Sean K Reynolds on working at Paizo (and other companies)

[darjr]

As far as current employees Russ had someone on his podcast that spoke quite a bit on the subject

 

[TheSword]

Not to mention that all the union’s exec are current employees and seem to be acting in good faith. I don’t think any of them are doing this because they think Paizo is fine and dandy.

 

[CapnZapp]

Maybe not as clear as you thought?

I still don't know what made you object to my original post, but I have edited my reply to clarify.

 

[Parmandur]

The thing is - we really don't. We know he bought one or more expensive suits and bragged about that. But people often overreach for things they consider status symbols or luxury, so we don't know how much that set him back either in saved money or debt. Nor do we know anything else about his financial status in general. That's where reports of what's gone on at Paizo drift from bad management to ad hominem rumormongering.

That doesn't make him look better if so. If he overextended himself to brag and lord over his employees, that's worse.

 

[billd91]

That doesn't make him look better if so. If he overextended himself to brag and lord over his employees, that's worse.

And, thus, the ad hominem rumormongering has done its intended job.

 

[Parmandur]

And, thus, the ad hominem rumormongering has done its intended job.

I mean, everything seems well substantiated from what I have seen.

 

[Dire Bare]

Well, my takeaway is that there's no money in table-top role-playing games.

I'm not saying you should not write wonderful fantasy material, I'm just saying, don't do it for the money

Monte Cook Games (MCG) would disagree with you. They do fine as a company, and pay their staff and freelancers well.

It's certainly HARD to make money in table-top role-playing games, but that's a far cry from there's NO money in the industry. It's hard to make a decent living in ANY artistic field, including TTRPGs.

 

[MGibster]

It's certainly HARD to make money in table-top role-playing games, but that's a far cry from there's NO money in the industry. It's hard to make a decent living in ANY artistic field, including TTRPGs.

If there were no money then nobody would be producing any games. I think it's safe to say that even though it's a lot easier to get your stuff out to the public these days, you've got to hit it really, really big before you can expect to make a decent amount of scratch.

 

[CapnZapp]

Monte Cook Games (MCG) would disagree with you. They do fine as a company, and pay their staff and freelancers well.

It's certainly HARD to make money in table-top role-playing games, but that's a far cry from there's NO money in the industry. It's hard to make a decent living in ANY artistic field, including TTRPGs.

Hopefully we can agree that the singular of data is anecdote.

There is no logical reason to assume Mr Cook's combination of experience, skill, luck and other factors is repeatable to the extent needed to imply what the "X would disagree with you" meme suggests.

Also: you too casually compare the field of ttrpgs with... pretty much any other field, including arts. Just to reiterate how this easily misaligns your expectations. There is definite money in video games, and there is money in art.

That still does not mean there's money in ttrpgs. So why compare the two?

If there were no money then nobody would be producing any games.

This is not true (unless you want to quibble that as soon as there's even a single dollar, that's money). The hobby has consistently produced games for fifty years. Only recently has the delusion there's any real money crept in.

I blame in part the Dungeon Master's Guild web-shop, making role-players believe the point of writing rpg supplements is to earn money. I think the previous model, where you simply shared your stuff for free, is doing a better job of aligning expectations to actual reality.

Have a nice day both of you

 

[MGibster]

This is not true (unless you want to quibble that as soon as there's even a single dollar, that's money). The hobby has consistently produced games for fifty years. Only recently has the delusion there's any real money crept in.

There was a time when TSR seemed to have a license to print money and I believe perceptions have been skewed based on the success of a few companies including Steve Jackson Games, White Wolf, Paizo, and others. I don't know about "real" money, but the fact that some companies have been in business for 30+ years tells me there's some money in it at least. Though companies like Steve Jackson Games have pivoted in different directions over the years. Munchkin seems to be their bread & butter these last two decades with GURPS being a side hustle.