of talented lesser known authors, allowing them to keep the rights of their work.
Corporate Values Statement
At WDBC, we believe the roleplaying game is a new kind of entertainment, a new medium of literature, and we will treat each project as such. Like movies, novels and television, the roleplaying game provides a unique kind of entertainment. However, unlike movies and television, we believe the creator has the right to own what he creates and have no interest in purchasing these rights from the creator.
WDBC is also devoted to creating games that do not focus on violence for profit and power. While we are also interested in creating games with more adult themes, we want to produce games families can play together. However, we are not interested in creating games where violence in the chief means of communication, and a means of communication that is rewarded without question or consequence.
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
The roleplaying game industry is not an industry at all. It looks more like an environment of co-conspirators than competitors. There are a handful of “large” companies who fill the role of “industry leaders.” These are:
· Wizard of the Coast (Hasbro)
· White Wolf
· Decipher
· AEG
· Steve Jackson Games
These companies have full-time employees, heath insurance plans, and rent which all add up to incredible amounts of overhead for such a low-profit environment. Because of this, large companies can’t afford to make small products; the overhead is too high. Thus, companies must produce large products with high production costs to justify their staffs.
Mid-sized companies in the industry feel the need to “keep up with the
WDBC plans to enter this market by not trying to compete with the larger companies at all. Market trends have shown gamers care little for high production values, focusing more on what the customer can use, as opposed to forcing the customer to buy yet another version of the same text.
MARKET TRENDS
Emerging from miniatures gaming, RPGs began in the 1970’s with Dungeons & Dragons. Other roleplaying games soon followed, all emphasizing a set of rules to emulate a specific genre. Science fiction roleplaying games, horror, post-apocolyptic action rules were all available with the assumption players would provide their own settings.
Then, in the early and mid 1980’s, companies shifted their focus from developing comprehensive rule sets to including settings in their games. The settings became even more elaborate in the early 1990’s with game companies producing dozens of books providing detailed information on cities and even entire worlds.
Games shifted their focus once again in the late ‘90’s as they provided players with rules, environments and even complete storylines for players to participate in. The worlds shifted as new sourcebooks released, detailing how the world had changed from the last release. Providing players with “living environments,” roleplaying games entered their most involved and detailed evolutionary step.
Then, in 1999, Wizards of the Coast released Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition, thrusting the RPG industry back to its first phase: providing players with a comprehensive set of rules, assuming players would provide their own setting. The initial success of D&D3E was staggering, although two years later, the trend is slowing slightly.
Wizards of the Coast released a detailed study of roleplayers showing approximately 1.5 million people purchase and play roleplaying games. This number could very well increase with the success of properties like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. Because of the high quality and accessibility of these products, the perception of “fantasy literature” and roleplaying games could be changing.
Buyer Behavior
The majority of today’s gamers have little time to play. While the purchasing power of gamers has increased, the amount of game playing has decreased. Gamers look for games with little investment. No longer interested in reading vast tomes filled with worlds and nations and characters and storylines, gamers look for quick fix instant gratification fantasy. They want to play and they want to play right now.
Company Description & Strategy
John Wick and Jared Sorenson created WDBC as a publishing house for their small, independent roleplaying games. WDBC plans on producing small games that require little or no preparation. The “premise” for the game can be determined by looking at the cover and reading the title. Players with no familiarity with the product can pick it up in the store and say, “let’s play this tonight!” and do so.
Growth Strategy
WDBC intends to be a small two-man company. John and Jared believe firmly in creator rights and expanding the definition of “roleplaying game.” While WDBC may publish larger works in later years, such projects would certain be vanity projects, and must be approached with deliberation and caution.
Competitive Advantage
The ability to produce smaller, more concise games quickly and cheaply is WDBC’ chief advantage. Also, the fact WDBC is a company that promotes creator-owned ethics is a powerful public relations tool.
Because WDBC has only two full-time employees, overhead is low. The cost of production is also very low. 48 page books can sell for $12 in the RPG marketplace with the cost of goods being only a few dollars. By encouraging direct sales, WDBC can cut out much of the middle-man charges. If need be, WDBC can always print-to-order books, cutting costs to bare minimums, a solution larger companies cannot justify.
The quality of WDBC products is in the hands of two people. Because the owners oversee all steps of production, approving all art, checking print quality, the standards always remain high.
ACTION PLAN
To achieve our goals, WDBC must accomplish the following steps:
· Acquire a “business manager” to assist in accounting and other financial matters.
· Create 5 releases for Gen-Con 2004.
· Communicate our business plan to the consumer base.
· Establish a relationship with the consumer base.
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