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[zwei]

I would buy a mug.

And I hope that official dwarf fortress mug would come in packs of three.

[Drago55577]

I might do something like that

[Gatleos]

Mmmm, maybe I should get a crayon art reward and make a shirt out of it.

[automaticsquid]

i just want to say that i would buy any kind of even semi-official dwarf fort shirt pretty much instantly and given that i think this is a great idea. i mean the custom stuff is cool but i would really love something a little more legitimate feeling.

[nenjin]

I tend not to buy stuff like this, for any game I'm a fan of. But in DF's case, I'd make several exceptions. Of the shirt, mug and sundries variety. If it's owned and operated solely by Toady, even better.

[Biopass]

I seem to recall Toady turning down merchandise offers in the past.

Personally, I think that if you want DF merch, you should just do what the OP did and then send a donation to Toady. A nice big donation.

[h3lblad3]

What I'd be worried about with Toady starting with merchandise is this: Some of the money has to go back to manufacturing more merchandise.  Crazy, right? I know.

What I fear happening is that people buy the product and feel like they've donated a decent amount when, in fact, most of that money goes back to making more merchandise and, in response, the total donations decrease. Besides, setting this up would take a little time out of DF development, causing complaints from users. And bringing more people into it means cutting them pieces (unless on volunteer basis) of the checks, meaning even less money for Toady.

Regardless, as has been said, he's turned it down anyway.

[Telgin]

i just want to say that i would buy any kind of even semi-official dwarf fort shirt pretty much instantly and given that i think this is a great idea. i mean the custom stuff is cool but i would really love something a little more legitimate feeling.

Seconded.  I'd love to have an official Dwarf Fortress shirt or jacket or something.  I'm still considering a custom job, but I'd like an official one if possible.

What I'd be worried about with Toady starting with merchandise is this: Some of the money has to go back to manufacturing more merchandise.  Crazy, right? I know.

What I fear happening is that people buy the product and feel like they've donated a decent amount when, in fact, most of that money goes back to making more merchandise and, in response, the total donations decrease. Besides, setting this up would take a little time out of DF development, causing complaints from users. And bringing more people into it means cutting them pieces (unless on volunteer basis) of the checks, meaning even less money for Toady.

Regardless, as has been said, he's turned it down anyway.

I can sort of understand this.  Wouldn't stop me from donating on the side as I have, but I suspect that it might influence other people's tendency to donate.  I do wonder how much profit he'd actually make off of it.  Likely the only way he'd know would be to try it out and potentially lose a lot of money.

Can't say I blame him for turning it down.  It would be cool, but a bit risky.

[clarithium]

I, for one, would buy an official DF Tshirt the moment it was available.

Make it happen Toady!~

[King Mir]

What I'd be worried about with Toady starting with merchandise is this: Some of the money has to go back to manufacturing more merchandise.  Crazy, right? I know.

What I fear happening is that people buy the product and feel like they've donated a decent amount when, in fact, most of that money goes back to making more merchandise and, in response, the total donations decrease. Besides, setting this up would take a little time out of DF development, causing complaints from users. And bringing more people into it means cutting them pieces (unless on volunteer basis) of the checks, meaning even less money for Toady.

Regardless, as has been said, he's turned it down anyway.

Usually having an item in exchange for a donation makes people more likely to donate, not less. That's why NPR gives out tate bags, for instance. Ideally, you'd want to set a minimal donation amount near to the cost of the item, and provide a way for people to pay more. Toady already offers crayon art and stories for donations. Other merchandise could function the same way.

However, an overpriced t-shirt with a spiffy joke draw more interest than a crayon drawing. People want the shirt. You can gift it. You can ask for it as a gift.

As for taking time away from Toady, there do exist sites that will manage the shipping of merchandise such as this.

[Talvieno]

I think it'd be a good and bad idea... But something nobody seems to have mentioned is the fact that the shirts themselves could wind up advertising for them. If I didn't know what Dwarf Fortress was, and over a period of a few weeks I see a number of people walking around wearing absolutely awesome-looking shirts with "Dwarf Fortress" printed on them in big letters, and perhaps a humorous tagline, I'd want to know what Dwarf Fortress was. I'd look it up. And I'd get hooked, because that's more or less how I found Dwarf Fortress in the first place (but not through a shirt).

[TinyPirate]

I WANT DF MERCH!

[AndyDish]

Dear Amok, that is amazing. However, I agree with Auto. The merch needs to bring in money for Toady. That being said, good lord we need t-shirts of Boatmurdered, or of the dwarf face.

[FearfulJesuit]

Does Zazzle's T-Shirts have that glossy stuff for the design, or just ink soaked into the cloth?

[NTJedi]

I think Dwarf Merchandise would be a big success because it's safe to say Dwarf Fortress has the most game depth and has the most complex learning curve while still being fun.