Terrablox

-T-

http://t-hill-hand.blogspot.com/2011/05/terrablox.html



This is an idea I had a few weeks ago; I tried to put it up on Kickstarter but they rejected it. I think they didn't realize it's not just a ripoff of LEGOs, so if I can get some discussion going here and in some other places I can try again, they can see people are interested, and I can raise the money to manufacture them.

Would you buy a box of 125 of these for around $40? Or a larger deluxe box with 1000 blocks for, I dunno, $150 or so. I've only gotten tentative quotes from plastic companies so far, so I can't be specific with prices. Basically it'd be about $5000 to make the mold, and then 5-15 cents per block depending on quality of plastic and so on. Figure a little on top of that for packaging and shipping, the price might even be as low as $25 or $30.

Mainly I just want to see some discussion about the idea though.

Norgoth

I imagine it was refused as its a little too close to this.

Still my heroscape stuff sees a ton of use and if someone was mass producing cheap peices I'd buy them.

Mojo_Jojo

That is incredible.

Did Kickstarter give you any feedback? I imagine your pitch just needs rewording.

Lord Palington

I would definitely like to use something like that in my games. I've been trying out other methods to get modular terrain like that diy style, but that would make the job much easier.

-T-

I actually went and used a different fundraising site.

http://www.indiegogo.com/Terrablox

I also got the first set of prototypes printed yesterday, with a couple different ideas for horizontal linking, as soon as I pick them up I'm going to upload video of how they work.

fadingathedges

Those look awesome. Are they solid / rubbery / foam or what? I can't quite tell, sometimes they look kinda spongy and some of them look glossy which makes me think hard plastic.

-T-

Ideally it'd be ABS plastic like LEGOs, but it's going to depend on manufacturing costs.

Whatever I end up with, I want it to be very sturdy.

El Skid

As a new parent, I'd like to add: You should make sure it's as kid friendly as possible. Both the material (non toxic) and shaping (to avoid choking hazards as best you can manage it).

If it's not allowed in the house with kids, you lose a lot of prospective buyers, both due to younger brothers/sisters and parents with young kids. And if you're in the States there's the lawsuits...

DevoutlyApathetic

-T- wrote: »

Ideally it'd be ABS plastic like LEGOs, but it's going to depend on manufacturing costs.

Whatever I end up with, I want it to be very sturdy.

FYI most of Lego's stuff are actually a ABS/Polycarbonate blend from my experience with them. Though without actual snap fits you can probably get away with just ABS since you're not looking for super physical characteristics.

Niklas

I love them and would defineatly get a box. Perhaps two

SkyCaptain

El Skid wrote: »

As a new parent, I'd like to add: You should make sure it's as kid friendly as possible. Both the material (non toxic) and shaping (to avoid choking hazards as best you can manage it).

If it's not allowed in the house with kids, you lose a lot of prospective buyers, both due to younger brothers/sisters and parents with young kids. And if you're in the States there's the lawsuits...

That's what disclaimers and recommended ages are for. Not his fault if some dumb parents gets it for their kid without reading the warnings on the labeling.

-T-

After looking it up, it's definitely not safe for children under 3 years of age. Not sure what the size limit is for 12 and under, but I think I would just slap a "choking hazard" warning on the box and that would take care of it.

They're very similar to LEGOs so I can't imagine it would be a huge issue.

nefffffffffff

Hey I just saw this on reddit!

Hexmage-PA

These do look pretty neat. You might want to try and drum up interest on EN World and RPG.net.

El Skid

-T- wrote: »

After looking it up, it's definitely not safe for children under 3 years of age. Not sure what the size limit is for 12 and under, but I think I would just slap a "choking hazard" warning on the box and that would take care of it.

They're very similar to LEGOs so I can't imagine it would be a huge issue.

Yeah, I was more thinking some parents wouldn't have them in the house if they were a choking hazard. So yes there's "I'm dumb and my kid choked on this", but moreso "Maybe I'll buy these in 3 years, when it's safe to have it around my baby".

"Maybe 3 years" equates to quite a few lost sales, I'd imagine... Especially for someone starting up, who needs the product sold now so that it can be around in 3 years.

-T-

Well, designing it to be safe for infants would mean it's a completely different product. It's not something that outweighs the idea of 1" cubes.

Mojo_Jojo

-T- wrote: »

I actually went and used a different fundraising site.

http://www.indiegogo.com/Terrablox

I also got the first set of prototypes printed yesterday, with a couple different ideas for horizontal linking, as soon as I pick them up I'm going to upload video of how they work.

Your rewards for donation aren't targeted correctly. Right now you are literally asking for charity, that isn't how Kickstarter (or this clone) work. You have to calculate the cost of these blocks (including the molds) and then you offer a "slightly above cost" reward of a set. The idea is that people can get in early, it's like pre-selling.

$100 getting you "a handful of blocks" when you claim that $40 will get you 125 is insulting.

If this is a carbon copy of your Kickstarter attempt, then I think that is why you were rejected. Take a look at other physical products and how they are marketed on these sites.

Marshmallow

Always wanted to run a game with Final Fantasy Tactics style maps to run encounters in.

These seem to be uncommonly good for replicating the look and feel of those environments. River goes here, hill goes here, maybe papercraft up a small house or tree to go here.

-T-

Mojo_Jojo wrote: »

-T- wrote: »

I actually went and used a different fundraising site.

http://www.indiegogo.com/Terrablox

I also got the first set of prototypes printed yesterday, with a couple different ideas for horizontal linking, as soon as I pick them up I'm going to upload video of how they work.

Your rewards for donation aren't targeted correctly. Right now you are literally asking for charity, that isn't how Kickstarter (or this clone) work. You have to calculate the cost of these blocks (including the molds) and then you offer a "slightly above cost" reward of a set. The idea is that people can get in early, it's like pre-selling.

$100 getting you "a handful of blocks" when you claim that $40 will get you 125 is insulting.

If this is a carbon copy of your Kickstarter attempt, then I think that is why you were rejected. Take a look at other physical products and how they are marketed on these sites.

If I were to try and do this as if it were pre-orders, I could not guarantee anyone would actually get their order, because I cannot predict how many orders I would get.

If only twenty or a hundred people order sets that would not be enough to produce any, and then there is a problem. The reason I can offer samples and collector's items is because in the worst case scenario I can still 3D print them. 3D printing is only a few dollars per block; which would be outrageous for an entire set of them, but reasonable for a one-off.

The Kickstarter version was, of course, just the cost of a set, and you get one if the goal is met. The reason that strategy works on Kickstarter is because no one is charged if the goal is not met. IndieGogo is not a Kickstarter clone, it is literally a charity site.

The good news is, if I do manage to pay for the mold using donations, that's nearly half the cost of production, and the price would be as low as $25 for a box, not $40. That's an amazing price point for something like this. I don't even need to reach the goal; even if I only raise part of the cost through donations, the pre-order price will still be lower.

I'm sorry you feel insulted, but this seems to be the best strategy at this time. If you don't wish to make a donation, you can simply wait until pre-orders are available.

Mojo_Jojo

I see. Then why does it have a goal?

I really think you should've worked out why this wasn't suitable for Kickstarter. This way won't help you build the hype you need. Or get enough cash.

Good luck though, this is a really good idea, so I hope you do find a way to start production.

-T-

The goal is the cost of the mold, the most expensive portion of injection molding. Once the mold is done, producing small numbers of sets is feasible, and I can start accepting pre-orders.

It has to do with how many sets I would need to produce at minimum to recover the cost of the mold. The more donations I can get for the mold, the lower the price and fewer sets I need to sell before breaking even.

As an example, if I were to just put up straight pre-orders, if I only produced (and sold) 100 boxes I would need to sell them each at over $100 to break even. If I were to sell 500, they could each be sold for $39. 1000 boxes could be sold at only $32.

These examples are the price needed to recover the cost of the mold. If that cost is effectively $0 because it was paid for with donations, then any amount of boxes I make and sell, no matter how few, will break even for only around $25. You'd be paying only for the cost of the plastic and labor.

EDIT: Would you mind if I quoted this conversation and put it on the IndieGoGo page? Others may have been concerned by this same issue.

Mojo_Jojo

I understand how the maths works I'm just not sure what the "goal" in your collection drive mechanically achieves if you have to pay out regardless of whether it's reached or not.

-T-

On IndieGoGo, the goal is merely when the drive ends, rather than a minimum needed before anyone is charged. You are charged right away, and the money goes to the project even if the goal is not met.

SkyCaptain

It's hard to tell from the images, but how well do they "snap" together side by side? It doesn't look like there's any kind of hook to keep them together.

Mojo_Jojo

Those images are just renders. How well they fit together horizontally depends mostly on the material used (assuming that's a final design of the notches).

-T-

These are concept renders. It's close to the final design, but making them firmly snap together in all directions is a priority, which I'm prototyping different ideas for.

The first batch of prototypes I will be able to upload pictures and video of sometime after Monday.

-T-

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2188428/terrablox_recessed.jpg

Bam! New design that should be friendlier to minis bases.

Sorry it's taking so long to get video of the prototypes, I thought I would have them by now.

EDIT: Just wanted to mention I'm already past $400 in donations. It's very exciting.

-T-

I don't know if multiple posts are allowed but I didn't want to start a new thread.

I put up a video showing the first prototypes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOf5kHZdldQ

Shows two different ideas for horizontal linking.

Niklas

I just took the liberty to spread the word on my regular swedish RPG forum.