Goblins Henchman over on G Plus pinged me earlier today to ask if I had looked at his "proof of concept" Spreadsheet Adventure Module idea, where text is basically linked to an adventures map as a pin or pop out (I have no idea about the proper technology)
I hadn't seen it, but as the video in question is a mere 5 minutes in length, I've seen it now and damn - this would work great, especially with a sandbox type adventure setting where, instead of looking at the map and referring to the hex number or the keyed adventure location, you just click on it and the info pop up right over the map.
Could you present an adventure just using this method? Doubtful, as it doesn't make for a convenient first read through (and GH notes this) but as a supplement to an adventure it would rock.
I don't know the time involved in making such and it might not be cost effective (time-wise), especially on larger releases, but for some smaller releases it may be a selling point.
Add your thought's here or comment on the video. I'm sure Goblins Henchman would be happy to get your feedback.
Hi Erik
ReplyDeleteThanks for spreading the word about this idea.
The first Spreadsheet Adventure Module I made (Darkness Under Apply Valley) took quite a long time - because I was figuring out how to do it.
The second Spreadsheet Module (The Smoking Pillar of Lan Yu) was much quicker. Inserting the maps (with resizing etc.) probably took about 10 minutes, and then probably less than 1 minute per pop-up - i.e. just a simple cut and paste job from the pdf.
That said, I then spent extra time making it look all prudy and adding an index etc.
Overall, *preparation is important*, as Excel is not a great editing tool. If the text and maps are settled, it should be reasonably quick to make one of these modules! Especially if making it look all nice and pretty is not that important to you.
:: Summary ::
So, for a home game where a DM just wants concise notes for their map, I think anyone could crank out one of these Spreadsheet Adventure Modules (simply cutting & pasting text) in less than hour.
For a nice, commercial, cosmetically pleasing job (like any form of layout), you can spend as much time as you like! For a publisher this concept (maybe using adobe) must be within budget!
I love this idea! I have adapted it as a pdf (with notes over each encounter area) to use with a tablet.
DeleteHere’s a brief How-To-Guide:
ReplyDeletehttps://plus.google.com/109417823410067938835/posts/NWTwEFdRxy5