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Daily
Content Submission Guidelines
Ever wanted to try your hand at game design? The
Avalanche Press website is a great way to start.
We run game variants, scenarios and short historical
pieces every single day, and we’re always
looking for new contributors.
I’m sure you have questions, so ask away.
For game submission guidelines, click here.
First things first. What do I
get out of it?
Free games!
Exactly what we’ll trade for Daily Content
depends on a lot of factors. We don’t have
an exact schedule of, say, X amount of credit in
trade for Y amount of words, because it’s
not about word count or any one element. It depends
on the work’s usefulness to our readers.
The best Daily Content is something thousands
of gamers will download and use in their games,
and which will therefore encourage return visits
and further sales. Something like that is worth
a hefty game in trade!
When you submit a piece for Daily Content, we’ll
let you know whether or not we would like to use
it and what we’ll offer in trade.
If I agree to let you publish
my work, who owns the rights to it?
We do. By allowing us to use your work as Daily
Content in exchange for Avalanche Press product
you are conveying ownership and all rights to that
property to Avalanche Press, Ltd. If we accept the
work for publication we retain ownership and all
rights, print, electronic and otherwise, including
the right to modify it as we feel necessary.
How can I make sure you accept
my submission?
Well, you can’t. Not really. We reserve
the right to accept or decline any submission that
comes our way for any reason or no reason at all.
But there are some ways you can maximize your chances.
Do your research. Most of our games are historical
wargames, and we take the history seriously. We’re
not offering a forum for rants and theories. Assume
nothing. If a detail is hard to pin down, say so.
If you find yourself starting a statement with “It’s
obvious that ...” or “They must have
... ,” it’s a safe bet that you’re
about to state a supposition, not a verifiable fact.
Cite your sources. We probably won’t
include them in the final article, but showing your
sources demonstrates that you did your research
and helps us verify your conclusions and game recommendations.
Warning: We do not consider Wikipedia a valid
research resource. Use sources that have been professionally
edited for accuracy.
Write it yourself. Copying the work of
another writer is plagiarism. Attempting to trade
away rights to property owned by someone else is
fraud. Don’t try it.
Check your spelling, grammar and punctuation.
Want to know what we like better than cleaning
up sloppy writing? EVERYTHING. We take the time
to edit every submission. If yours is poorly written,
it’ll drift to the bottom of the pile.
Avoid jargon. Games are filled with acronyms
and arcane abbreviations — especially wargames!
Don't use them unless it would look even stranger
not to use one. The same goes with military abbreviations
for rank and unit. Just because you know what it
means, don't assume everyone does.
Kill passive voice! Military historians,
game designers and lawyers all love writing in passive
voice. It allows for vagueness and sweeping, word-saving
generalizations that gloss over gaps in research.
But that vagueness makes prose impossible to enjoy.
It makes eyes glaze over and minds drift away. Passive
voice is insidious and evil. And if you don’t
know what it is, you probably use it all the time.
Look
it up, before it’s too late!
Turn off autoformatting. Word processing
programs such as Microsoft Word include a number
of handy functions for formatting lists of bullet
points, for setting the case of characters, for
inserting space between paragraphs and all kinds
of neat things. Don't use them. All
that formatting disappears when we move the text
from the Word document to the website, often leaving
a confusing mess in its place.
What kind of content do you want?
The vast bulk of our Daily Content fits into just
a few categories: Historical articles, game variants,
game scenarios and strategy guides.
Historical Articles
Historical articles discuss some specific element
of a game in detail. They should be brief and tightly
focused, never rambling. Pick a subject that intrigues
and amuses you and show us why it does. Just make
sure it relates clearly to one of our games.
Examples:
Game Variants
Some of our favorite articles have been variants
that offer alternate rules or a new way to play,
from William Sariego’s variant game pieces
for Red
Vengeance and Defiant
Russia to Mike Bennighof’s classic
aptenodytic Tears of the Dragon expansion,
“Tears
of the Penguin.”
Game variants often include new game pieces or
game map sections based on historical situations
or organizations not covered in the original game.
In most cases we handle the actual artwork; if the
concept is good enough for Daily Content, it’s
good enough for the full treatment. Your submission
should include instructions on what new game pieces
must be included, what game values they should sport
and how they should look. Suggest only the minimum
new pieces necessary for the variant to work. If
a proposal is too ambitious it simply won’t
get produced.
Examples:
Game Scenarios
New scenarios make some of the easiest and most
useful content. You’ve seen what the scenarios
look like in your favorite game; follow that format.
Include a short summary of the situation (a couple
of paragraphs), details about the time and date
of the action, what forces are involved, reinforcements,
and so on.
Examples:
Strategy Guides
Have you found the right ingredients to win as
one side or another in a game or a particular scenario?
Tell us about it! Most Daily Content strategy pieces
include a summary of play to show that strategy
at work. If possible go for about a 50-50 split
— make half the work strategy and half game
summary — and if it needs a longer example
of play make sure it justifies all the extra writing.
When in doubt, ask us first.
Examples:
How do I submit Daily Content?
First, click here to contact
us. Tell us what you have in mind. We’ll
let you know what we think of the idea and tell
you where to send the submission.
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