D&D 5E D&D Beyond Cancels Competition

D&D Beyond has been running an art contest which asked creators to enter D&D-themed portrait frame. DDB got to use any or all of the entries, while the winner and some runners up received some digital content as a prize.

There was a backlash -- and DDB has cancelled the contest.

Thank you to all of our community for sharing your comments and concerns regarding our anniversary Frame Design Contest.

While we wanted to celebrate fan art as a part of our upcoming anniversary, it's clear that our community disagrees with the way we approached it. We've heard your feedback, and will be pulling the contest.

We will also strive to do better as we continue to look for ways to showcase the passion and creativity of our fellow D&D players and fans in the future. Our team will be taking this as a learning moment, and as encouragement to further educate ourselves in this pursuit.

Your feedback is absolutely instrumental to us, and we are always happy to listen and grow in response to our community's needs and concerns. Thank you all again for giving us the opportunity to review this event, and take the appropriate action.

The company went on to say:

Members of our community raised concerns about the contest’s impact on artists and designers, and the implications of running a contest to create art where only some entrants would receive a prize, and that the prize was exclusively digital material on D&D Beyond. Issues were similarly raised with regards to the contest terms and conditions. Though the entrants would all retain ownership of their design to use in any way they saw fit, including selling, printing, or reproducing, it also granted D&D Beyond rights to use submitted designs in the future. We have listened to these concerns, and in response closed the competition. We’ll be looking at ways we can better uplift our community, while also doing fun community events, in the future.

Competitions where the company in question acquires rights to all entries are generally frowned upon (unless you're WotC).

 

[BookTenTiger]

Tell that to PETA or Vegan groups staging protest near some steak houses

Which this whole case here is reminding me off. Except that this time the steak house caved in and shut down, sending all people looking for a tasty steak away.

Free speech is powerful! When we look at the history of Civil Rights, there are all sorts of examples of companies changing policies because people spoke up and made, in the words of John Lewis, "good trouble."

But I'm not going to get any further into that territory. If you truly believe DDB should run this contest, give them feedback! Send them an email! They have shown they will listen.

 

[Morrus]

And they should continue to do so while staying away from contests that are aimed at layman and not at (semi)professional artists.

Or if they feel threatened that the art coming out of the layman entering such contests is a threat to their earnings, they should re-consider whether their change of ever making a living of their art is realistic.

There’s not much worse than people on high horses lecturing struggling artists on how to live. Take a bow.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Find some boring job where you sit in a cubicle and type numbers into one ERP system or another.

I'm not sure "my job sucks so everyone else's job should also suck" is a winning argument, my man.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Honestly, man, I disagree with everything you’ve said in this thread!

We live in different countries and work in different fields. I am not a full-time game designer. Maybe this field is somehow immune to Sturgeon's Law, but that's pretty remarkable, if true.

But the notion that every piece of art or photography entered into a contest or writing done for a contest, is work hours that would otherwise generate revenue for that creator -- or even deserves to be -- does not at all match my experience.

Some folks are destined to be enthusiastic amateurs, and that's all.

But there are also more avenues for people to sell their creative works, to customers all over the world, than at any time in human history. I buy most of my gifts from independent creators on Etsy, for instance.

Folks who are worried that their energy creating rings for DDB aren't getting back a good investment on their time should be using those other avenues instead, whether it's Etsy, DMs Guild, Kickstarter or countless other avenues.

 

[Backcountry164]

If you’re a hungry person struggling for their next meal, and that’s all you can afford, you might. It’s easy to lecture struggling people on how to act when you’re not faced with that same dilemma.

Nope. I would just set my dream aside and find way to make enough money to pay for my meal.
Either way, I'm still not going to demand that no one else have an option that I don't find suitable...

 

[ReshiIRE]

Yes.

In what way has that been accomplished here?

DDB is not and was never going to be adding dozens of new character frames to their site. They are not going to now hire artists to do so.

This was all to publicize them adding character rings while they (I hope) work on more substantive improvements to their site. (When I run games using their die roller, the damned die rolls end up being cropped off the bottom of the browser window on both Chrome and Firefox, making it slower and less useful than just rolling my actual dice and making it more likely I'll just use someone else's virtual tabletop software.)

My point wasn't necessarily related to the contest at all.

But if I were to make it related, I would say from my point of view that it's better to not have a competition that has the potential to well, hover up the artists art and prevent them using it for their own purposes (as I understand the rules to mean) and then use it for the companyy's purpose, with no chance of compensation, then to have the competition.

Especially if it well... was basically just an advertisement for the company for a feature nobody cares about, as you've said.

 

[Mirtek]

I'm not sure "my job sucks so everyone else's job should also suck" is a winning argument, my man.

Better than "no one is paying me for what I love to do, so this guys over there should not be allowed to be doing it just for fun".

 

[BookTenTiger]

I feel like there is a perception that Dndbeyond was somehow "bullied" into cancelling this contest.

Dndbeyond has every right to hold whatever contest they want, whether people find it ethical or not.

People have every right to raise concerns or give feedback to Dndbeyond about their contests.

Dndbeyond has every right to make a decision about whether to act on that feedback or not.

If anyone has any evidence of bullying, I would gladly view it. I just ask that folks don't invent negative behavior without citing some sources.

 

[LongTimeLurker]

I don't see a problem. If you don't like the terms and conditions, don't enter. But WoTC has already set the precedent for giving into the mob mentality of the net/twitter, so who's really surprised that they caved and then apologised for trying to give away some free stuff. Just think about that for a second; WoTC APOLOGIZED for trying to give away some free stuff.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Better than "no one is paying me for what I love to do, so this guys over there should not be allowed to be doing it just for fun".

Crab mentality - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org