Friday, January 25, 2013
Diy gaming manifesto for me, but probably not for you, although thatwould be okay too.
First before I start a couple points: there are a lot of people who want to tell you what to do and how you should behave or even think and feel about things rpg related. I'm not doing that here, I'm just telling you how I think I should behave, and I make no claim to adhering to my own code 100% of the time. Yeah, I'm a fucking hypocrite. Feels good, man.
1. I will limit my use of other people's material to random tables, the occasional monster and other odds and ends. If I really like what the tables do for the game. I will eventually generate my own.
2. I will no longer purchase from publishers masquerading as hobbyist.
3. Building on the second point, I will only buy POD/pdf gaming products made by other DIY folks, which I will read and take inspiration from, but never use beyond what has already been allowed for in point one.
4. If it is useless, I will get rid of it.
5. I will continue to make stuff and post it here, but only things that are directly useful in my game. Some of them I will polish up enough for someone else to use, if they are so inclined, but everything I make must be of use to me in my game.
6. You don't deserve my gaming products- you deserve better; you deserve your own gaming products. And I don't give a fuck who you are you can make better stuff for your game than I or ANYONE else can. Everyone who had ever made anything for a game pulled it directly from their ass. You may wish to give it a try, but, hey, that's all on you, baby. I'm not the boss of anyone.
7. If I do offer a gaming product it will be available free, because beyond the occasional word of thanks, nothing is about what this stuff is worth. If you are looking to make money off of RPGs we are engaged in fundimetally different activities. That is not a judgement or a condemnation, it just is.
8. The online gaming scene is both fun and toxic, at some point the latter will overcome the former for me and I will nuke this fucking blog without a moment's notice.
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I sympathize completely. I don't knock anyone else's hustle but I have no interest in monetizing; when I put stuff up, it's just to show the way I like to do things and get some feedback, not to push a product I expect other people to actually use. Other people feel differently, their business.
ReplyDeleteAs for toxicity, my preternatural sense of schadenfreude allows me to happily and quietly marinate in the poison puddle - I know what I'm in for when I open a browser and my jimmies do not rustle easily - but I have been known to Delete Fucking Everything.
It is very, very tempting sometimes.
ReplyDeleteIndeed it is. Great manifesto Aos.
DeleteHmmm...I guess my manifesto would be simpler. I do what I want on a case by case basis. If being more regimented is part of the fun for you, I say go for it.
ReplyDeleteThere are times I've though about leaving the blogosphere, but Scott's example (he keeps coming back!) makes me think there's not much point in resorting to that move.
/Jeremiah Johnson gentle smile & head nod of approval/
ReplyDeleteTrey, I'm still mostly on a case by case basis, I just wanted to articulate some things going on in my head right now. Like I said, I'll never adhere to this 100%, it's more like my platonic ideal of behavior. Your book is actually the one most likely to get me to violate #1, amusingly enough.
ReplyDeleteWell I appreciate that. And I can get behind staking out an ethical position, too.
DeleteRe: #8
ReplyDeleteHopefully that day is a long way off. While I don't comment much this is one of my favorite gaming blogs to read.
" 2. I will no longer purchase from publishers masquerading as hobbyist. "
ReplyDeleteJust curious - am I one of them?
No, not at all.
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