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Saturday, April 8, 2017

Full Size or Digest? Torchlight Will Be...

map by +Dyson Logos 
So, I threw the question out to the masses: should Torchlight, the upcoming magazine for Swords & Wizardry, be full sized or digest sized and explain your answer. Interestingly, those that desired magazine size usually explained their answer. The vast majority of those desiring digest sized just voted "Digest!" Not sure exactly what that means, but I suspect that the bulk of OSR zines being in digest sized format has something to do with it.

There certainly is love of the digest size but there is a practicality that comes with the full size - maps like the one by +Dyson Logos above are damn near useless at digest size (I printed out a test page.) Someone suggested the possibility of offering full and digest sized releases, and while that MIGHT be a possibility down the line it will not be feasible out of the gate - simply too much time invested in doing the same work twice. Adventures large and small will make up a large portion of the magazine and the maps do need to be readable to be useable.

What does all that mean? Torchlight will be a full sized, color cover, PDF and Print on Demand magazine upon release. If there is enough demand, we MAY offer digest sized versions down the line, but the content might be slightly different, as maps like the one above work in one format but not the other.

However, it does mean that with the possible exception of stand alone adventures, the rest of the Triumvirate Tavern Publishing releases will continue to be in digest / booklet format. Meaning releases such as the ongoing Pocket Creature Collection and the upcoming Multifarious Marvelous Items releases will be released in digest format.

Thanks for your input, one and all. Now if they only offered digest sized printing with fold out maps...


8 comments:

  1. If you do digest sized, then perhaps have the maps as centerfolds (like the old Dragon Magazine gameboards when they had a game in that issue. Related side note: Yay for Tom Wham!) and/or as downloadable content? If you have more than one adventure per issue (and depending on how the issues are assembled) there would be some issues with multiple centerfold maps, but it could still work, perhaps.

    I have no preference in this matter, just offering suggestions. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We will be having multiple adventure in each issues - some large, some small.

      Delete
    2. Digest fold outs or inserts work great. I have a bunch of 8.5x11" maps in my digest sized folders, and even a few 8.5x22" (Quad-fold, half tabloid).

      While I like full color magazines, they will likely stay on the shelves more often, as most of my gaming kit is digest sized at this point.

      Delete
    3. I'm not sure foldout maps are feasible with POD

      Delete
    4. Unfortunately, no, foldouts are not feasible with POD.

      Delete
  2. I'm glad to hear you're going full-sized. I was going to comment yesterday but got sidetracked by windstorms and lack of power. I understand the portability / economical appeal of digest, but I prefer the additional breathing room that the full-size format gives to art, maps, graphic design, and font selection. And everything classic TSR (and vintage 3rd party stuff) on my shelf is full sized, so I honestly don't see why digest is always equated with old-school. OD&D was, but that was all.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you for offering the PoD option. When is the projected release date?

    ReplyDelete

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