Newsies & Pickpockets, the rpg

The Newsies & Pickpockets Gamebook

Back in the 80's, before I ever knew there was something called role-playing games, I fell in love with the gamebooks. From "Choose your own adventure" to "Fighting Fantasy" I played all, every time I could gather some a few hundred pesetas(1). Now, I'm planning to write an online gamebook based on Newsies & Pickpockets.

Why?

Besides writing a gamebook is as fun now as it was reading and playing them in the 80's, the thing is that I get a lot of skepticism when I speak about my game. "A game about newsies?" I get a quite different reply when people do actually play the game, so I want to offer the skeptic a chance to play the game before its purchase.

The rules introduced in the gamebook would not be exactly the same than in the ordinary role-playing game. They just cannot be - a gamebook by necessity it's more structured and guided than an ordinary game adventure - but they would be close enough so you get an idea, and - what's more import - you'll get a feel of the kind of adventures you can have with such unlinkely heroes as a bunch of newsies.

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(1) Pesetas (lit small weight) was the Spanish national currency before the Euro.

Fears, and I don't mean Halloween

I did not see it coming. I've written a few other games, published for free in old fanzines (yes I'm that old for a gamer). But you know, they did not cost a dime. If the reader did not like them, I had bigger things to worry about, like college. But with Newsies & Pickpockets, it has been quite different.

I don't know if it is because I'm actually selling this game for money, and I feel responsible for that money.

I don't know if it is because the creation and publication costs.

I don't know if it is because the first Chapter of the edited manuscript came with a carnival of red lines and corrections.

But I considered ditching the whole project. Yet, on a second thought, I decided that the large amount of red line only meant that the money I am paying to my editor is well spent. Yes, I could go whining English is my second language and all that, but that's how I hired professional help. The buyers are not going to buy the manuscript, but the finished product.

And if they don't like it, then what may I say? I'm trying my best.

If I lose some money, oh well, I've probably lost more money on stuff I didn't need or food I shouldn't have bought.

This is not my largest dream in life, which is becoming a good YA writer (in Spanish), but it's great enough to deserve a little goosebumps. I believe, I think, I owe this for my younger self.

Some news

1. I have already been brave enough to send my little Chapter 1 to the "evil" editor.

2. I have contacted a service provider to help me market and promote the game. I'll share more details if we have a deal, and everything is OK.

3. I am hiring a writer, and if you can write a short introduction that could be you. The specifics are on this link http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?p=11127458#post11127458

4. To publish a RPG is a whole deal of work, if you just want to design, do it for free :)