The Retrospective look at modern day RPGs and the Industry's changes

Author of Eon Legacy, Robert Rankin, Gives his Opinion on the state of the Industry!

Insider look at where it's going and how things have changed between the 80's and now.

Hello adventurers and welcome to this little bit of data that you may find shocking if you're JUST getting into the industry and COMMONPLACE if you've been in it for a while. I've been wondering about the CONVENTION circuit for the better part of the past 3 years in California and Las Vegas. Wonder Con, Comic Con, Comikaze, ALA, ALV, STLV, Stratigicon, and so forth all the mean while getting to know and meet fellow Independent Tabeltop Game Developers, Designers, Writers, and Publishers. I've found ePublishers like Drive thru RPG and Amazon to be a great platform for products. The issue that I see is the change we've had since the 80's. I can't say much because I was only five years old at the turn of the 90s but what I can say is I've made many friends (Some who have passed away like Gygax and CatFX) that have given me a GOOD idea of what has happened since then. While I'm half a year from turning 30 I've found myself GIVING LECTURES on Copyrights and Storytelling. Things that some people would pay hundreds if not THOUSANDS of dollars to learn... but it all comes down to some simple bits of core knowledge (that I'm not going to cover here). The changes to the industry are the following.

1. Pathways of Distribution have changed-
   ~One word: DIGITAL
   ~Another two words Word: COLLECTOR'S HARDCOPIES
   It's not that hard to figure out. Anyone who want's to can homebrew up a d20 system and name it "Pixies and Ponies" and sell it as their own product. Doesn't mean it will be good...nor original.. nor fun (Unless you're into Magical Equines and Fey folk exclusively) but if you DO have an awesome product and you've got it copyright-ed your work is only a few days away from being INTERNATIONALLY PUBLISHED AT AN AFFORDABLE ePub Price. After your game gets popular you can find a typesetter and/or a publisher for hardcopies, work out a set number per sold copy contract (Or print on demand with Drive-Thru RPG) and give those who LOVE the game a nice solid edition! Not only will your works be able to be accessed online and take up Hard Drive space but shelf space too with the right marketing and popularity!
2. Your competition ISN'T other Tabletop games-
   Back in the 80s-Early 2000s Companies like TSR and Palladium were MILLING out RPGs in any genre they could while companies like White Wolf and others desperately pined for the market with niches and stylized cliques to ink out what disposable income gamers had back then.
   Now, we have a true enemy to face, Brain Melting Mediocre Multimedia Entertainment. We don't mean the modern epics of today's well done action/sci-fi and fantasy works, no, we're talking the movies and TV shows that MILLIONS of dollars are spent and produced without ANY substance beyond "BANG BOOM LOOK AT DEEZ CURVES DRUGS EXPLOSION YO DOG RAT TAT TAT I WAS REALLY A COP NO IM REALLY THE BADGUY KABOOM SAD ENDING BLAH". and WE have TROUBLE getting KICKSTARTERS going!? People pay $12-$20 a ticket to see that Garbage on the big screen or $50 a month on cable TV AND $30 for the internet when there is better content WAITING TO BE READ and USED WITH IMAGINATIONS for a fraction of the price. The population AT LARGE is INHALING this stuff. Eating it up. Less and less people are looking at imaginative works and thinking while more and more just sit there and zone out with a "Whoa". We are in an industry that can MAKE A CHANGE lets work together. Hell, I've got a SHELF of original RPG Sourcebooks ranging from Alterality to Zero Hour! I bought them with my money and I'm proud to read and play any time I can!
3. Once you've finished writing you're done-
   There is no better way to end your career than to be "Finished" with a game. If you do not have depth and a continuity that breathes just as deeply as you do then the world, as you've made it, dies
   Back in the 80s there were plenty of 1-Hit wonders. 007, Spycode, Gatecrashers, and various other titles that have slipped into obscurity but still had sold like hotcakes. Some editions of games shipping 2-3 million copies. There were also games that lurched forward like "Marvel Super Heroes" and Shadowrun (oh we KNOW Shadowrun's current incarnation don't we!) that have evolved and inked out enough of a place for themselves.
   Today, we've got people who think they can make a game and leave. It doesn't work like that. Same thing with the VIDEO game market. Releasing games half done or 3/4th of the way done then finishing it with DLC and "Season Passes" have become a "Lure Practice". As mentioned earlier... you have to keep BUILDING on that stuff or you'll end up a "One Shot" that didn't even hit a target.
4. Comparison to Electronic Gaming-
   What can we say about this besides "Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition was an attempt to simulate the Mob Hack and Slash that MMOs had in their Raid content." and not giggle. Dozens of games have seen some kind of supplement from Hasbro or Wizards of the Coast in an attempt to "appeal to the tabletop gaming community". Hell, I remember a "Diablo II Sourcebook for Dungeons and Dragons" with the big WotC stamp on the back then a year or two later I saw "Dungeons and Dragons: Warcraft Edition 3.5" on a Battle.net banner. Three more years and Warcraft got it's own MMO which is still making them millions a month- not as much as it's hayday but enough to keep it running. Our issue as Tabletop and RPG makers is that like Hollywood new games have the fiscal backing that most of us indi guys would DREAM of! We have to make OUR content and give our storytellers something that people CAN'T get from Electronic Games.... life and imagination that spans beyond the boxes the characters jump around and COMMUNITY SUPPORT.
5. Social Media Community Interaction-
   As I mentioned in the last listed item, that, Community Support is something we can offer that most other forms of entertainment can't. I don't mean answer every question but making content meaty enough and non-crucial information AVAILABLE enough so that people don't get lost.

Then and Now

:
Then-
~Only Hardcopy books.
~Community only available through word of mouth and offchance encounter at comic book/hobby store.
~Content limited to what's been provided (and in some cases only content that ever would exist)
~Community consisting of roughly 1-2 dozen players per hundred miles.
~Exclusivity between games.
~Publishing Wars over buyers..

Now-
~Hardcopy, Digital, eBook, iBooks and Wikis.
~Communities readily available through the internet.
~Content open to further expansion and encouraged exposure to other works.
~Community consisting of 1-8 players per 5-10 miles.
~Open Mechanics for expansion and conversion to other games.
~Publishing Open to encouraging cross industry purchases.

Remember, if you're just getting into this industry, don't hesitate to ASK us that are struggling along what to do/avoid! We've been through it!

Love,
Robert Alan Gregory Rankin
Eon Legacy's Author

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