junsey
Villager
Hey everyone,
A little over a year ago, I released my first tabletop RPG: Your World Has Been Deleted. Before that, I had only worked on board games. Unfortunately, my last board game had left me completely broke — I didn’t have a single coin to invest — but I still wanted to write and publish something.
So, I went ahead anyway. I created the game using AI-generated illustrations — a controversial decision depending on who you ask, but that’s not really the topic here. Since I couldn’t afford artwork, I chose to release the game as pay-what-you-want, with the option to download it for free. It felt like a fair trade. To my surprise, quite a few people donated — and I used that money as part of the funding for my next game: Nights in the Neighborhood.
That one just came out recently. Thanks to those initial donations, a bit of my own salary, and a bit more experience, I was able to commission real artwork and turn it into something I’m truly proud of. Along the way, I learned layout design and refined my character sheet formatting — skills that I didn't have before.
So, why am I telling you all this?
Well, right now I’m working on a brand-new game with a bigger team. But while that's in production, I found myself with a little time to revisit Your World Has Been Deleted. I decided to create a second edition — mainly to re-layout the whole thing in a more polished, readable, and visually coherent format. I also refined the mechanics and added new systems that better match the tone of the game.
Initially, my idea was simple: update the existing product with a new layout, new mechanics, and new cover art — but leave the old AI illustrations inside. I even commissioned a new cover from a very promising young artist from Buenos Aires, Argentina, who goes by El Panaderalken. He had some free time between projects, and I decided to invest a bit to make this new edition look different, at least on the outside. (You can see the new cover attached.)
But now I’m stuck with a decision — and I’d love your opinion.
Option 1: Stick with the plan. Update the existing game with its new layout, new content, and a fresh cover, but leave the AI art inside. Keep it free or pay-what-you-want like the original.
Option 2: Take more time, invest more money, replace all the AI art with real illustrations, and publish it as a separate, paid second edition. I’m unsure if that would feel like a betrayal to the people who supported the original free version… or if the game now deserves a full, clean version with consistent, human-made art.
So, what would you do in my place?
Thanks for reading this far, and for being part of a community where creators can ask questions like these.
A little over a year ago, I released my first tabletop RPG: Your World Has Been Deleted. Before that, I had only worked on board games. Unfortunately, my last board game had left me completely broke — I didn’t have a single coin to invest — but I still wanted to write and publish something.
So, I went ahead anyway. I created the game using AI-generated illustrations — a controversial decision depending on who you ask, but that’s not really the topic here. Since I couldn’t afford artwork, I chose to release the game as pay-what-you-want, with the option to download it for free. It felt like a fair trade. To my surprise, quite a few people donated — and I used that money as part of the funding for my next game: Nights in the Neighborhood.
That one just came out recently. Thanks to those initial donations, a bit of my own salary, and a bit more experience, I was able to commission real artwork and turn it into something I’m truly proud of. Along the way, I learned layout design and refined my character sheet formatting — skills that I didn't have before.
So, why am I telling you all this?
Well, right now I’m working on a brand-new game with a bigger team. But while that's in production, I found myself with a little time to revisit Your World Has Been Deleted. I decided to create a second edition — mainly to re-layout the whole thing in a more polished, readable, and visually coherent format. I also refined the mechanics and added new systems that better match the tone of the game.
Initially, my idea was simple: update the existing product with a new layout, new mechanics, and new cover art — but leave the old AI illustrations inside. I even commissioned a new cover from a very promising young artist from Buenos Aires, Argentina, who goes by El Panaderalken. He had some free time between projects, and I decided to invest a bit to make this new edition look different, at least on the outside. (You can see the new cover attached.)
But now I’m stuck with a decision — and I’d love your opinion.
Option 1: Stick with the plan. Update the existing game with its new layout, new content, and a fresh cover, but leave the AI art inside. Keep it free or pay-what-you-want like the original.
Option 2: Take more time, invest more money, replace all the AI art with real illustrations, and publish it as a separate, paid second edition. I’m unsure if that would feel like a betrayal to the people who supported the original free version… or if the game now deserves a full, clean version with consistent, human-made art.
So, what would you do in my place?
Thanks for reading this far, and for being part of a community where creators can ask questions like these.
