Snarf Zagyg
Notorious Liquefactionist
Q. How do you make a small fortune in the TTRPG industry?
A. Start with a large fortune!
Hi Everybody!
(Hi, Dr. Nick!)
After my long sabbatical (it was real, and it was spectacular), I came back to find TSR resurrected and (mostly) killed off since I was gone. Woah! But a few recent comments had me thinking about a more fundamental topic in the TTRPG (hereafter, shortened to RPG) industry. Specifically, I was thinking about two recent conversations, one in which someone was defending the honor of Hasbro, and another involving the financial issues of an industry giant. It reminded me of issues I had with an earlier series of posts-
Selling Out
Selling Out for Dummies, the First Post Explained
One commenter on those threads said that, fundamentally, people who were ever concerned about "selling out" just don't get it because blah blah blah wealth inequality yada yada yada people have it hard now. Which I didn't really address, because that wasn't what I was writing about then. But that is a topic I think about quite a bit when it comes to the RPG industry in particular, and I think it's particularly relevant in light of the whole TSR-cubed fiasco.
1. Sometime I feel like I was born with a leak, and any goodness I started with just slowly spilled out of me, and now it's all gone.
One thing that has been truly heartening, recently, is seeing the ways in which companies in general, and the RPG industry specifically, has become more inclusive. That said, I don't find this to be a profile in courage, exactly. Companies do not exist to make the world a better place in general. They are lagging indicators. If a company was acknowledging LGBTQ+ rights in the 70s, that was daring (I mean, we didn't even have an acronym back then). If they are doing it in 2021, it should be expected. I'm not saying that anything is won, or over, but that's pretty much a minimal standard.
When companies in the RPG sphere (such as TSR-cubed) receive backlash for comments that demean our fellow gamers, they rightfully deserve that. Our actions and words- whether it's our decisions to speak up, or our decisions with our wallets as to what products to buy, should have a salutary effect on the RPG industry and promote good games. But then I think to myself- why aren't we doing more to address the fundamental issues with the RPG industry. And that's the reason for this post; a discussion of industry practices. A discussion of why people aren't focused on the economic issues in the industry.
But before going into that, I wanted to make sure I address one thing - this is not a thread about the "hypocrisy argument." The perfect is the enemy of the good. Just because you support one good thing (inclusive gaming, for example) doesn't mean that you are a hypocrite if there is some other important thing out there. If you support an animal shelter, or clean water initiatives, or a local art museum, it just means that you happen to support that, not that you're a bad person for not devoting your time and money to X MOAR IMPORTANT THING.
2. The universe is a cruel, uncaring void, The key to being happy isn't a search for meaning. It's to just keep yourself busy with unimportant nonsense, and eventually, you'll be dead.
It's somewhat necessary to talk about corporations (and work) in general before applying it to the RPG industry in America specifically. I will do my best to avoid anything political, and keep this to sketching out the thoughts before moving to RPGs. There are basically two separate thoughts going on in my head, which tend to war:
First is the idea that we all care, in the abstract, about how companies treat their employees. But in reality, we don't act upon that- but we will act upon consumer-facing issues. I call this the Amazon Paradox. Let me make this more explicit-
As a general rule, most people will say that they want companies to do the right thing- have employees (not independent contractors) that are paid well, treated well, with decent vacations and generous benefits and the ability to retire at some time. But given the choice, they'll just go on Amazon and pay the lowest price they see for a non-sketchy product.
Of course, another factor that can't be ignored is that it is fundamentally unfair to make all of this the consumer's fault. We have seen this emerging argument in a number of areas- that, in fact, companies are more than happy to make us blame ourselves for our consuming decisions at the micro-level, when effective change is best done through collective action (regulation at the macro level). How can we research the companies and supply chains of every product we buy? Why not just have better wages and benefits in general?
At the end of the day, it is exhausting to look at company's ethics reports (which can be easily greenwashed and are often misleading) and try to balance factors- Does Apple's policies on privacy make up for their questionable use of Chinese labor? Does In 'n Out's great employee compensation and policies somehow mitigate the ... strong beliefs of the owners? If I really want a bitchin' Camaro, how concerned do I have to be about the gas mileage? It's exhausting.
3. Not understanding that you’re a horrible person doesn’t make you less of a horrible person.
So this gets us to the core issue of the RPG industry. Now, to its credit, enworld has covered this problem multiple times- here's one good example:
www.enworld.org
TLDR; older designers need to crowdfund their healthcare. Being an RPG designer, as a profession, sucks. But it's not just the prevalence of the independent contractor relationship (and concomitant issues with health care coverage), it's also just the straight-up pay. It is not uncommon for places to advertise ... 1 cent per word. Unless you're me (and just write long diatribes for free), that's not enough. Even 3 cents/word is insanely low. I know that Morrus compiled a list way back (2015) with rates here:
www.enworld.org
Ugh. The scary thing is that if you look at the rates, and assume that back then you were working at the flagship of the hobby (WoTC), then you were making the equivalent of $120/day assuming 8 hours of work. $15 an hour. Bare minimum livable salary without benefits- and that's at Wizards/Hasbro.
This problem is repeated throughout the industry; you do not get rich in RPGs. Arguably, for many people, you don't get middle class.
4. Fool me once, shame on you. But teach a man to fool me and I’ll be fooled for the rest of my life.
I don't have particular suggestions or exhortations. But I do think it's important to keep in mind that a lot of people- some of whom produced the art, the text ... the games that you love, well, they aren't getting rich off of this. We live in the world that we create. If you don't shop at the FLGS because you want to save money by going to Amazon, don't be surprised when it's no longer in business. If you aren't willing to pay more for your product, don't be surprised when you find out the creators aren't doing that well.
And finally, it's important to hold the feet of the big players to the fire. Hasbro (home of fine Transformers products) shouldn't be paying the same rate per word as Mom & Pop's Home of Indie Games and Sarsaparilla. We should be expecting and demanding more. It's great that games are more inclusive! We need to keep that up. But we also should be ensuring that the people that are responsible for the games that we love don't have to crowdfund their healthcare.
IMO, etc.
A. Start with a large fortune!
Hi Everybody!
(Hi, Dr. Nick!)
After my long sabbatical (it was real, and it was spectacular), I came back to find TSR resurrected and (mostly) killed off since I was gone. Woah! But a few recent comments had me thinking about a more fundamental topic in the TTRPG (hereafter, shortened to RPG) industry. Specifically, I was thinking about two recent conversations, one in which someone was defending the honor of Hasbro, and another involving the financial issues of an industry giant. It reminded me of issues I had with an earlier series of posts-
Selling Out
Selling Out for Dummies, the First Post Explained
One commenter on those threads said that, fundamentally, people who were ever concerned about "selling out" just don't get it because blah blah blah wealth inequality yada yada yada people have it hard now. Which I didn't really address, because that wasn't what I was writing about then. But that is a topic I think about quite a bit when it comes to the RPG industry in particular, and I think it's particularly relevant in light of the whole TSR-cubed fiasco.
1. Sometime I feel like I was born with a leak, and any goodness I started with just slowly spilled out of me, and now it's all gone.
One thing that has been truly heartening, recently, is seeing the ways in which companies in general, and the RPG industry specifically, has become more inclusive. That said, I don't find this to be a profile in courage, exactly. Companies do not exist to make the world a better place in general. They are lagging indicators. If a company was acknowledging LGBTQ+ rights in the 70s, that was daring (I mean, we didn't even have an acronym back then). If they are doing it in 2021, it should be expected. I'm not saying that anything is won, or over, but that's pretty much a minimal standard.
When companies in the RPG sphere (such as TSR-cubed) receive backlash for comments that demean our fellow gamers, they rightfully deserve that. Our actions and words- whether it's our decisions to speak up, or our decisions with our wallets as to what products to buy, should have a salutary effect on the RPG industry and promote good games. But then I think to myself- why aren't we doing more to address the fundamental issues with the RPG industry. And that's the reason for this post; a discussion of industry practices. A discussion of why people aren't focused on the economic issues in the industry.
But before going into that, I wanted to make sure I address one thing - this is not a thread about the "hypocrisy argument." The perfect is the enemy of the good. Just because you support one good thing (inclusive gaming, for example) doesn't mean that you are a hypocrite if there is some other important thing out there. If you support an animal shelter, or clean water initiatives, or a local art museum, it just means that you happen to support that, not that you're a bad person for not devoting your time and money to X MOAR IMPORTANT THING.
2. The universe is a cruel, uncaring void, The key to being happy isn't a search for meaning. It's to just keep yourself busy with unimportant nonsense, and eventually, you'll be dead.
It's somewhat necessary to talk about corporations (and work) in general before applying it to the RPG industry in America specifically. I will do my best to avoid anything political, and keep this to sketching out the thoughts before moving to RPGs. There are basically two separate thoughts going on in my head, which tend to war:
First is the idea that we all care, in the abstract, about how companies treat their employees. But in reality, we don't act upon that- but we will act upon consumer-facing issues. I call this the Amazon Paradox. Let me make this more explicit-
As a general rule, most people will say that they want companies to do the right thing- have employees (not independent contractors) that are paid well, treated well, with decent vacations and generous benefits and the ability to retire at some time. But given the choice, they'll just go on Amazon and pay the lowest price they see for a non-sketchy product.
Of course, another factor that can't be ignored is that it is fundamentally unfair to make all of this the consumer's fault. We have seen this emerging argument in a number of areas- that, in fact, companies are more than happy to make us blame ourselves for our consuming decisions at the micro-level, when effective change is best done through collective action (regulation at the macro level). How can we research the companies and supply chains of every product we buy? Why not just have better wages and benefits in general?
At the end of the day, it is exhausting to look at company's ethics reports (which can be easily greenwashed and are often misleading) and try to balance factors- Does Apple's policies on privacy make up for their questionable use of Chinese labor? Does In 'n Out's great employee compensation and policies somehow mitigate the ... strong beliefs of the owners? If I really want a bitchin' Camaro, how concerned do I have to be about the gas mileage? It's exhausting.
3. Not understanding that you’re a horrible person doesn’t make you less of a horrible person.
So this gets us to the core issue of the RPG industry. Now, to its credit, enworld has covered this problem multiple times- here's one good example:
RPGs Have a Health Problem
As the game industry ages, our iconic game designers are aging with it. Increasingly, they are turning to crowdfunding campaigns to fund their medical costs. Although gaming hasn't always been a lucrative field for designers, it's clear that even our most experienced designers aren't making...
www.enworld.org
TLDR; older designers need to crowdfund their healthcare. Being an RPG designer, as a profession, sucks. But it's not just the prevalence of the independent contractor relationship (and concomitant issues with health care coverage), it's also just the straight-up pay. It is not uncommon for places to advertise ... 1 cent per word. Unless you're me (and just write long diatribes for free), that's not enough. Even 3 cents/word is insanely low. I know that Morrus compiled a list way back (2015) with rates here:
What's a Freelance RPG Writer Worth?
Freelance writers (as opposed to those on salary) tend to be paid per word. The rate varies from publisher to publisher, and on how experienced the writer is. Ed Greenwood, for example, can command a much higher rate than a new writer can. Obviously only you, the freelancer, can decide...
www.enworld.org
Ugh. The scary thing is that if you look at the rates, and assume that back then you were working at the flagship of the hobby (WoTC), then you were making the equivalent of $120/day assuming 8 hours of work. $15 an hour. Bare minimum livable salary without benefits- and that's at Wizards/Hasbro.
This problem is repeated throughout the industry; you do not get rich in RPGs. Arguably, for many people, you don't get middle class.
4. Fool me once, shame on you. But teach a man to fool me and I’ll be fooled for the rest of my life.
I don't have particular suggestions or exhortations. But I do think it's important to keep in mind that a lot of people- some of whom produced the art, the text ... the games that you love, well, they aren't getting rich off of this. We live in the world that we create. If you don't shop at the FLGS because you want to save money by going to Amazon, don't be surprised when it's no longer in business. If you aren't willing to pay more for your product, don't be surprised when you find out the creators aren't doing that well.
And finally, it's important to hold the feet of the big players to the fire. Hasbro (home of fine Transformers products) shouldn't be paying the same rate per word as Mom & Pop's Home of Indie Games and Sarsaparilla. We should be expecting and demanding more. It's great that games are more inclusive! We need to keep that up. But we also should be ensuring that the people that are responsible for the games that we love don't have to crowdfund their healthcare.
IMO, etc.
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