Quake3World

Hey guys,

Well, I've started my latest venture... GameMod Magazine!

It's basically a bi-monthly magazine dedicated to mapping, modding, 3d modeling, game art, etc. etc. for games and mods. I'm currently searching for community leaders and mappers to help "jumpstart" the project. This is the first forum post regarding the subject that I have posted on the internet... I'm looking for the support of the community, so if you feel like you can help, let me know! I'm asking for your help.

Contributing is very easy, just click here to learn more.

Note: If you have previously released articles/tuts on the net, you can contribute those as well.

Cheers!

How will it be published? PDF ? On the page? Podcast? Print? Video-Mag?

What will it look like? Is there a layout/format? Some sort of guideline about the way it's written, the language, the length of articles? Ideas about series, specials, returning features, collaborations with other sites such as own-age or pq4, burial-grounds or servers?

Sounds like a good idea but I cant find the details :/

The magazine will be in print. Think PCGamer, but for game design and mods.

poub_ wrote:How will it be published? PDF ? On the page? Podcast? Print? Video-Mag?

What will it look like? Is there a layout/format? Some sort of guideline about the way it's written, the language, the length of articles? Ideas about series, specials, returning features, collaborations with other sites such as own-age or pq4, burial-grounds or servers?

Sounds like a good idea but I cant find the details :/

there are podcast magazines? :icon10: :icon16:
















(there's not)

Where can I buy/subscribe a copy and how much will it cost? Good to be able to see a copy first before writing anything (to avoid head-in-ass situations), and if I write anything, would be good to see myself in print.

You should dist a copy of the first issue for free, as as PDF. It should of course use the final layout. For free means that people will notice it and decide if they like it or not. A pilot/beta if you like that term =)

Another point is, that the magazine can't really be focused on iD mapping. Probably woulden't work in any long term, espec since the active modding community isn't _that_ big compared to the biggest which is the HL-community. Then there the upcomming Unreal 3 E and all games which uses that licence, we have Crysis, a hope of RTS games that allows mapping etc.

Maybe a issue every two months is better? That then could be a bit fatter...

Oh and, fact checks and whatever it's called, you should see if you can get people that knows thier stuff to read through the articles before they are posted to make sure they are correct and genuine.

obsidian wrote:Where can I buy/subscribe a copy and how much will it cost?

First offerings will probably be PDF, then eventually it will be print. You will be able to subscribe on the GameMod site or thru the magazine itself when the time comes.

The success of this magazine will really depend on how community reaction is. I can do the design, run it thru Illustrator and have a professional magazine come out the other end, just as long as I have enough writers making the content. I'm going to be doing all I can to make this project a real-deal, full-blown bi-monthly magazine, however, tbh, I don't know how it will turn out. It may be successful right off the bat or it may take some time to lift it up off the ground. Only time will tell.

Hipshot wrote:Another point is, that the magazine can't really be focused on iD mapping. Probably woulden't work in any long term, espec since the active modding community isn't _that_ big compared to the biggest which is the HL-community. Then there the upcomming Unreal 3 E and all games which uses that licence, we have Crysis, a hope of RTS games that allows mapping etc.

Maybe a issue every two months is better? That then could be a bit fatter...

Yep and yep.

1) The magazine is for all editable/moddable/mappable games. This point is not explained very clear in the site right now... I will be working to fix that.

2) Yes, it will be "bi-monthly". Once every two months.

So this is that new project of yours :icon25:

Contact me on MSN Eric!

Very interesting. I'll think about contributing in some way

Infernis, d3mol!t!on: We would love to have you contribute something. Contact me if you are interested!

In other news... The site has been updated. Hopefully it will clear up any misconceptions...

http://www.gamemodmagazine.com

Any other thoughts, ideas?

I don't want to be a negative Nellie, bu do you think there will be a large enough audience?

wviperw wrote:I don't want to be a negative Nellie, bu do you think there will be a large enough audience?

I hope so. Here's how I look at it.... If you go to Borders, you will find 20 magazines on woodworking. But not one for video game mods. I think it should work out ok.

mods/maps are a great way to build a portfolio and get noticed by the industry (as well as show you can do something). i could see something like this (being published or having your work acknowledged) could be a good step for anyone wanting to break into the industry.

$0.02

did you do market research?
do you have an idea how big the market is or how much potential you idea has?

Chi wrote:did you do market research?
do you have an idea how big the market is or how much potential you idea has?

Im basically doing that at the moment. So far the response has been positive.

i think i'd buy it. just for the sake of feeling special

I remember one of the UK PC magazines did a one-shot modding special edition thingy a couple of years back. Can't remember if it was PC Gamer or PC Zone though. You might be able to find some sales figures for it somewhere.

Yeah, an e-magazine might be the way to go with this - at least for the time being.. The modding community isn't huge, and its very widely spread out geographically. Production, printing, distribution, etc is also a big deal and would require some real financial backing.

You should look into desktop publishing software for making magazine layouts (InDesign, QuarkXpress) etc, Illustrator is very limited.

The magazine will really float based on its content and how useful it is to people. I get the impression the magazine is aimed at modders but you will need to get some stuff from veterans in the industry. Maybe you can get some input from companies like Valve or Splashdamage as these companies are very close to the communities.

Sock

Btw, what kind of material are you looking for? Anything related to anything modding for any game?

StormShadow: Thanks for the tip on using other desktop publishing software. I wil check that out.

sock: yes, i agree.

hipshot: information for modders and play who play mods.

Sounds like a good idea man. RUST | gamedesign.net recently got shut down for low traffic and being very old, so I guess I can pass on the stuff I've written for RUST to you and Infernis (leveldesign.nl). I can also get a few interviews from people I know in the industry. Mainly the guys that worked on my favorite games though, which are FPS only.

-Method