Post by Siskoid on Jun 18, 2014 13:29:34 GMT
Now that we're working on the third book, I think I have a good handle on how the format of submissions affects the speed at which the layout gets done. Here are guidelines for how to best submit material for the Expanded Universe Sourcebooks.
TEXT
Word count is an important factor because I really don't like to cut material.
Characters: 500 words is ideal. A little more if the character's stats are relatively brief.
Locations: Varies most, usually between 400 and 700 words. Don't forget that any characters, animals, gadgets, sidebars and planet stats you include will cut into your word count. These are usually the hardest to fit into the page and the first to be cut.
Gadgets: Normally kept down to a half-page, words count should hover around 400 words (including gadget stats).
A note on length: Some entries may be worthy of multiple pages (or a full page, in the case of gadgets), in which case word count may be up to doubled, though usually, the extra space will be required for stat blocks. Give this some thought when evaluating your word count.
A note on spoilers: If certain information would spoil the experience of reading or listening to a story, in particular surprising reveals late in that story, place that information after this sign post: SPOILER WARNING! SPOILERPHOBES SHOULD READ NO FURTHER! Thank you.
In general, try to write the entry from a gamer's point of view. The idea isn't to synopsize a story, but to give information useful to a GameMaster who wants to include a particular character, monster, place or thing in his or her games. Hopefully, these books will also attract gamers to the source material, so spoilers should be kept to a minimum.
STATS
Here is a sample character stat block in the format easiest for the layout artist. Notes follow.
ATTRIBUTES
Awareness: 4
Coordination: 3
Ingenuity: 4
Presence: 3
Resolve: 3
Strength: 3
SKILLS
Athletics 2, Convince 2, Craft (Writing) 3, Fighting 1, Knowledge 3 (AoE: Literature), Subterfuge 3, Technology 2, Transport 1
TRAITS
Attractive
Dependency – Group Mind: If contact is broken or Skang is expelled, it takes 1 point of damage per day
Size – Tiny (Major)
Unadventurous (Minor)
EQUIPMENT
Energy Blaster: 7(3/7/10)
TECH LEVEL: 5
STORY POINTS: 6
So it is important to:
-Put Skills before Traits.
-No colons between Skills and their number.
-Uses a dash (–) and not a hyphen (-) between Traits and their specifications/explanations.
-Word count for character stat boxes maxes out around the 170-word mark. More than that may cause problems with layout.
PICTURES
If you are an artist and have created the art yourself, the highest resolution the better, and do have a look at how characters are featured in small windows to make sure your art fits the format and isn't abbreviated.
You may also suggest a picture by either sending it in via email, or a link to its location. Here again, size matters. For best results, Google Images should recognize characters as at least Medium and locations as Large (as a benchmark). Please include the name or handle of the artist and/or a link to where you found the image so we can give credit where credit is due.
OTHER GUIDELINES
Because the layout artist may or may not be familiar with the source material, please indicate if a character/species is a Companion, Ally or Enemy.
Where was the entry pulled from? Please indicate the novel, short story, comic, audio, etc. it came from next to the entry's title. Example: PRAXILIONS (Harvest of Time).
If you are a fan of extracanonical material, but are not comfortable with the game's mechanics, THIS IS NOT A PROBLEM. We will gladly accept text-only submissions and stat them up for you based on your descriptions.
TEXT
Word count is an important factor because I really don't like to cut material.
Characters: 500 words is ideal. A little more if the character's stats are relatively brief.
Locations: Varies most, usually between 400 and 700 words. Don't forget that any characters, animals, gadgets, sidebars and planet stats you include will cut into your word count. These are usually the hardest to fit into the page and the first to be cut.
Gadgets: Normally kept down to a half-page, words count should hover around 400 words (including gadget stats).
A note on length: Some entries may be worthy of multiple pages (or a full page, in the case of gadgets), in which case word count may be up to doubled, though usually, the extra space will be required for stat blocks. Give this some thought when evaluating your word count.
A note on spoilers: If certain information would spoil the experience of reading or listening to a story, in particular surprising reveals late in that story, place that information after this sign post: SPOILER WARNING! SPOILERPHOBES SHOULD READ NO FURTHER! Thank you.
In general, try to write the entry from a gamer's point of view. The idea isn't to synopsize a story, but to give information useful to a GameMaster who wants to include a particular character, monster, place or thing in his or her games. Hopefully, these books will also attract gamers to the source material, so spoilers should be kept to a minimum.
STATS
Here is a sample character stat block in the format easiest for the layout artist. Notes follow.
ATTRIBUTES
Awareness: 4
Coordination: 3
Ingenuity: 4
Presence: 3
Resolve: 3
Strength: 3
SKILLS
Athletics 2, Convince 2, Craft (Writing) 3, Fighting 1, Knowledge 3 (AoE: Literature), Subterfuge 3, Technology 2, Transport 1
TRAITS
Attractive
Dependency – Group Mind: If contact is broken or Skang is expelled, it takes 1 point of damage per day
Size – Tiny (Major)
Unadventurous (Minor)
EQUIPMENT
Energy Blaster: 7(3/7/10)
TECH LEVEL: 5
STORY POINTS: 6
So it is important to:
-Put Skills before Traits.
-No colons between Skills and their number.
-Uses a dash (–) and not a hyphen (-) between Traits and their specifications/explanations.
-Word count for character stat boxes maxes out around the 170-word mark. More than that may cause problems with layout.
PICTURES
If you are an artist and have created the art yourself, the highest resolution the better, and do have a look at how characters are featured in small windows to make sure your art fits the format and isn't abbreviated.
You may also suggest a picture by either sending it in via email, or a link to its location. Here again, size matters. For best results, Google Images should recognize characters as at least Medium and locations as Large (as a benchmark). Please include the name or handle of the artist and/or a link to where you found the image so we can give credit where credit is due.
OTHER GUIDELINES
Because the layout artist may or may not be familiar with the source material, please indicate if a character/species is a Companion, Ally or Enemy.
Where was the entry pulled from? Please indicate the novel, short story, comic, audio, etc. it came from next to the entry's title. Example: PRAXILIONS (Harvest of Time).
If you are a fan of extracanonical material, but are not comfortable with the game's mechanics, THIS IS NOT A PROBLEM. We will gladly accept text-only submissions and stat them up for you based on your descriptions.