Totally agree, when you are selling pre-manufactured products it is even more important than usual to nail down the aesthetics and provide clear product previews. Amazon can skate with small, not so great product images because people trust the brands, but with this kind of Mass Customization visualization is key.
Just reading the title of this post made me swoon a little bit. My friends and I make all sorts of games like this and this is exactly the sort of site I need to kill all my productivity.
This is a fantastic idea. I've got a few board games in the works, and this would be a great way to get some decent prototypes made up for cheap. No more sharpies and white hankies for me!
The game pieces are fairly generic, so it looks like the best games for this would be heavily card or board based. You can control the art there, so it wouldn't look generic.
The real key here is the ability to print custom card decks. Most of the rest of it could be replicated on your own without too much difficulty.
Very true, though if they up the ability to customize the pieces using custom manufacturing tech that will give them a strong point of differentiation. It is a great product category to start with.
I was really excited when I saw this headline stream by on my HN RSS feed. That pricing gives me pause as well, but only slightly.
What really matters to me is how the licensing is handled. I.e., as long as I own full rights and can pull my game out of their system whenever I want (i.e., if I find that my game is popular enough that I think I can self publish or if I find an established company that wants to buy it), then I don't really mind that they take such a large %. It's still a cheap way to prototype and sell to real game players to get feedback. :)
Anyway, this sounds awesome, but now it means less sleep for the next couple of weeks while I pull all those random scraps of paper that make up my game ideas into something more formal. ;)
Basically the answer is yes (explicitly), you retain rights. Yes (explicitly), you can use the service for prototyping and yes, it is possible start with them and move some place cheaper once it makes financial sense.
Keeping the rights, having full control on publishing/unpublishing your stuff, and non-exclusivity are the three most important requirements when using these kind of services.
Any of these services (with the requirements stated above) is just another outlet - another opportunity to reach more people - and there's no reason not to join.
As this is a print-on-demand service, the storage costs are basically zero. Therefore, there shouldn't ever be a negative-profit game, as there will have been no stock.
I'm trying to find something more meaningful to say than just "neat" or "awesome", which this is.
So what other niches could somebody do this in? Where else are there frustrated amateur designers that would love to see their creations professionally produced (and sold)?
We already have design-your-own shops for books, CDs, DVDs, tshirts, skateboard decks, Lego sets, circuit boards, bobbleheads, metal machining, ...
Cars too, a start up called Local Motors (http://www.local-motors.com) is trying to do a custom/crowdsourced car company. I think it is more conceptual at this point though. The capital requirements are crazy and I think we'll see more innovation in this area from companies like Toyota.
I agree, the whole "Web meets world" concept is simmering and ready to boil. There are a lot of technologies (Laser cutters, CNC mills, 3D Printers, and POD) when combined with cool, web based design tools will enable people to make objects as easily as blogs. Services like Shapeways and Ponoko are starting to do this, but I think it is going to be companies focused on specific product categories who drive it to the mainstream.
"Also, for those that don't know, boardgamegeek is an awesome resource for board game information."
Just wanted to highlight that for anyone who didn't see it.
BGG got me playing games like Descent (despite it's horrendous pricing when you factor in the price of all of the expansions... 4!) and Catan and I've never looked back, thoroughly enjoyed the social aspect of it.
It is pretty neat. This is actually an area where 3D printing could be fairly useful. You could design custom or choose components or choose pre-designed ones from a catalog and have them printed in plastic or metal. They would still be fairly expensive, but if you are going for a family heirloom it might be worth the cost. You could also do quite a bit with higher end boards, laser cutting woods and plastics.
This post generated a lot of points pretty quickly. Is anyone interested in working on a startup in this area? If so, feel free to get in touch via the info on my profile. My blog: http://www.replicatorinc.com focuses on this kind of mass customization / personal fabrication. I also have a ton of ideas/prototypes for companies utilizing these technologies that I'd love to share.
27. Hardware/software hybrids. Most hackers find hardware projects alarming. You have to deal with messy, expensive physical stuff. But Meraki shows what you can do if you're willing to venture even a little way into hardware. There's a lot of low-hanging fruit in hardware; you can often do dramatically new things by making comparatively small tweaks to existing stuff.
"you can often do dramatically new things by making comparatively small tweaks to existing stuff."
Interesting now that you've mentioned that with respect to boardgames. That kind of thinking really worked for Fantasy Flight Games who took a simple gaming mechanic they developed for one game and replicated it for many subsequent products and all of these games are always entertaining.
They now do lots of licensing deals to make boardgames out of some very hot brands, some of which are quite entertaining.
I think I'll make a board game version of twitter. You compete to get the most followers, to get replied to by major bloggers, to get retweeted, and mentioned in the news. The ultimate winner is the first to get a million followers.
I think Ill make a similar game except the idea will be to create a bunch of fake accounts, get a lot of followers and spam marketing links everywhere.
To give credit where credit is due, I found it here. Would link to this thread but there's the whole HN secrecy thing (is that still enforced?). Feel free to bash TC below :)
42 comments
[ 4.3 ms ] story [ 39.2 ms ] threadEven just to create a game for yourself for playing with friends.
The website is a bit limited, though.
The games pages should have at least a picture of the board and a description of the included parts.
Looks awesome, I'm going to look deeper now.
This might help push me closer to that goal, since my homemade cards don't have the polish as those printed on better quality stock.
3D printed furniture and kitchenware?
http://hackersandgamers.posterous.com/
Email me if you'd like to contribute.
The real key here is the ability to print custom card decks. Most of the rest of it could be replicated on your own without too much difficulty.
The profit is split between you and The Game Crafter equally (50% each).
I would rather have this priced in to their production costs.
What really matters to me is how the licensing is handled. I.e., as long as I own full rights and can pull my game out of their system whenever I want (i.e., if I find that my game is popular enough that I think I can self publish or if I find an established company that wants to buy it), then I don't really mind that they take such a large %. It's still a cheap way to prototype and sell to real game players to get feedback. :)
Anyway, this sounds awesome, but now it means less sleep for the next couple of weeks while I pull all those random scraps of paper that make up my game ideas into something more formal. ;)
Keeping the rights, having full control on publishing/unpublishing your stuff, and non-exclusivity are the three most important requirements when using these kind of services.
Any of these services (with the requirements stated above) is just another outlet - another opportunity to reach more people - and there's no reason not to join.
So what other niches could somebody do this in? Where else are there frustrated amateur designers that would love to see their creations professionally produced (and sold)?
We already have design-your-own shops for books, CDs, DVDs, tshirts, skateboard decks, Lego sets, circuit boards, bobbleheads, metal machining, ...
What's left? Textiles? Clothing? Food? Wallpaper?
1. Textiles: http://www.spoonflower.com
2. Clothing: http://www.spreadshirt.com
3. Food: http://www.mixmygranola.com
4. Wallpaper: http://www.nakedandangry.com (not true customization, more crowdsourced)
Still tons of room for innovation though.
At least the body design, even if they're built on common platforms.
Discussion was here http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/424272 and here http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/424309
Also, for those that don't know, boardgamegeek is an awesome resource for board game information.
Just wanted to highlight that for anyone who didn't see it.
BGG got me playing games like Descent (despite it's horrendous pricing when you factor in the price of all of the expansions... 4!) and Catan and I've never looked back, thoroughly enjoyed the social aspect of it.
Also from: http://ycombinator.com/ideas.html
27. Hardware/software hybrids. Most hackers find hardware projects alarming. You have to deal with messy, expensive physical stuff. But Meraki shows what you can do if you're willing to venture even a little way into hardware. There's a lot of low-hanging fruit in hardware; you can often do dramatically new things by making comparatively small tweaks to existing stuff.
Interesting now that you've mentioned that with respect to boardgames. That kind of thinking really worked for Fantasy Flight Games who took a simple gaming mechanic they developed for one game and replicated it for many subsequent products and all of these games are always entertaining.
They now do lots of licensing deals to make boardgames out of some very hot brands, some of which are quite entertaining.
Who's in?
To give credit where credit is due, I found it here. Would link to this thread but there's the whole HN secrecy thing (is that still enforced?). Feel free to bash TC below :)