Just Published My First Book: Sega Master System Game Guide

[jfrost]

Thanks for keeping it at $10. This way I can buy a copy (currency conversion and shipping kill me).

[onemanfilmcrew]

[quote="Hatta"]This looks great, and I'll be buying a copy. It's hard to complain at $10, but are there illustrations? I imagine at that price we're talking about low res black & white images. Video games are a visual medium, so hopefully there's some color in there. I'm sure it's not easy to find a publisher that will do that for you for a reasonable price.

Anyway, congratulations. That's quite a project to have completed. Good luck with it.[/quote]


Just so everyone knows, this is a bare bones guide (i.e. no color/pics/etc). I approached this guide as a quick reference where if you wanted to see what was on the MS that you could thumb through and get an accurate view. I broke down all the games by genre and have a handy guide in the back (so if all you care about is shooters you can see what the system has, then do a quick read to see if it is worth your trouble).

I realize that games are very much a visual medium, which is why I am going to be doing the bi-monthly classic gaming mag (also going to self publish it). To give you an idea of the costs involved, it costs the same amount to do a 132 page book in B/W text as it does to do a 44 page full color book. So in order to do the same guide with pics (each game getting 2 pages) the cost would be around $45-$50 (and those prices are with my royalty being very, very low). If there is a demand for a project like that I'll gladly look into it, however I think that the classic gaming mag is going to be a better avenue to really capture the visual goodness of the classic games. Plus with the mag it will be more accessible to the average gamer, which at the end of the day is one of my biggest goals (considering that gaming has given me so much, I'd like to give some back).

[aaron]

awesome! i will plug this on facebook and another forum i frequent, as well as pick up a copy this week. nice work!

also, unrelated, but Ack, i'm glad you finally landed a job (if i'm assuming correctly).

[Ack]

awesome! i will plug this on facebook and another forum i frequent, as well as pick up a copy this week. nice work!

also, unrelated, but Ack, i'm glad you finally landed a job (if i'm assuming correctly).

Yeah aaron, I did. Thank you! I actually was working for peanuts at a pizza place for about two months but recently managed to find a real job. And, even better, it lets me work from home. I've also undergone training as a U.S. Census taker, so I may end up being one of those guys going door to door over the next few weeks.

[aaron]

awesome! that census job sounds pretty sweet for a short-term thing, something like $15/hr plus mileage. good luck, man.

[Hatta]

Just so everyone knows, this is a bare bones guide (i.e. no color/pics/etc). I approached this guide as a quick reference where if you wanted to see what was on the MS that you could thumb through and get an accurate view. I broke down all the games by genre and have a handy guide in the back (so if all you care about is shooters you can see what the system has, then do a quick read to see if it is worth your trouble).

Totally understandable, and very reasonable at $10. I'd say you're better off with no illustrations than bad quality black and white illustrations. Good call on organization by genre.

You should consider talking to the guys at Armchair Arcade, they've published a few books along these lines and may have some advice on publishing. Their latest book "Vintage Games" has full color illustrations and is reasonably priced.

[Xonticus]

Alright, just put in an order, and being a Sega Collector and longtime fan, I'm eagerly awaiting your Genesis guide.

TBH, one of the best ways to cover such a big library, I hate to say it, is emulation. Especially since finding a physical copy of every game in the library is hard, no one would blame you for resorting to that.

[Jrecee]

With the format you went with, can you include black and white photos without extra cost? Do they basically just print a pdf that you send them?

[Hatta]

I just placed my order. I used Racing The Beam ($15) to get free shipping. I've been meaning to pick that one up for a while, so this was a good excuse. I'll be looking forward to spending some more time with my SMS.

[onemanfilmcrew]

[quote="Jrecee"]With the format you went with, can you include black and white photos without extra cost? Do they basically just print a pdf that you send them?[/quote]


I suppose I could have included B/W photos, since it is just a pdf, but it just didn't really fit into the book. Plus it would have raised the page count, as well as the cost of the book, and not really added all that much to it.


Also, I'd like to thank everyone who has ordered a copy, as well as those who have spread the word on to other forums/sites. It is greatly appreciated. I hope that you enjoy the book, and please feel free to drop me a line to let me know what you think.