The Workplace: Getting Things in Order

I don’t know about the rest of you, but for me, there always seems to be too much to do and not a lot of time to do it in. Between dealing with work, kids, other family obligations, trying to get a game in now again, and side projects, I get pulled in many different directions. Sometimes, this gets me in trouble. I make a mistake. I forget something. Screw up my project priorities, etc. There is a point here, I promise.

One thing that helps me be productive is my work area. If I can keep it somewhat neat and efficient, I can get more stuff done. Now, usually, it falls into disarray while I am busy being busy. But, over time, that jumbled mess gets into the inside of my brain. It messing with my chi, man. So, last night, I worked on cleaning up my office and setting up a few things that hadn’t been set up yet.

I operate on a shoestring budget these days, so most of what you see—and even what you don’t—is the furthest thing from the top of the line. It is mostly functional, however.

To the far right, we have my Windows 7 PC. I originally had a spare monitor from a dead unit and my wife encouraged me to hook it up to my PC. I was surprised to find my video card supported this at the time. Now, it is difficult to function without it. The second screen allows me to divide tasks a bit easier. I usually do research on one screen, writing on the other. I’ll have my Hangouts and most other internet functions to the left, and Office applications, Adobe, etc. over to the left there.  My wife’s machine also has two monitors and she swears she doesn’t need it, but she uses the heck out of the split screen model when it’s there.

To the far left, I have an older flat screen Dynex TV. I dunno the size. It’s probably somewhere in the 42” inch range. +Jonathan Henry, my good friend, picked it up at a garage sale for about $20. The sound doesn’t work on it. I haven’t done any real troubleshooting on it besides checking basic settings. I hooked up my Windows laptop through HDMI and turned off the audio to HDMI, and it works great. I either need to get the sound working on the big TV or pick up some speakers for the laptop. That big screen TV will be good for Google Hangouts, digital game maps, and other things. I know my wife tested Diablo III on it last night and she was happy with it.

There’s a good chance the TV will be hooked up to a Mac Mini in the very near future—I have to flash the HD. I have some other older Macs off camera as well. One will most likely be my eldest’s machine for school this year, although I kind of like hooking her up to the TV, so we can all keep an eye on her and make sure she is doing what she’s supposed to be during school hours. Then, two tablets I was given to use for testing and reading PDFs. And, there is still more.

It gets a bit warm up here, making it near impossible to get work done without at least a fan and/or room air conditioner running.  I also wonder how much my electric bill would be if I didn’t work from home.

Later, I’ll probably share a tidbit with some of the analog tools I use, but I thought this was a kind of neat setup. I’m investigating a way to make the TV swivel, so I can run videos and such on it while working on the other machines.

What kind of gonzo setups help you to be more efficient and productive?

On What it Means to be a Nerd

Love him or hate him (I, personally like the guy) Will Wheaton gave some amazing advice to a nerd girl’s infant daughter and it was caught on video for when she is old enough to understand in regards to being a nerd. I’ll post that down below, but I wanted to add my own two cents in on the topic.

Nerd sure seems to have taken on a different meaning since I was a little boy. Heck, it seems a lot of things have. Heck, when did writing homebrew rules suddenly become “hacking” a game. Used to be the only hacking we did with games was related to dungeon crawls or cyberpunk style games. Now, everything gets hacked. But, I digress.

When I was younger, I can remember a whole discussion—maybe it was more of a lecture—my father had with me in regards to some of these horrible names kids called one another: geek, nerd, lerp, etc. I don’t really remember all the definitions, but I remember a geek was a nerd that was cool. So, the nerds at the time were interesting in computers, wore pocket protectors, had tape holding their glasses together, were poorly socially developed, and so on.

Today, we have an entire sub-culture, gaining in popularity, where being a nerd is cool. All these things I grew up around and grew up enjoying and still enjoy and inject into my own kids’ lives are typically considered nerdy. Comic books, sci-fiction, role playing games, Star Trek, Star Wars, to name just a few.  In +Wil Wheaton's explanation, he points out it is the passion we have for these things and others including architecture, fashion design, and others. And, he’s probably right. I don’t know the last time I heard someone being called a nerd for fashion design unless it was associated with designing and creating cosplay costumes, though.

I’ve had some great friends through the years. I have had the wonderful opportunity to connect and reconnect with them through advanced in technology. I’ve met a great many more through Google +.  Interestingly enough, I have actually formed friendships with people through that specific social media platform versus others where it is all business networking or connecting with people I know in real life. The passion these folks have for their games, comics, and previously teases sub-genres of entertainment is amazing.

Now, however, much of what was previously considered nerd sub-culture is becoming mainstream. The super hero movies are raking in oodles of cash. Diehard fans of old material may berate them from straying too far, but I believe that’s a mistake. Things need to evolve. Changes and sacrifices need to be made. And, just because someone cannot quote you the entire family tree of Jean and Scott Summers does not mean that they are any less a fan. They love the characters or stories that they are familiar with for what they are. They may not have enjoyed the other stories or they may not have even had a chance to catch up on 30 plus years of source material.

This whole discussion about girls not being able to be nerds is ridiculous. Don’t even get me started. Gaming, comics, sci-fi, they are about telling universal stories. They’re meant to bring people together. Those who want to use them to toss down dividing lines, like some old school grongards that believe the most complex and archaic rules sets are the best because it keeps everyone who doesn’t automatically or already understand the rules out, are fools.

For me, being a nerd will continue to include having a passion and understanding for those things that a lot of people still just don’t think is cool. Maybe they have been adopted. A comic buff can still be a comic nerd, even though they are and will continue to gain in popularity. That passion we have when it comes to gaming, the excitement we feel at rolling a Natural 20, in-depth character actualization without being paid to write a book or star in a movie or play—that is the nerd’s claim to nerdom. I see guys get totally excited when the crack a hard piece of code, so excited they fall out of their chair cheering. They’re nerds. I see the way my niece talks about anime, her enthusiasm for the medium and I know, she is a nerd. My wife, the way she takes to accounting and explains it to others with a twinkle in her eye—she’s a nerd too. You should really see my one buddy’s toy collection from the 80s and early 90s. He is most certainly a nerd. +Jonathan Henry  is a certified nerd when it comes to RPGs, but get him started on cars. You will find that an individual can be nerdish on more than one subject quite easily.

So, being a nerd is about passion and dedication. The word has changed over the years and that is okay. Being able to accept you for who you are is your job. The others who can’t, they probably aren’t worth the time to try and explain. However, nerds of different stripes, who like different things, still find that common ground to stand on. One like anime and the other role playing games. They both recognize the passion in one another. And with that, you should see the amazing things these wild and varied nerds can accomplish when they work together.

RPG Garbage

I’ve taken some time over the last little while to review some games I have had sitting on my HD for quite some time. Some of these were free games. In other cases, they were PDFs I had bought, but never really took a look at. I have to be honest, folks. There is a lot of crap out there.

I am not talking about some people like some games better than other people. I am not talking about how some systems may be better balanced or more functional than others. I am talking about half-written, derivative hunks of junk. Now, don’t get me wrong. I have a lot of that stuff on my hard drive with my name in there as the author. I haven’t been so bold to put it out there on the internet.

I did recently run a test to get a better understanding of the process of self-publishing gaming PDFs through DriveThru RPG when I released OSR Gems. It certainly isn’t the best book out there, but it’s relatively cheap. It was really, for me, a test more than anything else. Do the tools I have meet the standards for publication? What kind of turmoil must I go through to actually post and release the book? Those kinds of things. In all, it wasn’t too bad.

However, as I look around at some of the stuff I’ve picked up over the years, I find that a sizeable chunk is wholly worthless to me. Many contain large sections of portions copy and pasted (and, if I am lucky, reformatted) internet ramblings. A number bring nothing new to the table. Some are as if someone, in some sort of drug induced stupor, decided they wanted to create a role playing game, but didn’t quite know how to do it or where to start.

I’m going to avoid mentioning any names here. Part of the reason is some of these books or projects share a name with successful and beautiful games. That is, they are not associated with that game or the better known versions of it, but they used the same name—this is especially true for some of the fan stuff games freely available on the internet. The other reasons are because (a) maybe the creator was just having a bad day or year and (b) some of this stuff other people may actually enjoy. Frankly, I’m not ready to get into the ripping apart of any specific project bit by bit let alone argue the point with anyone.

Let’s just all agree to a single statement. Some of the stuff you find online (free or for sale) is complete and utter rubbish.

Getting that out of the way, I think there’s reasons for all of it. In many cases, it’s free stuff. Someone was working on a project, wanted to share it. Perhaps the feedback killed the project. Perhaps real life came in and disrupted things. Maybe they got good feedback and decided to take continued development offline and put a more professional spin on things. Maybe the creator or creators were just really that clueless and they thought what they had put together was good. Maybe it was someone trying to make a quick buck in a segmented market. I am sure, between us, we could come up with several more reasons.

Now, why do I bring this up.

Let me let you in on a little secret.

I am afraid of being that guy.

I have a lot of ideas, although I sometimes have difficulty in pinpointing their proper execution. I have a lot of stuff going on in the real world that distracts me. I have 99 problems, but being a successful gaming publisher isn’t one of them, if you get my drift. What if I put out something that bombs? Worse yet, what if I don’t know how horrible it is. The first PDF I put out for OSR last week could have been better. My co-creator suggested a specific look for the images to make it more “old school.” I’d figure we’d give it a try. It was an idea anyhow. So far, it’s the only negative criticism I have gotten, which is not bad, but I haven’t gotten a lot of feedback by any means.

I want to be the guy who puts together and puts out something awesome. That’s part of the reason I have this blog. You, my willing victim…er, audience, give me a lot of feedback and a lot to think on. I think that’s awesome. I write a LOT on a daily basis for work, so teaching myself that writing is still also my passion is another key reason for this blog. I get something back by posting here, so that’s why I do it.

Meanwhile, I take time to consider my next move out there. There are a lot of things I could work on, but I need to find the right one worth putting the time, effort, and other resources into. Now, I’ll come back and touch on that later, because I love the feedback I get here. I wonder if such a supportive and active community would’ve helped prevent some of these other disasters I refer to earlier.

Now, I’m going to come back in awhile and talk about my goals for putting together a good gaming product. These are more overly generalized things that I think need to be there for me to be proud of it. In the meantime, I open the floor to you. Have you guys seen the kind of garbage I am talking about? What do you think when you see it? What are some of the biggest missed opportunities you see in these lackluster attempts?

Writing for Kickstarter

Okay, admittedly, that is probably a horrible title. This is not about writing for Kickstarter. Instead, these are a few of my reflections regarding the various Kickstarter funded projects I have seen. I am talking about the ones that succeeded as well as the ones that failed.

Of course, in the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that I have less than altruistic reasons for my examinations of Kickstarter. Come on, I am a writer. I would be a fool, if I did not see the potential for greater reward at the end of that digital yellow brick road. I think anyone who has taken part in the process—whether successful or unsuccessful—would agree that it really is not as simple as coming up with an idea and posting it online, asking people for money. There is a lot of thought and a lot of work that needs to go into running a Kickstarter campaign. Now, mind you, I am on the outside looking in, so what I have here are merely some observations and what I would like to think are educated guesses.

Do your homework. Kickstarter put out a report earlier this year about successes from the past year. Kickstarter is obviously growing and growing fast. By reviewing statistics and past projects, we can see what works and what doesn’t. We can see where people are willing to put their money and where they are, well, a bit more cautious. This gives us a jumping point. Has our idea already been done? Can the market bare similar, but different projects? Can we do it better? What did the successful precursor do that helped them be a success?

There is an old saying that goes something like “It’s not about what you know, but who you know.” I whole heartedly believe that, with Kickstarter, a big piece of the success puzzle comes not from what you know or who you know, but who knows you. There are plenty of upstarts with some amazing talents out there. However, it is just like a lot of other industries. People always talk about if they just had the chance, had the opportunity, they would blow our socks off. Well, with all the tools available today, you have that chance. In fact, in many cases, you do not even need startup money to do a good job on a fun project. For us writers, we have ePublishing, but we also have the opportunity to submit to magazines, books publishers, literary agents, or even make ourselves known on the web through blogs and social media. Artists can put out their art on DeviantArt, Rederosity, and hundreds of other sites. They can ePublish an art book, etc. The idea here is that, without having proven ourselves in a field, it is going to be difficult to ask people for money. Last year,  +Monte Cook  made history with Kickstarting his Numenra RPG, which raised almost half a million dollars. +Fred Hicks  and his team at +Evil Hat Productions  raised a few hundred thousand for FATE Core. These people have been around the block. People know who they are. People know they can deliver a quality project. It is a bit easier to give someone a shot when you are pretty darn sure they are not going to muck it up based on previous experiences.

Know what you need before you ask for it. This goes into the realm of research again. If you want to put out your own book, how much is it going to cost? There are printing and layout costs. You need to consider distribution. With Kickstarter, there are all those crazy add-ons from bookmarks to a meet and greet. Do the math ahead of time. Know what everything should cost. Consider inflation and market fluctuations. If you do not know how to do this, enlist the aid of someone who does. I read a great blog awhile back about someone who did a Kickstarter and had misjudged some of the printing and shipping costs. They ended up losing money rather than making any. They would still do Kickstarter again, but they ended up putting out that blog post as a cautionary tale. If I can find it, I’ll be sure to post a link for it here. Also, know what it is going to take to actually complete the work. We’ll stick with books here. If you have not finished writing the book or have not even started writing it, you better know how long that is going to take. Do not forget how much time or money or cajoling it will take to have the book properly edited, laid out, and so on. Consider potential delays and risks to the project. Heck, that is built right into the Kickstarter framework.

Be sure to pimp your own product. Make sure others help you do it. People were excited about FATE Core from the day it was announced. I do not have access to the numbers, but I am sure Fred Hicks and crew saved a ton on marketing simply because of word of mouth. That word of mouth accounts for a lot online. It is especially powerful when other people are excited about your project and encouraging others to invest as compared to when you are the only one pandering to the masses. Use the tools at your disposal. There are lots of fine social media platforms to use as well as blogging on your own site, guest blogging, and Facebook and Adsense marketing is relatively cheap. Sometimes, you have to spend a little money to make a little money.

Be engaging. Monte Cook put out some information, but was always apologetic that he was simply too busy to get out and share as much information as he could regarding the upcoming Numenera. Now, let that not be misconstrued as me knocking him. He put forth an effort. He explained delays. He was putting together a whole company around it. He had other projects in the works. And, he has this weird thing called a life. Evil Hat and crew did an excellent job of keeping people updated before the project was even successfully funded, throughout the Kickstarter campaign, and then throughout the development of the project. They are still very active with the community. I do not know if they will ever feel the need or want to turn to Kickstarter again, but if that day ever comes, I can almost totally assure you they will be funded. Meanwhile, another project I backed was the Cortex Hacker’s Guide. These guys have been very lax in communication. They have gone weeks without updates, even weeks after promised updates were missed. Sorry, folks, it does not take much to jump online and type out a quick note apologizing for delays or giving some sort of explanation or feedback. That is doubly true when people are posting on open communites dedicated to your company or product and even on the Kickstarter page itself. Funny enough, as I wrote this, I got an update that’s a few weeks overdue from Cortex. Time to put the tin foil hat back on, I guess.

Kickstarter is not the easy road to riches some people might think it is. And, with a number of cases of people taking the money and running, I think it is going to be a bit harder to get money through the venue for virtual unknowns. It is hard work and your work should start long before trying to put up your first crowdfunding campaign, in my opinion. I might be wrong, and I welcome anyone to explain to me how I am wrong. Meanwhile, for someone who has their head screwed on straight, has a plan, does not mind hard work, there is a lot of potential there.

On Writing. What is Writer's Block?

It's a myth, folks, pure and simple. Writer's block does not exist. Writer's block is the boogey man and the excuse. It is not the cause.

I sit here this morning, knowing I have to write something. However, I'm dealing with hospitals and bills and Facebook, oh my. Listen, stay away from those three as much as you can, especially if you're a writer.

One of my first mentors in writing once told me a joke.

What is the difference a large pepperoni pizza and a comic book writer?

The pepperoni pizza can feed a family of four.

Still, it was blasted hot last night. Hot and muggy. I felt like I was in a sauna all night long. Now, I know that is how some people like to relax, but at least they have the option to get up, open the door, and walk out.

Being uncomfortable is not conducive to writing, but it is also not an excuse. I could've written something inspired by the heat.

And, there it is. What some writers refer to as writer's block is actually a lack of inspiration or merely being distracted.

What are you doing now? Reading this. Why aren't you writing. Sure, we need a chance to let our brains take in new information. We need to be able to kick back and relax. We need a lot of things.

We need to stop making excuses.

Today, I have my work writing to focus on as well as I have decided to go back and re-work a book I finished a few months back before realizing I had to entirely rewrite it from a different perspective. I also have some game writing I want to do and some research. And, I have a piece of personal writing to do.

So, I need to get off my rear and do it. Okay, I will stay seated through the process, but I can't let little things like temperature, so-called inspiration, or Facebook get in the way.

That's your challenge for the day, folks. Let it be your challenge for every day. Get out there and write. Or create. Whatever you do, choose to be awesome.

On Creating a New Role-Playing Game

Call it a role-playing game, roleplaying game, or RPG, it doesn't really matter. I have been on a kick for a long time now on wanting to create my own. But, why? There are so many awesome games out there. I own a lot of the--a LOT. Isn't there one of those that could fit my needs? Well, yes. In fact, several would suit my needs for playing a game.

I get asked "why" a lot when I look at making a change to an existing game or talk about creating my own game. I suppose I could say, "why not?" After all, is there a reason to not follow a creative pursuit and delve further into a hobby I have spent a lot of time enjoying? Sometimes, I just don't have what others might consider a valid reason why, but I have been asked that question enough times that I think it is time to put forward a well thought out answer.

Thanks to the thriving community of gamers and game designers on Google+, I have gotten back into the hobby with a vengeance, so to speak. For years, I lived away from fellow gamers. I also went off and started a family and the time required to be a part of that family and work and do all those silly adult things got in the way of me enjoying sitting around a table and gaming with friends and strangers. I kept buying and reading the books, though.

Since I was younger, when I first started gaming as a teenager, I wanted to make changes. I wanted my own game then, but didn't know it. I made adjustments to existing rules. I made my own campaigns. I ran my own adventures. I never ran a pre-made and published adventure, only had a look at a few to see how they were put together.

So, why do I want to create my own game? I want something that is mine. So many people rush out to buy the latest supplement with the newest piece of metaplot that it can be daunting. They get upset at my table when I don't memorize all these trivial facts. They get even more upset when I sit back and tell them that these things they have memorized simply do not exist in my game. So, I want MY game to be MY game.

Currently, I'm toying around with some basic mechanics. I am awful at math, after all. I'm also looking at altering games that already exist. I find it to be a fun project in any event.

Does there need to be a higher purpose, some great reasoning behind creating a new RPG? I don't think so. What do you think?