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The Monetization of D&D and other Role Playing Games
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<blockquote data-quote="Malmuria" data-source="post: 8717827" data-attributes="member: 7030755"><p>Since the pandemic started, I’ve spent a lot more money on RPG products, especially from <a href="https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/" target="_blank">Exalted Funeral</a> and through kickstarter. Overall I’ve been happy with these purchases, and thankfully have not experienced any kickstarter disasters, aside from very long but understandable delays in shipping physical products. Many of these products are clearly labors of love, and exhibit a high quality in terms of materials, art, writing, and design. Yet, at the same time I sometimes look at my shelf of games and think, “why?” Why do I have all these games, which together consist in content that I probably do not have time to play through. For example, I’ve backed several Mork Borg kickstarters, including this <a href="https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/products/putrescence-regnant" target="_blank">deluxe vinyl record-slash-adventure module</a>, and yet have managed to play exactly one session of Mork Borg thus far. It’s not that I haven’t been playing games at all; I have, sometimes with multiple groups, but that’s been a lot of 5e. And of the non-5e games I’ve run, half of the time I’m running a game that is <a href="http://www.onesevendesign.com/ladyblackbird/" target="_blank">free</a> or very cheap, especially as a pdf. </p><p></p><p>I mention the above because it’s my personal version of what might be a problem with the TTRPG hobby, namely it’s relationship with consumerism, collecting, and exhange. This dynamic goes back to the origins of the hobby, when dnd evolved from a very <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/tracking-down-the-elusive-shift-a-review.677928/" target="_blank">DIY practice</a> with very different cultures of play to it’s codification for the sake of commodification in AD&D. In a consumer society, this ensured that the game would become popular or endure, but players did ask at the time if something was lost in the process.</p><p></p><p>The contemporary version of this would be the explosion of 5e as a “<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/tb5a92/is_dd_a_lifestyle_brand_is_it_becoming_one_or_has/" target="_blank">lifestyle brand,</a>” and along with it all the deluxe products people are making for it (I’m thinking, for example, of the announcement today of the <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/beadle-grimms%E2%80%99-spelljammer-platinum-edition.687868/" target="_blank">Beadle and Grimm’s platinum Spelljammer set)</a>. There’s also the constant kickstarters, which are easy to hype on the front end but can be rather <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/blacklist-miniatures-fantasy-set-1-failed-1m-kickstarter.690221/" target="_blank">disastrous in some cases</a>, either because of incompetence or actual bad actors. Meanwhile, the influencer-driven aspect of the hobby and the idea that when you buy a product you are also buying into a “community” can have <a href="https://twitter.com/EvilCleverDog/status/1470886595964329999?s=20&t=Zspoy58CkcZM-IH0T_ne2g" target="_blank">toxic effects</a> and <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/d-d-celebrity-satine-phoenix-husband-jamison-stone-accused-of-abuse-towards-freelancers.689276/" target="_blank">enable abusive people</a>.</p><p></p><p>I realize this is perhaps an irrational worry—if other people want to spend their excess capital on deluxe editions and <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wyrmwood/the-game-master-screen-by-wyrmwood?ref=44hhio&gclid=CjwKCAjw3K2XBhAzEiwAmmgrAvVR1eJy2SD8aIkm576NbXbqfGX44O4ZpVY93Zpjcp2dp13RPxkwrxoCdPsQAvD_BwE" target="_blank">$600 DM screens</a>, how does it affect me? Yet I do see aspects of this that mirror monetization in video games—i.e., fine for most people, but predatory for some. There’s a general lack of accountability for kickstarter projects gone awry. At its most extreme, the mindset of buying and collecting opens the door to <a href="https://www.chaosium.com/blogcall-of-cthulhu-arrives-on-digital-collectable-app-veve/" target="_blank">“products” like NFTs that are truly exploitative</a>. At its least extreme, and most intangible, it turns a hobby that’s about DIY and creative imagination into yet another corporate product.</p><p></p><p><strong>What do you all think? Am I wrong to find something distasteful in consumerism in the hobby (even my own)? Is there a line to be drawn somewhere (perhaps at NFTs)? Is it still a DIY hobby, or has that not been the case for some time now?</strong></p><p></p><p>Some recent blog posts and articles on this topic. They express a range of positions on the role of commodification and commercialization in ttrpgs:</p><p></p><p><strong>Prismatic Wasteland</strong> - <a href="https://www.prismaticwasteland.com/blog/hey-you-got-commercialization-in-my-hobby-also-zinequest-4" target="_blank">Hey, You Got Commercialization In My Hobby</a></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Traverse Fantasy</strong> - <a href="https://chiquitafajita.blogspot.com/2022/01/steps-to-demonetize-ttrpg-hobby.html" target="_blank">Steps to Demonetize the TTRPG Hobby</a></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Tom Van Winkle</strong> - <a href="https://lichvanwinkle.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-commodification-of-fantasy.html?m=1" target="_blank">The Commodification of Fantasy Adventure Games</a></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Helpful NPCs</strong> - <a href="https://www.helpfulnpcs.com/post/dungeons-dividends-or-d-d-s-monetization-problem" target="_blank">Dungeons & Dividends (Or, D&D's Monetization Problem)</a></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Jacobin</strong> - <a href="https://jacobin.com/2021/11/dd-ttrpgs-gygax-arneson-peterson-games-capitalism" target="_blank">Dungeons & Dragons Is a Case Study in How Capitalism Kills Art</a></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Malmuria, post: 8717827, member: 7030755"] Since the pandemic started, I’ve spent a lot more money on RPG products, especially from [URL='https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/']Exalted Funeral[/URL] and through kickstarter. Overall I’ve been happy with these purchases, and thankfully have not experienced any kickstarter disasters, aside from very long but understandable delays in shipping physical products. Many of these products are clearly labors of love, and exhibit a high quality in terms of materials, art, writing, and design. Yet, at the same time I sometimes look at my shelf of games and think, “why?” Why do I have all these games, which together consist in content that I probably do not have time to play through. For example, I’ve backed several Mork Borg kickstarters, including this [URL='https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/products/putrescence-regnant']deluxe vinyl record-slash-adventure module[/URL], and yet have managed to play exactly one session of Mork Borg thus far. It’s not that I haven’t been playing games at all; I have, sometimes with multiple groups, but that’s been a lot of 5e. And of the non-5e games I’ve run, half of the time I’m running a game that is [URL='http://www.onesevendesign.com/ladyblackbird/']free[/URL] or very cheap, especially as a pdf. I mention the above because it’s my personal version of what might be a problem with the TTRPG hobby, namely it’s relationship with consumerism, collecting, and exhange. This dynamic goes back to the origins of the hobby, when dnd evolved from a very [URL='https://www.enworld.org/threads/tracking-down-the-elusive-shift-a-review.677928/']DIY practice[/URL] with very different cultures of play to it’s codification for the sake of commodification in AD&D. In a consumer society, this ensured that the game would become popular or endure, but players did ask at the time if something was lost in the process. The contemporary version of this would be the explosion of 5e as a “[URL='https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/tb5a92/is_dd_a_lifestyle_brand_is_it_becoming_one_or_has/']lifestyle brand,[/URL]” and along with it all the deluxe products people are making for it (I’m thinking, for example, of the announcement today of the [URL='https://www.enworld.org/threads/beadle-grimms%E2%80%99-spelljammer-platinum-edition.687868/']Beadle and Grimm’s platinum Spelljammer set)[/URL]. There’s also the constant kickstarters, which are easy to hype on the front end but can be rather [URL='https://www.enworld.org/threads/blacklist-miniatures-fantasy-set-1-failed-1m-kickstarter.690221/']disastrous in some cases[/URL], either because of incompetence or actual bad actors. Meanwhile, the influencer-driven aspect of the hobby and the idea that when you buy a product you are also buying into a “community” can have [URL='https://twitter.com/EvilCleverDog/status/1470886595964329999?s=20&t=Zspoy58CkcZM-IH0T_ne2g']toxic effects[/URL] and [URL='https://www.enworld.org/threads/d-d-celebrity-satine-phoenix-husband-jamison-stone-accused-of-abuse-towards-freelancers.689276/']enable abusive people[/URL]. I realize this is perhaps an irrational worry—if other people want to spend their excess capital on deluxe editions and [URL='https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wyrmwood/the-game-master-screen-by-wyrmwood?ref=44hhio&gclid=CjwKCAjw3K2XBhAzEiwAmmgrAvVR1eJy2SD8aIkm576NbXbqfGX44O4ZpVY93Zpjcp2dp13RPxkwrxoCdPsQAvD_BwE']$600 DM screens[/URL], how does it affect me? Yet I do see aspects of this that mirror monetization in video games—i.e., fine for most people, but predatory for some. There’s a general lack of accountability for kickstarter projects gone awry. At its most extreme, the mindset of buying and collecting opens the door to [URL='https://www.chaosium.com/blogcall-of-cthulhu-arrives-on-digital-collectable-app-veve/']“products” like NFTs that are truly exploitative[/URL]. At its least extreme, and most intangible, it turns a hobby that’s about DIY and creative imagination into yet another corporate product. [B]What do you all think? Am I wrong to find something distasteful in consumerism in the hobby (even my own)? Is there a line to be drawn somewhere (perhaps at NFTs)? Is it still a DIY hobby, or has that not been the case for some time now?[/B] Some recent blog posts and articles on this topic. They express a range of positions on the role of commodification and commercialization in ttrpgs: [B]Prismatic Wasteland[/B] - [URL='https://www.prismaticwasteland.com/blog/hey-you-got-commercialization-in-my-hobby-also-zinequest-4']Hey, You Got Commercialization In My Hobby[/URL] [B]Traverse Fantasy[/B] - [URL='https://chiquitafajita.blogspot.com/2022/01/steps-to-demonetize-ttrpg-hobby.html']Steps to Demonetize the TTRPG Hobby[/URL] [B]Tom Van Winkle[/B] - [URL='https://lichvanwinkle.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-commodification-of-fantasy.html?m=1']The Commodification of Fantasy Adventure Games[/URL] [B]Helpful NPCs[/B] - [URL='https://www.helpfulnpcs.com/post/dungeons-dividends-or-d-d-s-monetization-problem']Dungeons & Dividends (Or, D&D's Monetization Problem)[/URL] [B]Jacobin[/B] - [URL='https://jacobin.com/2021/11/dd-ttrpgs-gygax-arneson-peterson-games-capitalism']Dungeons & Dragons Is a Case Study in How Capitalism Kills Art[/URL] [/QUOTE]
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