What is “Imposter Syndrome?” It’s a common problem for “creatives.” In RPGs it primarily applies to game designers, but some homebrew GMs will also recognize it.
Wikipedia defines Imposter Syndrome as:
All kinds of creative people and even non-creative people can feel like imposters. Game designers will feel this occasionally. Not everyone feels this way of course. There are certainly arrogant game designers.
I suffer from Imposter Syndrome when I'm thinking about submitting “finished” games to publishers, at which point I'm terrible and it is chronic. I do recognize that creating entertainment, which is what games usually are, is not saving the world, or even saving lives. In that respect college teaching, which is what I retired from, felt like a much more “worthy” occupation.
Nonetheless, when I was deciding after my 20-year hiatus from the Game Hobby whether to write computer networking textbooks or to resume game design (I chose the latter), I considered “worthiness.” The thing I had done aside from teaching that offered the most utility to people in the world, was my game Britannia. I still enjoy it when I hear folks saying to each other what a fun game of Britannia they just played, or how fun playing Dragon Rage is. Writing textbooks might have been more lucrative, but it has its own set of problems.
Many video game developers evidently feel that creating entertainment is not a worthy way to spend their time. They think that they ought to be doing something Important (“Art” with a capital A) and that video games are “just kid’s stuff.” “Just kid’s stuff” is not correct, although some video games are certainly not intellectual. After all, a typical video game is “AthleticWare” rather than ThoughtWare (most tabletop games), where you do physical actions in order to succeed, and success often depends on athleticism (200 actions per minute in Starcraft) far more than once thought. Even if it was kid stuff, someone has to entertain the kids . . .
Fortunately, “games are not worthy” doesn’t seem to be a problem for most tabletop game designers.
In general, in tabletop game design there are not obvious measures that would tell how you compare as a designer, because there are few salaries posted and ratings are notoriously subjective. Add that the game industry is hardly a meritocracy, that poorly designed games sometimes sell well and well-designed games sometimes sell poorly, and what do we have to go on?
You can keep received praise for your work recorded somewhere (audio or writing) so that, when you feel inadequate, you can fortify yourself on that praise. Players can help too, by being encouraging and supporting their GMs, and being a little less unkind when criticizing games.
Can you ever get rid of Imposter Syndrome entirely? When a top movie money-maker and a well-known author who won many awards and received more than 50 honorary degrees can feel like Imposters, we mere ordinary mortals have our work cut out for us. The Imposter Syndrome is something game designers, GMs, and others just have to live with. But we can certainly find ways to cope.
Your turn: How do you cope with Imposter Syndrome in your RPG-related activities?
What’s an Imposter?
The Imposter Syndrome applies to game designers, but some GMs will also recognize it. It’s a common problem that’s difficult to defeat, but I’ll make some suggestions toward the end of this column.Wikipedia defines Imposter Syndrome as:
All kinds of creative people and even non-creative people can feel like imposters. Game designers will feel this occasionally. Not everyone feels this way of course. There are certainly arrogant game designers.
I suffer from Imposter Syndrome when I'm thinking about submitting “finished” games to publishers, at which point I'm terrible and it is chronic. I do recognize that creating entertainment, which is what games usually are, is not saving the world, or even saving lives. In that respect college teaching, which is what I retired from, felt like a much more “worthy” occupation.
Nonetheless, when I was deciding after my 20-year hiatus from the Game Hobby whether to write computer networking textbooks or to resume game design (I chose the latter), I considered “worthiness.” The thing I had done aside from teaching that offered the most utility to people in the world, was my game Britannia. I still enjoy it when I hear folks saying to each other what a fun game of Britannia they just played, or how fun playing Dragon Rage is. Writing textbooks might have been more lucrative, but it has its own set of problems.
Not Important Enough?
There’s a larger version of this than the individual Imposter Syndrome.Many video game developers evidently feel that creating entertainment is not a worthy way to spend their time. They think that they ought to be doing something Important (“Art” with a capital A) and that video games are “just kid’s stuff.” “Just kid’s stuff” is not correct, although some video games are certainly not intellectual. After all, a typical video game is “AthleticWare” rather than ThoughtWare (most tabletop games), where you do physical actions in order to succeed, and success often depends on athleticism (200 actions per minute in Starcraft) far more than once thought. Even if it was kid stuff, someone has to entertain the kids . . .
Fortunately, “games are not worthy” doesn’t seem to be a problem for most tabletop game designers.
The Flip Side
There’s a reverse to this. Arrogant game designers give the profession a bad name; usually they are the “designers” most ignorant of how to behave properly as well as how to design. This is an example of the Dunning Kruger effect, where people who don't know much about a topic often think they know almost everything about it. All we can do about that is make those people aware of what they don't know.In general, in tabletop game design there are not obvious measures that would tell how you compare as a designer, because there are few salaries posted and ratings are notoriously subjective. Add that the game industry is hardly a meritocracy, that poorly designed games sometimes sell well and well-designed games sometimes sell poorly, and what do we have to go on?
What to Do About It
What can you do about the Syndrome? If people as experienced and well-known as Tom Cruise and Maya Angelou both suffer from it, you might suspect there’s no “cure.” But anything a person might do to fight feelings of inadequacy might help you with Imposter Syndrome.You can keep received praise for your work recorded somewhere (audio or writing) so that, when you feel inadequate, you can fortify yourself on that praise. Players can help too, by being encouraging and supporting their GMs, and being a little less unkind when criticizing games.
Can you ever get rid of Imposter Syndrome entirely? When a top movie money-maker and a well-known author who won many awards and received more than 50 honorary degrees can feel like Imposters, we mere ordinary mortals have our work cut out for us. The Imposter Syndrome is something game designers, GMs, and others just have to live with. But we can certainly find ways to cope.
Your turn: How do you cope with Imposter Syndrome in your RPG-related activities?
