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<blockquote data-quote="clearstream" data-source="post: 8029987" data-attributes="member: 71699">Your question is something like: why are RPG designers paid so little? Without evidence, you speculate that it is because it &quot;requires no special skills&quot;, positing a firm valency between skill and pay (itself doubtful). Like others in this thread, I believe there is a more compelling alternative. The market is very small (&lt;$100m), so as [USER=75787]@GrahamWills[/USER] pointed out there's only room for a hundred or so well-paid people in the industry.It might also be a factor that there is a low barrier to entry - so that there are far more novices trying their hand than can be sustained commercially. Once we factor in the quality of the work delivered, the picture becomes more nuanced. Doing RPG design at a novice level requires no special skills. It takes great skill to perform RPG design at a high commercial level of quality. The range of skills involved is more than you might think. Designers frequently hold relevant degrees, and will model their game systems in software as one (of many) strategies to test and refine them. They will be expert both in doing the writing, and in structuring the approach to the writing. I can often tell the skill of a designer before they write anything, just from their plan of attack. Designers apply a toolkit of specialised methods. They will be able to estimate up-front roughly the effort and iterations needed to deliver a given piece of work. Usually, they have familiarity with IP law - the applicability of trademark and copyright, the meaning of licensing versus assignment, the moral rights, the inapplicability (in most cases) of patents. They will know the field and be able to list and critique the more important or avante-garde works of the year. Some designers pair their day job - designing - with PR work for themselves and their company.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="clearstream, post: 8029987, member: 71699"] Your question is something like: why are RPG designers paid so little? Without evidence, you speculate that it is because it "[I]requires no special skills[/I]", positing a firm valency between skill and pay (itself doubtful). Like others in this thread, I believe there is a more compelling alternative. The market is very small (<$100m), so as [USER=75787]@GrahamWills[/USER] pointed out there's only room for a hundred or so well-paid people in the industry. It might also be a factor that there is a low barrier to entry - so that there are far more novices trying their hand than can be sustained commercially. Once we factor in the quality of the work delivered, the picture becomes more nuanced. [I]Doing RPG design [B]at a novice level[/B] requires no special skills.[/I] It takes great skill to perform RPG design at a high commercial level of quality. The range of skills involved is more than you might think. Designers frequently hold relevant degrees, and will model their game systems in software as one (of many) strategies to test and refine them. They will be expert both in doing the writing, and in structuring the approach to the writing. I can often tell the skill of a designer before they write anything, just from their plan of attack. Designers apply a toolkit of specialised methods. They will be able to estimate up-front roughly the effort and iterations needed to deliver a given piece of work. Usually, they have familiarity with IP law - the applicability of trademark and copyright, the meaning of licensing versus assignment, the moral rights, the inapplicability (in most cases) of patents. They will know the field and be able to list and critique the more important or avante-garde works of the year. Some designers pair their day job - designing - with PR work for themselves and their company. [/QUOTE]

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