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RPG Evolution: RPGs Have a Health Problem
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<blockquote data-quote="Scarlet.Knight" data-source="post: 7826384" data-attributes="member: 62257"><p>I like your analysis of the situation.</p><p></p><p>I live in Canada. These healthcare-related issues are fairly different here. When it comes to medication, we're mostly in the same boat: can't pay, can't have.</p><p></p><p>In my experience, artists, in general, do not make a huge chunk of money in Canada. Same situation. I studied graphic arts, about 20 years ago. I was the only graduate of my class that found a job in this field. Even then, my pay was close to minimum wage, with no benefits whatsoever. We're talking graphic arts here: the most commercial application of visual arts. Nowadays, anybody with a computer can download Adobe Creative Suite and play with it to create stuff. It won't be, generally, very well thought out. It won't exactly match what the client needs. But most clients simply do not care. It's all about costs and most just don't care or can't see the difference if the thing is "50% pretty vs 80% pretty". This has kept salaries and conditions fairly low (there are some exceptions and I did not put together a full study on it, so this conclusion contains my experiences and my biases). That is partly why I left that field.</p><p></p><p>I see direct parallels with RPG writing here. Actual authors with skills pushing products in a sea of other products pushed by authors or non-authors of various skills. Amateur authors able to do the work (lower quality but hey, will they see the difference?) bringing salaries down. When Monte Cook Games publishes a game with such high production value as Cypher System Revised and charges $60+ for it, people are shocked. Lots of lower price tags on the same shelf. Are we ready to pay for quality? I am. But in general... I'm unsure.</p><p></p><p>Other trades, such as plumbing or factory work, have seen a significant increase in salaries and work conditions. Why is that? Well, because in a capitalist society, usefulness - real or perceived - is key. At every turn, it seems like our world is more and more concerned with bottom dollars and profit. The school system has gone through several reforms to make kids - ultimately working adults - more adaptable, flexible and able to solve the complex problems of the modern world. Utilitarianism vs humanism. Increasing profit for shareholders in spite of everything else, ethics included. It should come as no surprise that arts, in general, are not considered very high on the scale of usefulness in such a system. Tell your dad you're gonna become a professional dancer; or tell him you're gonna become an electrician. Your mileage may vary, but I suspect that he might value one over the other. My dad did anyway...</p><p></p><p>How many singers, authors and actors struggle to make ends meet waiting for their breakthrough? It may never come. When it comes, the whole thing becomes a business. Facelifts, agents, promotion tours, contacts, Instagram... Gathering fans by the million to generate money for that big hungry machine. But for authors? RPG authors? Gee, the pool of interested people grows thinner. Do people still read nowadays? Some do, but in general, I feel books are not that popular anymore (cooking books excluded!). My kids would rather watch stupid Youtube videos as opposed to reading The Hobbit or even Tintin comics. I have to force them to do so... and they're very smart kids with superior reading skills.</p><p></p><p>I guess what I'm trying to say is that art, in general, has a lower value than other activities, in our society based on profits and reduced costs. Because of our proximity to our hobby, this issue hits close to home. But other trades and careers are in the same boat. I do not feel a person who plays hockey or baseball for a living should earn 100 times what a doctor who saves lives earns. I do not feel a person who entertains people for a living should be left out to die when illness comes. There is a real lack of human decency in our current society. I don't pretend to know what we need as a society, but I think we need to put back some ethics into it.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Scarlet.Knight, post: 7826384, member: 62257"] I like your analysis of the situation. I live in Canada. These healthcare-related issues are fairly different here. When it comes to medication, we're mostly in the same boat: can't pay, can't have. In my experience, artists, in general, do not make a huge chunk of money in Canada. Same situation. I studied graphic arts, about 20 years ago. I was the only graduate of my class that found a job in this field. Even then, my pay was close to minimum wage, with no benefits whatsoever. We're talking graphic arts here: the most commercial application of visual arts. Nowadays, anybody with a computer can download Adobe Creative Suite and play with it to create stuff. It won't be, generally, very well thought out. It won't exactly match what the client needs. But most clients simply do not care. It's all about costs and most just don't care or can't see the difference if the thing is "50% pretty vs 80% pretty". This has kept salaries and conditions fairly low (there are some exceptions and I did not put together a full study on it, so this conclusion contains my experiences and my biases). That is partly why I left that field. I see direct parallels with RPG writing here. Actual authors with skills pushing products in a sea of other products pushed by authors or non-authors of various skills. Amateur authors able to do the work (lower quality but hey, will they see the difference?) bringing salaries down. When Monte Cook Games publishes a game with such high production value as Cypher System Revised and charges $60+ for it, people are shocked. Lots of lower price tags on the same shelf. Are we ready to pay for quality? I am. But in general... I'm unsure. Other trades, such as plumbing or factory work, have seen a significant increase in salaries and work conditions. Why is that? Well, because in a capitalist society, usefulness - real or perceived - is key. At every turn, it seems like our world is more and more concerned with bottom dollars and profit. The school system has gone through several reforms to make kids - ultimately working adults - more adaptable, flexible and able to solve the complex problems of the modern world. Utilitarianism vs humanism. Increasing profit for shareholders in spite of everything else, ethics included. It should come as no surprise that arts, in general, are not considered very high on the scale of usefulness in such a system. Tell your dad you're gonna become a professional dancer; or tell him you're gonna become an electrician. Your mileage may vary, but I suspect that he might value one over the other. My dad did anyway... How many singers, authors and actors struggle to make ends meet waiting for their breakthrough? It may never come. When it comes, the whole thing becomes a business. Facelifts, agents, promotion tours, contacts, Instagram... Gathering fans by the million to generate money for that big hungry machine. But for authors? RPG authors? Gee, the pool of interested people grows thinner. Do people still read nowadays? Some do, but in general, I feel books are not that popular anymore (cooking books excluded!). My kids would rather watch stupid Youtube videos as opposed to reading The Hobbit or even Tintin comics. I have to force them to do so... and they're very smart kids with superior reading skills. I guess what I'm trying to say is that art, in general, has a lower value than other activities, in our society based on profits and reduced costs. Because of our proximity to our hobby, this issue hits close to home. But other trades and careers are in the same boat. I do not feel a person who plays hockey or baseball for a living should earn 100 times what a doctor who saves lives earns. I do not feel a person who entertains people for a living should be left out to die when illness comes. There is a real lack of human decency in our current society. I don't pretend to know what we need as a society, but I think we need to put back some ethics into it. [/QUOTE]
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