BAM! Fanzine Factory - volunteer to write for BAM!

[kevperrine]

Hello folks,

Based off of the "(Long) Forum contribution to BAM!" thread:
http://bashtalk.org/modules.php?name=Fo ... sc&start=0
And with BASHMAN's approval in that thread... I've started the creating for the next issue of BAM!
To get started we'll need an organizer and a designer.
And HORRAY! I think we have those.
- I've volunteered to be Issue #5's layout designer.
- And MrJupiter and myself have volunteered to be Issue #5's Organizers of the articles.


We still need help though. We need:
- folks to volunteer to create and/or finish up article ideas to contribute
- an Editor for spelling and grammar and layout look/style
- an Editor for rules and math and statistics
- any illustrators interested in contributing art new or old


To organize all of this... I've created a WIKI site for us to begin filling. This site is NOT a place to post articles. If you have an article - email both myself and MrJupiter. We'll get you going from there.
You can look at the WIKI site for article ideas and such though. We will be adding ideas to the article page, and updating reminders of what's been in issues #1-4.
So... go now. Enjoy...
BAM! Basic Action Magazine FANZINE FACTORY
https://sites.google.com/site/bamfanzinefactory/


if you have questions you can PM or email me or MrJupiter.
-kev-

kevperrine@yahoo.com

[kevperrine]

If you would like to be a part of the WIKI, and able to EDIT it. You will need to email or PM me your email address you'd like to associate with the WIKI.

I will then "invite" you to join and edit.

thanks again
-kev-

[MrJupiter]

Excellent! I've made my email available at this forum now so I'll be easier to contact.

Great work kevperrine. I'll send you my email so I can get started right away.

[BASHMAN]

Hey, Issue #5 is already out! You'd be working on #6.

[kevperrine]

Hey, Issue #5 is already out! You'd be working on #6.

DOH!!
Where? I've somehow missed it (as we build this plan). I think I remember it when it came out. But where can I get it now? It's not on the main BASH! site (or I missed it).

My bad!!
-kev-

[MrJupiter]

Remember: In addition to any other article ideas you have, please send us your villains! Just one or two is enough; but, if you really must, feel free to send us more. [Whether these will appear in a single article or as a repeating feature over successive BAM issues is still being worked upon. One way or another, villains will be making their way into the magazine!]

This is what we are looking at for this feature:

"A Rogues Gallery - Villains for Your BASH Games" is to provide a collection of bad guys that are ready for Narrators to use as villains in their games. Alternately, players would have them as an easy means to give their hero's some cool adversaries for their character's Rogue's Gallery. Make sure that they are devoid of specific details like "While fighting Captain Good-Guy..." or "In the basement of McTechie's Industries..." so that they could be super easy to plug into any campaign. So be generic when referring to locations and people.

As a suggestion, instead of referring to a specific hero that influences or features in you villain’s back-story, try making a reference to the type of hero template, as presented in the back of the BASH:UE rulebook (for instance: “Dr. Bad-Guy had the whole town in fear until the arrival of the Champion of Justice.”).

Character images, if you’d like to include them, can be generated by the Fabrica_X program:

http://caradeedu.vilabol.uol.com.br/ant ... ica_x.html

Being offered so far, we have:

Solo villains – Broad Brawler, Double Trouble, and Spectrus (from myself).
Villain Teams & Organizations – Disco Inferno, Boogie Knight, Kool Cat, and Foxy Lady (form Jason-Sunday); and, Ammatos, the first, Zoler, the second, Orthain, the third (the "Triumvirate of the Iron Cross"; from Protheuz).

These are a great start. But we could really use some more! [Particularly solo villains.]

Please post your idea(s) on the (Long) Forum contribution to BAM! thread at:

http://www.bashtalk.org/modules.php?nam ... opic&t=607

Just use the villain’s name (if you have it yet) and a quick sentence or two giving a general description of the character.

Email either keveperrine or myself (MrJupiter) with more specific details.

[MrJupiter]

Hey, Issue #5 is already out! You'd be working on #6.

DOH!!
Where? I've somehow missed it (as we build this plan). I think I remember it when it came out. But where can I get it now? It's not on the main BASH! site (or I missed it).

My bad!!
-kev-

Here’s one place (not sure if there are others):

RPGNow.com
http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php? ... rers_id=68

[BASHMAN]

Again, as I said, I cannot publish anything made w/ Fabrica or any similar program. Copyright issues. Any art that is published has to be original, or purchased license for use.

As for the Wiki, I think it would be far more productive if you *didn't* have to be invited to work on it. Having that as a barrier will deter people from working on it. Instead it would be better to have a more open place. Wikipedia for instance doesn't require a membership to edit- something that works like that might be easier for collaborating.

Last: I like the BAM! masthead just as it is. In fact, the next printing of the book is using a similar design for the masthead. This will keep things congruent and recognizable. I think coming up with a new logo, etc is putting the cart before the horse.

While BAM! content is made by fans, and I have no problem with you guys working together on it, or using the forums, etc to organize it, come up with article ideas, etc. I still need to publish it. I may want to add an article, etc- to each issue. So I wouldn't get all happy with the layout until after all the writing and art is done for an issue.

[kevperrine]

As for the Wiki, I think it would be far more productive if you *didn't* have to be invited to work on it. Having that as a barrier will deter people from working on it.

I'll look at seeing if that can change on the site. I dislike it too. However, my sidenote - is that I'd rather it stick with the "Google Sites" wiki farm, simply because with any other wiki farm it could go under then all our info would be deleted and gone. Google isn't likely to go away anytime soon. I've also found that Google Sites supports wiki work the best - having the most options (from Google Docs, Calendars, video, etc...) and has great/easy support to figure things out.

Wikipedia is great. But it's NOT a wiki farm. It's a site on a wiki farm (of it's own server now). And for Wikipedia, you DO have to have an official account or the admin find your change and remove it without asking. They did that because politicians were changing their Wikipedia entries for more beneficial pages, when Wikipedia is supposed to be impartial info ... ie. "encyclopedia" style info.

That said.
If anyone knows of a better wiki farm and wants to update and organize it... I'm behind it. Feel free to copy/paste any text/work I've done on the current site.

Last: I like the BAM! masthead just as it is. In fact, the next printing of the book is using a similar design for the masthead. This will keep things congruent and recognizable. I think coming up with a new logo, etc is putting the cart before the horse.

The current BAM! masthead on the wiki is a new original design. I put it together a few nights ago. I (actually) hadn't referenced the older logos, but happily they're sort of inline with the simple style of the old logos as you can see. Then also the couple very different ideas for a new logo as well.

from Issue #1


from Issue #5


from the new wiki masthead


completely different ideas

While BAM! content is made by fans, and I have no problem with you guys working together on it, or using the forums, etc to organize it, come up with article ideas, etc. I still need to publish it. I may want to add an article, etc- to each issue.

LOL
100% Sir.

In fact. I don't think it's ever been said anywhere in these discussions yet. I would guess and assume everyone here that's excited for the BAM! project feels the same. My feeling has always been:

Step #1.
We asked for your approval to take the next step with BAM! with fans offering articles to the next level of fans taking a stronger force in organizing the articles and laying them out, etc.... essentially building the issues of BAM! All completely in effort to publish BAM! more regularly with neat new ideas.

Step #2.
Once that work is done and BEFORE it's published to the general public, we present it all to you for official approval, for adding any articles of your own, and specifically for a "BASHMAN Commentary" short blurb/thought you have on each article.

Step #3.
Finishing the layout by adding all the edits above, the new issue of BAM! is "finished" by saving as a PDF. And given to you.

Step #4.
You publish and publicize the new issue wherever and however you have in the past as normal.

So I wouldn't get all happy with the layout until after all the writing and art is done for an issue.

heheh....
As for getting excited about layout, etc... I (think) I'm the only one doing that, simply because one of my specialties is layout and design. It's more of a natural part of the process in thinking of articles and ideas for me.

When the excitement to try something (visually) hits me, I do it. So, yeah... I 100% agree with not putting the cart before the horse. But I'm really (personally) not, it's just the way my brain works, hehe.
Also.
I do tend to think that visuals (especially in comics) tend to get people EXCITED. And when people get excited (many times) they also get ENERGIZED to do "work" on a project they've had on the back burner.



SIDEBAR on making the layout.
I've thought about doing gamer magazines alot in the past. But never really completely created one. So I'm naturally thinking about layout and how to build the product.
I understand and would like that in the future OTHER fans get more involved and can do the full layout and design on their own.

In the past, designing a "book" like this most graphic monkeys would use InDesign, Pagemaker, or QuarkXPress. In my "hobby time" experience ... playing games and building game campaigns that have fun props that each player can USE, I've found that the normal guy can't use those higher end programs.
Rather than being all "graphic designer snooty" and doing it in "my high end program anyway" so the layman can't work with it... I've found that you can get a good product out of a more simple program like a simple Word Doc.
And so... with a little practice, I've practiced making Docs in Word that look like they're designed in InDesign (as best I can) but are really just creative uses of HEADERS/FOOTERS and such in Word. This allows almost anyone the ability to open the original design layout and edit, just being careful not to move around the layout borders, etc...
Then on top of all that, Word can now "publish" (ie. Save) as a PDF document. Lastly, if you have Adobe Premier Acrobat - you can update the PDF with any forms or tables of content or hyperlinks, etc... (though Word might do that too now that I think about it!)

All that said. I've been thinking about building the new BAM! simply but nicely in layout in a simple Word Doc... that way ANYONE (on the BAM! team) can edit it. They just need to make sure the fonts in the doc are loaded on your machine.


That's all my thoughts on building the new BAM!
I don't want to get ahead, but that's just how I think. Hope it's not distracting. LOL


anyone have any other suggestions or questions?
thanks
-kev-

[BASHMAN]

What do people think about the layout? Do you prefer Landscape (for screen reading, like BAM! #5) or letter (for page flipping, like BAM! #1-4)?

I think I may post a poll online about this, but I seem to remember a lot of people liking the way #5 was lain out the best.

[kevperrine]

What do people think about the layout? Do you prefer Landscape (for screen reading, like BAM! #5) or letter (for page flipping, like BAM! #1-4)?

I think I may post a poll online about this, but I seem to remember a lot of people liking the way #5 was lain out the best.

LOL
I was going to ask that question myself (landscape or portrait!).

If I'm doing it with no influence, I would stick with the portrait layout. Simply for printing reasons. If you're like me, you'll sometimes print things like this and have them bound. And (for me) portrait layout doesn't bother me looking at it onscreen since I've adapted over the years to portrait PDFs so much, I'm just used to them now.

Here's the pros for both Portrait and Landscape I can think of to consider. Please add in things I haven't thought of.

PRO PORTRAIT

- printing a booklet, this includes if/when future issues of BAM! are cataloged as a whole book together.

- rearranging PDFs, if you have Adobe Acrobat Pro (or similar software) it's super easy to pull pages from one PDF to another. I've found that I often will pull an "optional rule" from a PDF like BAM! into and save it with my core rulebook pages. If the pages are set in landscape, it would make it difficult to arrange with the core book pages (done in portrait).

- iPad & other readers. I don't have one (yet). But these are becoming a "standard" in shape/size, and they're all portrait sized. Also most smart phones can now read PDFs. Landscape would make this a difficult change when viewing.

- layout in Word. If we were to go with the optional idea I mentioned about laying out the mag in a simple Word Doc, it would make editing layout more difficult for non-designers.


PRO LANSCAPE

- desktop viewing. The primary reason (I know of) for landscape is for viewing on desktop computers' widescreen monitors. Otherwise (to my knowledge, the rest is visual)


that's all I can think of for now
-kev-

[MrJupiter]

Again, as I said, I cannot publish anything made w/ Fabrica or any similar program. Copyright issues. Any art that is published has to be original, or purchased license for use.

As for the Wiki...

My appologies, BASHMAN. I should have stated that pics for those villains, done via Fabrica_X, could be posted in the forums (or the wiki) so that readers could see them there.

[MrJupiter]

Oh yeah. As for the portrait vs. landscape versions I have to admit that I like both. The portrait version is great for printing out and reading. The landscape is perfect for reading on the computer. I honestly don't know which I really prefer!

I will admit that BAM 5 is the single best looking one of them all!

[kevperrine]

I will admit that BAM 5 is the single best looking one of them all!

Ah yes, but is that from:
- art?
- production value (ie. better graphic design)?
- landscape format?

I'd say a little of the first two. Not sure about landscape. I'm just not seeing the benefit of landscape, but I'm not unwilling to budge if given more pros for that format than portrait.

To help our choice. I think I'll "open" this question to a bigger audience with a general PDF Landscape vs. Portrait poll on RPGnet! And DONE. Here's the link: http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=557746

[kevperrine]

Again, as I said, I cannot publish anything made w/ Fabrica or any similar program. Copyright issues. Any art that is published has to be original, or purchased license for use.

I've not looked into using Fabrica (or any other image creation software) but where does it tell a user that they cannot use the image for published use?

I ask more for my own ideas/projects, not to second guess. I've just not seen that anywhere (yet). Can you direct me to the legal text for that?

Also. Question. If you use an image creator like that, then manipulate the image or only use a portion of it... would it then be legal to use?

For examples...

I quickly made up this image just now:


then I changed it (VERY quickly and crappily - but you get the idea!) by adding in a wanted style format:



If the first is not usable, is the second?
I mentioned this *might* be a way to show villains in a villain book if someone couldn't do the illustrations or pay for them and wanted to use an image creator.
So I'm curious...
-kev-