LotFP in financial dire straights?

[BigJackBrass]

There was a YouTube livestream last night (which I only found out about today) going over the state of play at LotFP and how the sale of new books is going.

In short it looks as though James Raggi is cautiously optimistic and somewhat overwhelmed. Fan response was extremely strong and they made a lot of sales, although at this point he only has gross figures so doesn't yet know if the debts are cleared already. The gambit of putting up several new titles, along with a substantial anthology of older material, and some very limited extras clearly worked. One of the books was even explicitly priced as a fundraiser, selling for more than its actual value in order to generate extra funds, and with an optional slipcase going for a matching sum: the slipcases have already sold out.

Time will tell, but if this means that the products he has in the pipeline can go ahead then things might not be entirely bleak.

 

[Waller]

According to the scuttlebutt on the official Lamentations Facebook page, their fans seem to have rallied to purchase product and Raggi says:

"Because I haven't gotten so far in the accounting portion of the order processing I don't know where exactly we stand yet but I'd guess we are close to being out of the IMMEDIATE DISASTER DANGER zone."

Convenient.

 

[Crusadius]

Old School Essentials, a B/X clone.

Oooo! My first RPG was red box D&D.... but then I recall the reasons why AD&D overtook B/X (at least in my eyes) so my interest went away. Perhaps something to get when nostalgia hits me again.

 

[Campbell]

OSR fan here (who is no fan of Raggi or Lamentations).

B/X is not really all that much simpler than Fifth Edition in my opinion. It places the emphasis on exploration over combat, but the overall weight of the game is broadly similar. OSR games do tend to put more of weight of the rule set towards the referee. Referee facing mechanics like wandering monster checks, reactions rolls, and morale play a big part.

 

[Zardnaar]

Eh didn't like the game. Preferred other clones.

 

[aramis erak]

Well, whatever sympathy I could have garnered, it's quickly fading from the responses I'm seeing elsewhere. If you think LotFP will fail because of an effort of SJWs to harass conservatives and slander disproven claims against Zak (all statements I'm seeing), then you lost any sympathy I might have had.

I think that LotFP has already failed, and it's just heading for bankruptcy, as Jim Lot has overestimated the sale of what is essentially generally socially unacceptable materials.

The religious conservatives are just as opposed to the kind of stuff he's producing as the Liberal-Progressive left.

Essentially, taking out the loan was a gamble... and it backfired.

Zak's a small but important part - whether or not Mandy was lying is immaterial. Zak's response was a campaign of ad hominem attacks, and toxic. Enough to cause me to not want to support him.

My only interest in Jim's works is the mechanical changes in Lamentations. I'd rather have that sans the sexual content, at that. I don't want/need bondage art in games. And most I know don't either...

By Jim having chosen a look that is "adults only" rather than just risque, Jim's also massively reduced his potential audience, and I think, in 2019, his loans were a bad bet on continued growth...

Not too many want porn in their game books.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

In the '90s - yes. Now, he'd be Keanu Reeves if the EN World Servers were running in our heads.

I NEED. A. Computer!

 

[macd21]

I think that LotFP has already failed, and it's just heading for bankruptcy, as Jim Lot has overestimated the sale of what is essentially generally socially unacceptable materials.

The religious conservatives are just as opposed to the kind of stuff he's producing as the Liberal-Progressive left.

Essentially, taking out the loan was a gamble... and it backfired.

Zak's a small but important part - whether or not Mandy was lying is immaterial. Zak's response was a campaign of ad hominem attacks, and toxic. Enough to cause me to not want to support him.

My only interest in Jim's works is the mechanical changes in Lamentations. I'd rather have that sans the sexual content, at that. I don't want/need bondage art in games. And most I know don't either...

By Jim having chosen a look that is "adults only" rather than just risque, Jim's also massively reduced his potential audience, and I think, in 2019, his loans were a bad bet on continued growth...

Not too many want porn in their game books.

I think you’re vastly underestimating the appeal his books had with some people. Sure, it was off putting for many (myself included), but others love the body horror aesthetic he used.

I suspect the real hammer to his finances was Covid. Sounds like a huge number of his sales came from cons.

 

[ruemere]

I think that LotFP has already failed, and it's just heading for bankruptcy, as Jim Lot has overestimated the sale of what is essentially generally socially unacceptable materials.

The religious conservatives are just as opposed to the kind of stuff he's producing as the Liberal-Progressive left.

[...]

My only interest in Jim's works is the mechanical changes in Lamentations. I'd rather have that sans the sexual content, at that. I don't want/need bondage art in games. And most I know don't either...

By Jim having chosen a look that is "adults only" rather than just risque, Jim's also massively reduced his potential audience[...]

Not too many want porn in their game books.

I agree that sexual content should not be used to emphasize violence. I am also of the opinion that bringing sexual violence into games is NOT making them more appealing. Mostly because the so-called adult imagery is about putting a woman in a role of a victim. The sampling of graphics on the internet from LotFP clearly shows the same tendency.

I am not bothered by pornography or erotic stuff. I would just prefer it to be divorced from guilt, religious hypocrisy, male/female complexes and violence.