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.

 

[Juxtapozbliss]

That's because we lack the common nomenclature by which to discuss one's interest in playing which form of TTRPG, genre or otherwise. There's been much discussion, but little consensus about player types, party types, dm types and the RPG types that it would take to create a matchmaking 'psychometric.'

Also there's the self-awareness bias. What people think they are like isn't always what they actually are like. It's why most of those "personality tests" are garbage.

And then there's the fact that people just have a chemistry together. They click or don't. And even when they do click...it can change on a dime. I've seen it happen to players. Had a game fall apart with a group that got along great with each other...so much so that they started up a second game with most of the same players. And then one of them had a character take a turn that bothered the other characters. Not raising quite to the level of X-Card behavior, but they were uncomfortable. The GM had a talk with them about it, and they quit, quit and ghosted everyone including the original campaign. It's tough to make new friends.

 

[Thomas Shey]

That's because we lack the common nomenclature by which to discuss one's interest in playing which form of TTRPG, genre or otherwise. There's been much discussion, but little consensus about player types, party types, dm types and the RPG types that it would take to create a matchmaking 'psychometric.'

It doesn't help that there's at least a modest resistance to even try to develop such a nomenclature in some circles.

 

[michaeljpastor]

It doesn't help that there's at least a modest resistance to even try to develop such a nomenclature in some circles.

It doesn't hurt really, either. They can simply be ignored.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Also there's the self-awareness bias. What people think they are like isn't always what they actually are like. It's why most of those "personality tests" are garbage.

And then there's the fact that people just have a chemistry together. They click or don't. And even when they do click...it can change on a dime. I've seen it happen to players. Had a game fall apart with a group that got along great with each other...so much so that they started up a second game with most of the same players. And then one of them had a character take a turn that bothered the other characters. Not raising quite to the level of X-Card behavior, but they were uncomfortable. The GM had a talk with them about it, and they quit, quit and ghosted everyone including the original campaign. It's tough to make new friends.

Stressors can also slowly increase over time. About a year ago I dropped one of the two groups I was GMing for. I'd known and played with these people anywhere from 25 to 40 years, and while there'd always been some problems, they'd finally reached the point I ended most sessions wondering why I'd bothered. There was no sign they weren't going to just keep getting worse best I can tell.

 

[Thomas Shey]

It doesn't hurt really, either. They can simply be ignored.

Not so sure. When you're trying to develop a common lexicon, people throwing out roadblocks can disrupt that seriously.

 

[michaeljpastor]

Allow this Michael to hype two other Mikes' views on the topic.

Mike Mearls in one of his many recent interviews (the 'Read Aloud' show) talked about the need to decrease the 'virtual distance' (my term, not his) between creator and consumer. It worked during the D&D Next period with the open playtest model. You can find some engagement with KS and BK with the updates that creators provide.

Mike Shea (Slyflourish) frequently talks about how he, while using social media, is not dependent on it because he has a direct relationship with his fans through his newsletter that can be subscribed to for free, through his Patreon, which transparently provides him with his subscribers' email addresses, not just the various usernames they have on platforms such as instagram, fbook, etc. Everything he does points to that source.

That's the key, no matter which venue you find works best for initially capturing your audience. For some, it's tiktok, others youtube, others fbook. All those social media darlings who were whining about the TikTok ban were upset because they were trapped by the service.

Developing a "community of practice" (to use a buzzword loosely) of fellow creators who willingly and genuinely hype each other is also key. I found the creators I like because other creators gushed over them with obviously genuine admiration and affection.

 

[Staffan]

Allow this Michael to hype two other Mikes' views on the topic.

Mike Mearls in one of his many recent interviews (the 'Read Aloud' show) talked about the need to decrease the 'virtual distance' (my term, not his) between creator and consumer. It worked during the D&D Next period with the open playtest model. You can find some engagement with KS and BK with the updates that creators provide.

I think this primarily works with smaller creators. I remember back in the day when we used to have both official reps for Wizards hanging around on these boards as well as individual designers. Heck, I remember back in the pre-ENWorld days when I was talking AD&D on either mailing lists or Usenet and praised Jakandor, and got an e-mail from the main writer who was curious about what in particular I had liked about it. That's not the kind of thing that would happen today for official D&D stuff. I mostly blame the general hostility of the Internet.

And it's not like it's the majority of people who are hostile. But with any cultural phenomenon, there will be some people who are abusive (and there will also be some abusive people who latch onto cultural phenomena because that's where the audience is). The bigger the phenomenon, the more abusive people there will be. Not necessarily in relative terms, but in absolute, and that's what you register as a representative for that phenomenon.

But for smaller creators and/or companies, it can absolutely work to cultivate audiences directly. For example, recently over on the Savage Worlds subreddit someone posted a link to an announcement about an upcoming crowdfunder for the third-party setting the Han Cluster, along with a link to a jumpstart (short introduction as well as an adventure with pregenerated characters). I took a look at it, found it interesting, but had some questions about it... and I got a reply from the designer herself. That's pretty impressive, and definitely increases the chance of me actually buying it once the crowdfunder is on (of course, the final decision will be based on finances, but it looks pretty damn cool).

 

[MacDhomnuill]

The closest I've found to that are the custom feeds you can make on Bluesky. I have a few I've made myself that are TTRPG focused (and that people could follow), but it does take some knowhow to set them up.

Still. Social media with your choice of algorithms you like is better than either a single corporate algorithm or Mastodon's disorganised flood of "what's happened in the last 30 seconds, nevermind if it's relevant to you".

The lists on bluesky have been great for separating my often competing intrests.

 

[MacDhomnuill]

Not my experience with Discord. The conversations usually die very quickly because its so chaotic you dont know what the hell is going on except in that 5 min the chat is active. While it has a log like a forum, its not easy to track or follow along. Threads on a forum I can follow for days.

I find discord to be all but useless for anything other than sh*t posting and memes, actual discussion is nearly impossible. Reddit (really just a collection of forums) is better but forums are still the best IMHO for community building and discussions of any depth.

 

[MacDhomnuill]

Not that hard.

You make it look easy though…