Jason Rutherford of Kalidesia contacted us to talk about a new approach he’s taken in his gaming business. Rutherford makes the Legends of Kalidasia game, played with traditional resin and pewter figures. His company manufactures and markets these figures, but he’s concerned about the future. You know, the future where people print out their own figures on their own 3D printing equipment? 
Some game makers may try to prevent illegal copies by keeping their files secret, but that’s a losing game as 3D scanners and talented 3D modelers will quickly get around that barrier. What’s a game maker to do? Here’s what Rutherford says: Like many of my competitors, I have used 3D printing to build the ‘greens’ of my miniature line. However, unlike almost all of my competitors, I have taken the step of addressing the 3D printing issue by releasing all the source files for my miniatures under a Creative Commons License. Instead of trying to lock down my files, I have released them to the world and have encouraged others to modify and improve on my figure designs.
And so we now see on their website:
Instead of joining this losing war, Kalidasia Media Productions LLC has decided to experiment with new business models. As of today, all of the source 3D files for the Kalidasia Miniature line are available for sale at a price you name. Pay $0.00, $99.99, or a number of different values in between. I will leave that up to you.
Rutherford also has a Kickstarter project underway to raise funds for producing a set of warship miniatures.
We think this is a good step as it attempts to navigate a way through the coming uncertainty. Game makers may have to shift their revenue opportunities away from manufacturing figures to other dimensions, just as some in the music industry have done.
Via Kalidasia and KickStarter
