RPG Evolution: The Coming Social Collapse

The trend of letting social media platforms manage engagement for gaming communities is coming to an end. What's replacing it?

Picture courtesy of State of Create​

The "State of Create 2025" report, published by ConvertKit, offers a valuable snapshot of the evolving creator economy, revealing both the challenges and opportunities facing content creators today. For tabletop role-playing game creators, these shifts have profound implications, demanding a renewed focus on community building, direct fan engagement, and strategic diversification.

It All Falls Apart​

We're going through an unprecedented change as social media platforms who have long dominated discourse are beginning to collapse:

The major platforms are going through a lot right now. TikTok is fighting with Washington, YouTube and Instagram are fighting to win back attention from TikTok, X-née-Twitter is fighting to keep advertisers. And yet, unexpectedly, all of this volatility has actually helped creators by encouraging them to turn toward more stable, direct-to-fan revenue streams like subscriptions and sales of digital goods.

The report highlights the dominance of algorithm-driven "For You" pages on social media platforms. While these algorithms can offer creators a pathway to wider exposure, they make creators vulnerable to their whims. The "broad but shallow" approach to fandom becomes the default. Indie game creators, like their counterparts in other creative fields, often find themselves chasing fleeting trends, pressured to create short-form video content, constantly at the mercy of shifting algorithmic priorities. This makes it incredibly challenging to cultivate a stable audience base. The emphasis on engagement metrics over genuine connection can lead to creator burnout and a feeling disconnected rom the very communities they seek to serve.

From Broad to Deep​

In stark contrast to the algorithmic rollercoaster, the report underscores the growing importance of direct-to-fan relationships. This is in line with the Thousand Fan Theory, which states that rather than trying to engage a large audiences, creators are better served building a loyal following of 1,000 superfans.

It's becoming increasingly clear that cultivating a smaller, highly engaged community of superfans is far more valuable than a vast, but passive, following on social media (how many of these massive accounts ask questions of their fan base on social media and get no answer?). Dedicated fans, on the other hand, directly purchase products and act as passionate advocates for the creator's work. This deep connection empowers creators to build sustainable business models that are less dependent on the whims of platform algorithms. It's a shift away from the "broad" approach to fandom and towards a "deep" approach.

This "deep" approach is where focused online spaces become critical. Message boards like EN World offer a dedicated space for in-depth discussions, feedback, and community building. Similarly, platforms like Patreon provide a direct avenue for creators to offer exclusive content, behind-the-scenes glimpses into their creative process, and even opportunities for playtesting and direct input from their most dedicated supporters. Emerging platforms like Bluesky, with their emphasis on community ownership and control, offer another potential avenue for creators to build tighter, more engaged communities. These platforms allow for deeper engagement than the fleeting interactions on mainstream social media, which is increasingly seems to not be worth the effort.

What to Do About It​

The report also emphasizes the critical need for diversification. TTRPG creators can no longer rely solely on the sales of core rulebooks. A wide of revenue streams helps, including digital supplements, miniatures, merchandise, streaming content, and even organized play programs. Furthermore, they must be willing to experiment with new platforms, formats, and engagement strategies.

• Embrace the Direct-to-Fan Model: TTRPG creators can build strong relationships with their fans by offering exclusive content, such as digital products, physical products, or access to private communities. This can help to generate more stable income and foster a sense of belonging among fans. Crowdfunding tools like Kickstarter and Patreon are all a path forward here.
• Focus on Community: Building an engaged community is essential for long-term success. TTRPG creators can create opportunities for fans to interact with each other, such as online forums, Discord servers, or in-person events. This helps foster a loyal fan base. My experience with Bluesky has proven that the community is very receptive to discussing and supporting creative content, including RPGs.
• Leverage Social Media Platforms Strategically: While the "For You" page can be challenging, social media platforms can still be valuable tools for reaching potential fans. I stopped paying for Facebook ads to drive traffic to my page and instead shifted those dollars to Buffer, which allows me to schedule posts out throughout the year on multiple platforms.

It's becoming clear that just "grinding it out" to grow a fanbase is no longer a viable option as the bigger social media platforms have given up on rewarding content creators in favor of monetizing their platforms with dollars from much larger brands.

Conclusion​

In some ways, the State of Create confirms what those of us who have been struggling on social media have always suspected: things are getting worse. By embracing the direct-to-fan model, building strong communities, and leveraging social media strategically, TTRPG creators at least have a path forward. The "For You" page might be fleeting, but a loyal fanbase -- unlike social media -- is forever.

 

[Belen]

OK. That's not the standard definition and runs contrary to how many people use social media, FYI.

Meh...FaceBook, TikTok, Twitter....none of them have the active discussion of the forums. My experience is that they only served to divorce people from each other. People post their thoughts or life events to get a bunch of reactions but rarely real interaction.

Old school ENW/CM had a lot of us getting together in real life and the conversations were far more dynamic than I have seen on modern socials.

Honestly, we have seen this trend in STM publishing too where you used to only have to advertise on FB or Twitter and now the advent of more socials has diluted the effect because people are building more tribal communities on different platforms. It is no longer easy to market in 1-2 places which means that social media for marketing becomes useless. You do not have the staff to keep up.

So, yes, the brand has to build its own community with more personalized engagement.

This will probably drive a contraction of brands because people only have so much time to engage, especially if they have lives away from devices.

This is why it feels like it is too much work to be a fan if you're expected to join discords or patreons. I do not have the time for it.

I do have the time to post every once and a while on a forum now that my kids are in school but boards have more interaction and I still know alot folks here and have gamed with them in real life.

 

[Morrus]

That is after 26ish years. I do not consider a message board social media where you are creating a account to have people follow you or follow others. The boards are for water-cooler discussion.

A messageboard is social media. Reddit is basically ezboard, but way more successful with way less functionality.

 

[Juxtapozbliss]

Folks don't even think about Discord as Social Media, as it has settled into a niche much much more like old fashioned Forums, but as a free service, and with a global login/account rather than individual self hosted software with individual accounts. I definitely expect Discord investors to want their money at some point. While paying at all may be a shock to everyone, it's probably worth paying a little bit per month for what Discord offers, as it is much superior to most social media communities, and running your own hosted forums means web server skills, handling logins and especially dealing with abusive users and content yourself with even less support than Discord offers. Of course I haven't looked at the price of Discord Nitro (the paid version) -- if it's a lot, it's a bad sign... Their strategy, in my opinion, should be getting 25-50% of the servers out there to pitch in a few dollars a month, and keep becoming more ubiquitous...

I don't think of Discord as "Social Media" either but it is a a significant place where Creators create communities. In fact, the vast majority seem to use it. All the Patreons I support have Discord server communities as well as most of the top podcasts--that's how it relates to to the article, it's a crucial place to build these communities right now, and I fear it's going to get bad in the near future. As Mike Shea often points out, we can't count on these platforms to keep doing what they are doing now.

The cost of Nitro Boosts is ridiculous. To improve the quality of streaming video or audio beyond the standard default you need to purchase 7 Nitro Boosts (as I recall), which costs over $250/year. Anything less than 7 boosts had no effect/no improvement. It was such a weird gimmick too. Why 7 boosts? I think they did it that way because they hope your followers will kick in and fund boosts on your behalf as a creator so different followers could pay for an additional server boost.

 

[Bohandas]

They didn't really. Depending on how old you are, we have been through:
Dial up BBS
USENET
Forums
My Space
Tumblr
Instagram
Teamspeak
Facebook
Twitter
Discord
Several replacements for Twitter/X and Facebook
And a bunch I haven't mentioned.

And all of the above are still around.
Some faded due to technology advances, others due to politicians, some due to perceived social morals(think porn bad), and a couple due to erratic ownership.

One of the issues today is a fractured space. Do you keep a presence on Facebook or X/Twitter or TikTok or Discord or Reddit or ...?
Each one takes some time to keep track of and keep current. A lot of companies don't have enough employees to do more then one or two. Which do you pick?

I meant forums specifically. So discord would count, and reddit too, but i'm not sure those other things would

 

[Bohandas]

The irony of this statement is that you’re making it on a social media platform

Not really. "Social media' refers to microblogging sites, sites where you can "friend" people, and sites where a sense of community is levereged to subtly manipulate users to divulge personal information so that advertisers can profile them better. It doesn't just mean any site where users interact

 

[payn]

Not really. "Social media' refers to microblogging sites, sites where you can "friend" people, and sites where a sense of community is levereged to subtly manipulate users to divulge personal information so that advertisers can profile them better. It doesn't just mean any site where users interact

You’ve added a bit to the definition there.

 

[TheSword]

Not really. "Social media' refers to microblogging sites, sites where you can "friend" people, and sites where a sense of community is levereged to subtly manipulate users to divulge personal information so that advertisers can profile them better. It doesn't just mean any site where users interact

If only it were so. What do you think you just did there, other than micro-blog? You created a thought in text form and then used an online technology to share it with a community.

Forums may be an early inception of social media but it is social media.

 

[Belen]

You’ve added a bit to the definition there.

It is an actual debate with many considering message boards not to be social media.

while message boards can be a part of online communication, they are generally not considered "social media" as they typically focus on in-depth discussions around specific topics within a dedicated community, rather than the broader social sharing and connection features usually associated with social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram.

Key differences:

• Focus on specific topics:
  Message boards, also known as forums, usually center around a particular interest or niche, leading to more focused and detailed conversations.
  
  
• Less emphasis on personal profiles:
  Unlike social media, message boards often allow for more anonymous participation, with less focus on individual user profiles and personal branding.
  
  
• Thread-based structure:
  Discussions on message boards are typically organized into threads, where users reply directly to specific posts within a topic.

 

[payn]

It is an actual debate with many considering message boards not to be social media.

Not as many as you think. This sounds like carving a niche of something you like out of a broad definition that you dont.

 

[User51]

Someone could give IRC some love, if folks still want self-hosted options. It would probably be a bigger lift to get it up to Discord standards, but the basically principle of real time conversations in dedicated channels is right there.