This one is harder than it sounds to write.
So, I accidentally stepped on my friend’s proverbial toes the other day on YouTube. Now this person is not like a close friend. We know each other from X (Twitter) and YouTube. I’m going to keep it anonymous because I really don’t want to call him out on this, but there was a bit of a misunderstanding.
A little more background: I had a rough go of Roll For Combat’s (Pathfinder 2E) RPG Superstar. Regular followers of my blog have probably heard how I didn’t take so well not having anything pass muster on that one. Again, I call into question the honesty and integrity of the contest and the people in charge. There were a lot of sketchy things that happened there.
Regular followers will also know I have a certain level of mistrust and/or dislike of some TTRPG “industry professionals.” I think (my opinion) there is a great deal of nepotism, favoritism, and sketchy behavior amongst the upper echelons of some of the TTRPG industry, as least as much as there is with any true industry. In other words, I don’t trust certain people very much.
I want it understood that I’m not trying to call my friend out on anything. But it’s the Internet, and we all know how even a slight misunderstanding leads to catastrophic calamity. That’s why I’m not using anyone’s name or screenshots of the ad for this thing.
I also want to make it clear that I was probably in the wrong on this one. I always want to believe everyone has good intentions, which some would say makes me gullible. I was pretty rude in my friend’s comments on the YouTube video for which I have sincerely apologized. Next time I’m just going to say, “Good luck with your thing,” instead of trying to help.
Disclaimer: Statements expressed in this article are strictly my opinion. If you disagree or have a different opinion, that’s okay. I’m not an expert on everything. I’m not always right. I’m just writing from my experience as I know it. Your mileage may vary.
What the heck happened?
Here’s how I see things:
Pretend we’re at a Friendly Local Neighborhood Game Store. I come into the game room and announce proudly that I’m holding a contest where anyone can enter a generic, system/setting agnostic dungeon by the end of next week and the winners could possibly get this big heap of cool prizes. BUT everyone has to chip in $10 if they want to enter. The dungeons will be judged by “top industry professionals.” Oh, and you only have a week to complete your task.
Someone thought the price was too steep and asked, “Why ten bucks?” I say it’s to pay for the judges’ time and to make sure everyone is serious. Note that the prizes are all donations by various companies.
Does that seem a bit sketchy to anyone else? Maybe it is just me and I’ll own that. I’m old, and I do tend to sense trouble where maybe there is none.
Here’s where my Tinfoil Hat Sense was triggered:
Entry fee with no tangible guaranteed payoff. “Big prizes!” Industry professional judges getting paid for their time and services. (No idea who these alleged professionals are, btw. For all I know it’s Jim from the Paizo loading docks.) One week deadline, which I later found out was announced the prior week to some people, I guess. Generic, system agnostic entries. (But we retain all the publishing rights.)
What? I can’t be serious about something for free? How does that compute?
Paying these judges for their time? But we have no idea who they are. Sounds as if there could be some bias involved. How do we know the winners haven’t already submitted their stuff ahead of time and it’s all just a show to rake in some extra cash and give away some hefty donations?
Big prizes, cash entry fee, and a tight deadline smells funny to me. Again, could just be my inner skeptic and maybe everything is 100% Kosher. In my defense, I’ve seen situations, especially in the TTRPG community, where winners, applicants, etc were chosen ahead of time before the public was ever involved and it was obvious. What evidence is there in any of this person’s claim that would lead me to believe that it was all above-board?
Value for the money.
I wouldn’t spend ten bucks on a lottery ticket, I don’t care what the jackpot is. Call me stingy. Big TTRPG prizes- well in excess of ten bucks is tempting if I thought it was a random chance. The problem here is that it’s not random.
I could even kinda see chipping in for the prizes. It was announced up front that the prizes were donations from all these big name TTRPG companies. I think I’d be more inclined if I knew who the money was going to, if I thought they were unbiased, and what criteria the entries were being judged on.
But charging money to make sure people are serious? How many entries could one actually expect in one or two weeks with a $10 submission fee piled on top? I’m sorry, I just don’t see it.
Let’s be clear- I’m not asking for participation trophies. When I pay money out for something, I expect some kind of return on my investment. This deal sounded more like hand over ten bucks and do a bunch of work for maybe a prize or something.
I apologize again if I come off sounding rude.
Maybe I am just a crazy old man and this whole thing is in my imagination. I’m not going to burn $10 to find out. It sounds like a bad idea all around. I could put my $10 toward buying one of the prizes on that list. No joke, I’ve been eyeing that one boxed set for a while now.
When I enter a contest, I am damned serious about it. Tight deadlines suck for me right now as I have a lot going on any given night of the week right now. Still, if I wanted the prizes bad enough, I’d totally burn more midnight oil, drop everything I’m doing short of my blog, and totally put something out provided there was no entry fee.
I could see this whole thing being more legit if the proceeds were going to a charity or someone battling cancer. Then I’d feel like I was accomplishing something and there was a chance for some cool swag. I think that feeling is important to people. I know plenty of people who would benefit from $10, myself included.
How I would run a similar event:
First, ask some of my industry friends and contacts for donations. I would take anything from old modules to first run books or gift certificates. A lot of companies do this sort of thing for the advertising and goodwill value with the community. Cool beans.
Second, give the contestants two entire months from the first day announced until final deadline to get things done. That gives me time as an organizer to get the word out about the contest. Naturally that gives my sponsors a ton of free advertising by word of mouth, free social media lip service, and tons of good will in the community. I want my contestants to submit their best work, not their fastest.
Third, I’d offer to put all of the submissions into a compilation on DriveThruRPG and send free copies to everyone who entered. Unfortunately that means contestants would have to sign over their submissions for publication, but they get free recognition, the chance at my amazing prizes, and printed in a book. That’s a pretty good deal overall.
Notice I haven’t mentioned a submission fee. Because if I were in charge, there wouldn’t be one. I see absolutely no sense in charging someone to submit their work. So far I haven’t made a dime off my project and have no reason to believe I would.
Next, I’d announce who my judges were. If they’re big name D&DTubers, game industry professionals, or some rando off the loading dock, at least my contestants have some idea who they’re dealing with. They don’t need to be paid because they’re doing it for the recognition and goodwill with the fans. Not to mention the fact that if the contestants are happy with the way things went, then they’ll want to participate the next time they see that judge’s name. If contestants are unhappy with how it went, then they will know who to avoid next time.
I’d be damn sure everyone knew what criteria the judges would be looking for. I’d put a cap on the number of pages, word count, what formats would be judged, and whether or not the entry was truly system agnostic. Everyone involved would know exactly what they were getting into. The judges and I would be donating all of our time and efforts for the good of the hobby.
Last, and probably most importantly, I’d promote the unholy living crap out of the thing. People would be begging me to shut up about it on social media, here on the blog, on YouTube, and on the corner of University Ave and 6th Street if I thought it would help get the word out. I’d tag bridges with spray paint if I thought it would get more honest entries. What I would not do is put out a video a week ahead of deadline after quietly announcing it on social media a week prior.
My intent for this article is to suggest a better course of action next time.
If my friend sees this and gets upset- feel free to reach out via email or direct message on social media. We can talk about this. If I’m totally out of line and you think I’m an asshole, I’ll even print a retraction and apology article. I’ll even donate ten bucks if it turns out I’m completely wrong.
I’ll happily own that I’m a half-crazed conspiracy nut that sees connections where others don’t. I also have very little trust for certain TTRPG “industry professionals” save a select handful. The same goes for certain D&DTubers, but that’s a discussion for later.
The TTRPG industry is full of hard working, sincere, dedicated, fun-loving people who deserve lots of love and respect. There are also some pretty shady, edgy, or sleezy dudes out there just looking to scam people or denigrate the hobby. I will happily donate or work alongside the kind folx who are truly looking to make the hobby more fun and exciting for everyone.
Thank you for being here today with me. I appreciate you. Please embrace the things that bring you the most joy.
Jeff's Game Box 