Congratulations to the 2017 Gen Con EN World RPG Award Winners!

mearls · Aug 24, 2017

Kiel_C said:
I do want to echo Zak's sentiments about me and BitC though. What I've been through since the nomination hasn't been easy.

It's pretty crappy to see that and hear about it.

The culture around RPG creation has gotten a lot more tense over the past couple years, in part because I believe that the shared culture that designers had in the late 90s and early 00s has fallen apart. Gen Con is far less accessible, and the Internet has only become more heated.

Kiel_C · Aug 24, 2017

mearls said:
It's pretty crappy to see that and hear about it.

The culture around RPG creation has gotten a lot more tense over the past couple years, in part because I believe that the shared culture that designers had in the late 90s and early 00s has fallen apart. Gen Con is far less accessible, and the Internet has only become more heated.

Thank you. It's been tough, but I'm dealing. Winning definitely provides a bit of a boost ^^

I can't really speak to earlier design cultures, but I'm excited to see new independent designers come out of D&D's new online community of Twitch shows and gaming livestreams. I feel like D&D and TRPGs in general are garnering a brand new audience of millennials like me, people who are really passionate about the game, but (from what I keep hearing anecdotally) have never played or run the game themselves.

These fans may eventually become DM's. If they ever want to take the big step into self-publishing their ideas and games, I feel like the industry is a lot more logistically/technically supportive (crowdfunding, online sales, digital publishing). As a part of community of creators I want to continue to be emotionally supportive to these new creators, to counter the vitriol and baseless-hate they're apt to get in this heated internet.

Zak S · Aug 24, 2017

Kiel_C said:
As a part of community of creators I want to continue to be emotionally supportive to these new creators, to counter the vitriol and baseless-hate they're apt to get in this heated internet.

Yeah---the next generation of designers will come (is coming) from the web.

We need to develop support systems so when creators get threatened in a way that could hurt their livelihood, we have each others' backs. Before we had that, a lot less stuff was getting created, and what was created was a lot more cautious.

Giblet Blizzard · Aug 24, 2017

Kiel_C said:
I am overjoyed and incredibly thankful that Blood in the Chocolate won best adventure. This was my first professional TRPG project, and to have it be recognized like this is amazing.

I totally didn't have something in my eye when they announced, Kiel.

Cam Banks · Aug 24, 2017

Kiel,

Just between me and you, nobody ever deserves to get sucked into that vortex of bigotry and hate. Nobody deserves to be judged in this community for their gender, orientation, class, status, race, religion, disability, or politics. We don't have to agree on anything for us to respect the work. We can argue forever on approaches and design and art, but attacks against each other over our identities create rifts that are difficult to mend and lasting harm.

I think your adventure is bloody disgusting but I wager that's part of the idea.

I hope you find every opportunity to grow and learn and battle those demons.

Cheers,
Cam

Zak S · Aug 24, 2017

Cam Banks said:
Kiel,

Just between me and you, nobody ever deserves to get sucked into that vortex of bigotry and hate. Nobody deserves to be judged in this community for their gender, orientation, class, status, race, religion, disability, or politics.

Then, with the best will in the world and a genuine hope for a better future and every ounce of sincerity I can muster and total conviction borne of experience, and with a wish that this be received as a clear and honest communication:

The best thing to do would be to not promote the people who personally attacked Kiel for his adventure or promote their work anymore until they show some contrition and rejoin the constructive part of the community.

To show that toxicity has consequences and accountability is a real thing and we solve things by talking and there are more important things in life that what kind of D&D game someone wants to play or what a person thinks is icky.

Cam Banks · Aug 24, 2017

I'll make you a deal. You leave people who don't want to engage with you alone, and I'll keep doing whatever I can to improve the community however I can through words and actions that promote better interaction and respect, whenever I can.

I look forward to another year of new creators and brighter ideas. I've got 27 Cortex Prime Spotlight writers I can't wait to see flourish in this broader community of ideas. Let's see what Gen Con 2018 looks like.

Cheers,
Cam

Zak S · Aug 24, 2017

Cam Banks said:
I'll make you a deal. You leave people who don't want to engage with you alone, and I'll keep doing whatever I can to improve the community however I can through words and actions that promote better interaction and respect, whenever I can.

This contract requires some negotiations about enforceability:

It's easy to tell if I am or am not talking to someone who doesn't want to talk to me--they'll say "I don't want to talk to you" or block me. (At which point I generally disengage anyway, so my end is easy to obey.)

(Unless someone doesn't want to talk to me but doesn't say it so I have to read their mind.)

On the other hand:

How do we measure if you're holding up your end? " improve the community however I can " is a much vaguer promise. Is that not what you'd say you're already doing?

What concrete steps will you take to protect marginalized creators like Kiel, Stacy Dellorfano, Scrap Princess, etc who have had to suffer identity-based attacks from people who have business and promotional connections to the mainstream RPG community?

Cam Banks · Aug 24, 2017

You will have to take me at my word. I'll stand up and keep speaking out. It's for sure better than letting people continue to put up with hate in our little corner of the internet. But let me be clear: I don't expect everyone to get along. People can be

s. That's got nothing to do with their identity and everything to do with how they feel like fitting in and whatever pain they're carrying that week.

And please try to get what you say right the first time before you post, it can be real disorienting to reply to something you've gone back to edit and doubled the size in the process.

Cheers,
Cam

Zak S · Aug 24, 2017

I'm sorry I disoriented you by clarifying my post. I type fast.

Cam Banks said:
You will have to take me at my word. I'll stand up and keep speaking out.

Then we're where we started. Like almost all creators, like me, you get on social media and say what you think is good and bad and that....has no real results. It gives us the situation we already have and which we are all here bemoaning.

Without some promise to go beyond that, we're simply where we began: People attack marginalized creators and know there will be no consequences from people they have business contacts with. Speaking out about what's right and wrong doesn't make them change their behavior because they have an alternate take on what's right and wrong and aren't sharing it with you--but they are happy to let you promote their Kickstarters or Patreons while continuing to whale on marginalized creators.

Without a real policy-- "You do this, you cease to get that"--or something equally concrete, nothing changes, the cycle of recrimination goes on.

There's a cause and effect: someone sees there are no consequences to trolling or dishonest or bigoted behavior toward creators, they keep doing it. They see a downside, they stop, or at least do it less.

Without a promise of some sort of accountability, you are essentially wishing the current situation will be there forever.

Congratulations to the 2017 Gen Con EN World RPG Award Winners!

mearls

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Kiel_C

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Giblet Blizzard

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Cam Banks

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Cam Banks

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