The Game is Rigged: Pros and Cons of an Industry

[ThePandaDirector]

I've had a pretty bad week =]

Thought y'all should know that.

I'm hurtling towards a cliff edge and I'm holding onto two leaves to give me flight - thanks Iron Quill - but as Bruce Wayne himself put it "I'm not scared, I'm angry". Angry at myself and the ultimate uncertainty of my situation. That anger has now found itself, presently, redirected into this post as a reflection of much misplaced anger, but don't worry, because this one has a happy ending =]

There has been a trend in the forum, a pattern that fights regularly to randomly determine whether the day is positive or negative for those involved publically and privately. Recently it reached a long time coming epilogue in two threads. The positive/negative tone is not attached singularly to one thread or the other, but rather they are just two elements in the forums overall atmospheric compound. Inevitably the pattern will repeat in the future; the deck shall be reshuffled.

Introduction: This has happened before, and it will happen again.

"The game is rigged, but you cannot lose [win] if you do not play"

I was gonna post in each thread, but I realised my point was the same either way, and I suppose a third thread in the ring helps to emphasise my point. And my point has also been a long time coming, the seeds first sown in my thread The Game and the Business. So what is my point?

Flip a card,

Toss a coin,

The die is cast.

We've already won.

If only I could end this post here and trust my message to be understood, but as you will no doubt be aware, that is not the case =P

It's about now I should clear up a few points, if only to make sure no one gets lost before I allow them to.

• I have no connection to the collective topic or series this thread is apparently reacting to.
  
• When I said I had played Malifaux, to get into Puppet Wars Playtesting, I lied. I have never played it.
  
• The cardinal virtue I accuse myself of is honesty
  
• Despite the forum this thread is in, it is not about a game, but an industry.
  

Ok, well that cleared up... very little =P

My first point of context is that I have no definitive or credible opinion of Malifaux and very vague impressions of those involved in the debates therein. I am a Puppet Wars man, and limit myself to it in most cases. That, I hope, can at least unburden my message from the baggage accumulated from similar posts that might be mistaken for sharing common ground with this one purely on the basis that they too have been large, introspective walls'o'text.

Studio McVey: A sign of things to come

"Business or pleasure for you?"

"Business, always business."

To disconnect myself further from Malifaux, and hopefully start framing this topic, I will refer instead to another game (and company); Studio McVey's Sedition Wars.

Sedition Wars: Battle for Alabaster recently finished its Kickstarter campaign, and while crowdfunding is a whole other topic, I would like to share my relevant thoughts, but first some "data":

• Funding Goal - $20,000
  
• Funding Total - $951,254
  
• Percentage Funded - 4756%
  
• Backers - 4278
  
• Lowest requirement for Stretch Goals (Biohazard) - $100 (plus $25 international shipping)
  
• Average Pledge - $222
  
• Comments - 18,396
  
• Updates - 61
  
• Stretch Goals - 27
  
• No.1 highest funded in the Board and Card Game category
  
• No.8 highest funded Kickstarter
  
• Lowest no. of backers and third highest percentage funded, in the top 10
  

Ok! Ok, enough with the "data" already!

Pretty impressive no?

I think, if I try really hard, I can encapsulate the context of my discussion with two points of information.

1) Mike McVey, among many others, noted that the number of comments (more than 4x the no. of backers, and more than double the highest funded project) was indicative of the campaigns greatest success - the flourishing growth of community. The number of members on the small Studio McVey forums has more than doubled since I joined during the campaigns second last week. Things are going well (for them, I gave them bloody $400).

2) The most consistent and vocal complaint throughout the campaign was, ironically, communication. CoolMiniOrNot were criticised for not updating the main page, with completed and newly announced Stretch Goals, quick enough. The fact that the answers to people's questions were being collected by a fan and distributed on the fast and furious comments feed in the form of a much spammed PSA (which does slightly skew the above data), is also indicative of a company that still has a lot to learn (hitting $1 million was not the only missed opportunity).

So there, two points; one "positive", one "negative". It doesn't reflect the two threads referred to previously as I have already made clear, but it at least establishes a frame of reference.

And a frame of reference is very important. If GW is run by Nazi's and Wyrd is supposed to be in cahoots with Shield, then where does that put Tor Gaming? Skyrim? So at this point I would just like to remind people to not use emotion to try and add credibility to their views. I honestly don't care how much you love Dystopian Wars, and I imagine you have little interest in my love (some call obsession) with Puppet Wars. You won't see me trying to pretend the attached - Dr Evil quotation marks - "data", is anything but a reference in a subjective viewpoint.

Behavioural Economics: Buying perception, selling interpretation

"There are games beyond the £ucking game!"

Anyway! Let me swiftly supply another supplement of context before getting closer to the point at hand.

I graduate this Wednesday (on my 21st no less) and am currently trying to desperately organise my Masters, as well as the unfortunate process of finding funding while having no money Why is any of that relevant? Well I am looking to study behavioural economics in the analogue gaming industry, so I'd say pretty relevant (at least to me). "Behavioural what?" I hear some of the uneducated among you ask (just kidding). Simply put my interest is in the way businesses and consumers establish*, and are influenced by, mental shortcuts and filters (stereotypes, rules of thumb), and how content (product, marketing, customer service) and platforms (forums, social networking and FLGSs) aid or hinder the communication of particular connotations/interpretations and interaction between business and consumer. Simple.

*also bridge, amplify, extend and transform.

Referring back to the two points on Sedition Wars, here are two points on why I am undertaking this project:

1) For its size, the analogue gaming industry is amazing, more than anything because of its community. This industry has some of the most loyal and activist consumers of any entertainment industry. We might not be as large and mainstream as digital gaming, but then digital gamers aren't nearly as "invested" as we are. Case in point, Wasteland 2, a very prominent, very popular Kickstarter for a digital game; 61,290 backers, raised $2,933,252 (average $47 pledge) , but had "only" 13,192 comments. Compare that to Sedition Wars and you realise this industry has a thriving ore vein of passion... or stupidity =P

2) Speaking of precious mineral veins, the industry has so much untapped potential, literally a gold rush in the making. Linking to my previous negative point, the fact that this potential is either left unexploited or plain wasted reminds us of the borderline amateurishness of the businesses involved. That's not meant to be as belittling as it sounds, but most businesses still show their green roots while Games Workshop is both a pillar and an anchor. My main motivation outside of hopeful sentiment is that I feel I am genuinely aware of the industry's issues (I refer you back to my Masters proposal; framing, people, framing), and come from an environment that has trained me to deal with them.

Ok now it sounds like I'm in a job interview, which is ironic because I'm trying to invent my own job (and hope nobody nicks it). Anyway, I feel like I'm beginning to make my point and so I think it's time we apply the same method and look at the little big boys themselves.

Wyrd Miniatures: Trials of a frontier business model

"Once you in it, you in it, and if it's a lie, then we fight on that lie, but we gotta fight"

If you're reading this guys then... err- love you :Smug_Puppet1:

But that's something that gets past around a lot though isn't it? Love, passion, dedication, all that frak. Something like "I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't doing it out of love" sound familiar? I sometimes wonder if Wyrd know what love is anymore, but I'll get to that later.

First let's just look at Wyrd and what they do. Since we're now getting closer to the "relevant area", I will now, for a moment, separate community from the business. We'll start with business:

1) From the very beginning people knew Wyrd not only had an innovative game linked to an engaging narrative/visual, but a pretty decent business model too. For many, being able to pay under $100 and get everything they needed, and more, was what finally brought them (and me) back into the fold. Affordability and amazing customer service equalled accessibility; great game and great models equalled applicability, both for a wide demographic. I gotta say I'm impressed with how fast they've grown, how relentless they've been in pushing the boundaries of what is logistically possible. I mean I know they mentioned in Wyrd Chronicles that they chose to go "full steam ahead", but did any of us expect quite so much steam?

2) Problem with steam though, it can fog you vision (see what I did there). As hard as they have tried and as successful as they have been, the phrase "too few cooks in the kitchen" has followed them around for quite some time *makes sure he spelled "cooks" right*. I mean we're talking about some very talented and resourceful individuals (except the rat, I hate rats), but unless you're bleeding Vishnu, you're gonna struggle with that many plates spinning. Now before it gets repeated to me again, I am aware that there has been recent recruitments, including many familiar names going full time (congrats). So while I will give Wyrd the benefit of the doubt concerning future plans, it is not their future being criticised but their past. While my criticisms have always related to marketing and extra content in one way or another, there are those (I know not who) who suggest that there is rot in Wyrd's foundations. The idea that Malifaux's debated flaws (I know not which) are reflective of a deeper flaw in the company's game design philosophy.

You: The good, the bad and the everybody

"You want it to be one way. You want it to be one way. But it's the other way."

So while I now feel I am on thin ice, I will redirect the growing storm cloud of opinion and entitlement and reflect it back on those who feel it most; you, the community:

1) As I have already said (in a hopefully positive repetitive manner), the community is wonderful. I will happily risk contradiction and say I wouldn't be here if I didn't love this community =] Compare it to Diablo or IGN or, Hell, even Warseer, and it stands heads and shoulders above everyone. I've seen communities that were very polite, but had next to no activity. Far larger and active forums have shown a lack of interconnectedness; rather a collective of parallel inputs maintained and marred equally by arbitrary posts and "trolling". This community feels connected, however loosely, and while it is preserved by courtesy and maturity, it maintains its opinionated drive that only rarely slips into white noise. As far as the internet goes, this community is a bloody miracle.

2) And bloody it can be too (that was awful). I'll be honest (again), and say that my viewpoint of Malifaux has been shaped and reinforced by this community, and there is a reason I don't play it. I'm not afraid that Wyrd have produced a shoddy product, I'm afraid I will encounter some of you (nothing personal). That said, I'm not afraid, I'm angry Angry at how hard it must be for a new player to access the Malifaux Matters forum and come out with a hopeful outlook. I say that this community is amazing, but that is only because I have seen what is possible when the topic isn't "is it ironic to flog a dead Resurrectionist horse?" The repetitive nature of the objective/subjective debate, the tier/no tier debate, the meta/non-meta debate, the "to troll or not to troll" debate, etc, etc, etc to the blah blah^th degree. Don't get me wrong, for some reason (again, I know not why) I have come to love debate, even thrive off it. What I see on the Malifaux Matters forum is the opposite of debate, the opposite of intuitive; two opposed ideas held in perpetual segregated conflict; vocal black and white, not conscious grey. I have long thought that there should be two more sub-forums - Welcome to Malifaux (literally no sooner written, it was so!) and The Frontier (public post-release playtesting) - to at least organise and even stimulate the right kind of dialogue while establishing a clearer frame of reference.

The Business and the Consumer: The candle and the match

"You show them loyalty, they learn loyalty. Show them it's about the work, it'll be about the work. Show them some other kinda game, that's what they'll play."

Ok so I think I've sucked up and blown you both enough (uh...) so let's try and bring you back together again. You'd like that, wouldn't you? (please stop).

Now since I want to end this on a happy note, I'm gonna need to switch it up and continue with the negative tone.

The overall irony is that in the manner the community highlights Wyrd's systemic issues, they highlight their own. Both got issues, no doubt about it. Now I suppose it's worth blunting such a subjective statement by stating that it applies to the whole industry; the patterns are all the same.

Now I made a passing comment before - "I sometimes wonder if Wyrd know what love is anymore". For me, that is the genuine threat we are faced with, and my one and true fear. It is rooted in the trend of Nathan replying to criticism with what seems to be a growing realisation for them - burned if you do, burned if you don't. That epiphany, that the community is not anything more than a half empty/full cup of contradicting desires, no wiser, noble or innocent than the business, is so very dangerous. If a company doesn't have time to do customer research then how do they access the silent majority? And if they do then how do they stop those on the other side from being an empty volume? Ultimately there is a difference between getting burned igniting a light and extinguishing one, and Wyrd need to remember one of their core values; don't lose the connection. Likewise the community, or rather the supercore, have to aspire to the values they try and enforce in Wyrd. They have to overcome their established filters and transform their stereotype into a passive or productive role, determined by the form and extent of their interests. The result is a weird (hehe) kind of democracy, with two ultimately separate bodies interconnected and communicating freely, transparently and productively with the goal of embodying their full, as of yet untapped, potential.

The Game is the Show: Sit back and enjoy

"Why'd you let him play?"

"Got to, it's America man."

It would appear the sun is rising I could go for days on the faults in y'all, what needs to be done, etc, etc, blah^th degree, etc =] The fact is that while a revolution is just beyond the horizon (and I promise you, it's coming), the patterns will never change; indeed all roads are paved with good intentions and lead to Rome. Things will be tough, they'll likely get harder at some point, sometimes not, and many of you will count yourself as causalities in some kind of "war". But before you run off with your army boots and toy soldiers, I want to state again:

Flip a card,

Toss a coin,

The die is cast.

We've already won.

If you haven't worked it out already, let me explain. Life is like a game, you make decisions, but ultimately there are rules and probability that ensure the result is not always as intended. Sometimes it feels like it's broken, hehe, sometimes you wish you could just quit =D In the end some of us count ourselves winners regardless of the result, some don't. The analogue gaming industry is a reflection of life, it has people, a community, and it has authorities that make us feel like winners and losers, but always with the results we, or they, did not intend. But as small as this industry is in the grand scale of things and as flawed as we are, we share something special; a hobby. That simple word that can turn a bad day around or backfire on us altogether. I said the patterns repeat, but the final message remains the same.

The game is rigged, but in sharing this hobby with each other, we ensure it is rigged in our favour. So whether you are at the profitable start of the deck, hurtling towards a reshuffle with terrifying uncertainty or retiring your worn cards to faded memory, remember:

We've already won.

P.S. Now THAT is how you mason a wall'o'text motherlovers, fo' real! =D

Oh and watch this space

[Dumb Luck]

I did not get a word of that. Short version?*shrug*

[Ozz]

The really really short version that i took away is the community needs to agree more frequently, so that Wyrd can understand us and show that they love us all more?

But i also did not understand to much of it, this seems to not be a topic i am experienced in.

But, most importantly, First place in the wall of text competitions! (and you used the word Frak, made me smile)

[Dumb Luck]

The really really short version that i took away is the community needs to agree more frequently, so that Wyrd can understand us and show that they love us all more?

But i also did not understand to much of it, this seems to not be a topic i am experienced in.

But, most importantly, First place in the wall of text competitions! (and you used the word Frak, made me smile)

Cheers man. *fistbump*

Also, golf.

[Cadilon]

You, sir, are either a certified genius or a lunatic. I've not figured out which yet.

Maybe I am missing something that everyone else sees? Like a thematic topic?

[ThePandaDirector]

I did not get a word of that. Short version?*shrug*

Ouch, the irony couldn't be clearer

In that case I'll condense it with my rule of three:

1) Any issues people have with an analogue game (Malifaux) is rooted in a more systemic issue in the overall industry; the components of which are business (Wyrd) and consumer (us).

2) That issue is communication (hence the aforementioned irony); the components of which are community (us again), platform (forums, etc) and content (product, marketing, etc).

Note: By communication I mean the source and end point (what and how it is said, and how and why it is interpreted) as opposed to the simple acceptance (or agreement) of information.

3) But at the end of the day, so long as we share this hobby, or have shared it, we "win" regardless; the components being fun and life =]

So yeah, ignore the slight introspective slant, it comes down to a simple debate highlighting what I feel are the genuine issues at hand (as opposed to something as insignificant as the Red Joker).

Clearer?

And just be glad you're not involved in the Puppet Wars playtest (6000 words is my record there) =P

[mistercactus]

I think you have the right idea, but need to be a bit more coherent and concise in what you're saying.

10/10 for effort though!

Edit: Ninja (or is that a kung-fu panda?)

[dgraz]

That was a wall of text alright. A wall of text that didn't really say anything. Could you make a point out of all of that? I couldn't. What exactly are you trying to say? Wyrd is good, Wyrd is bad, Wyrd is Rome, Wyrd is the anti-Christ?

I feel like I just listened to that old guy at the end of the 2nd Matrix movie.

[EricJ]

Pandalove forever

[nilus]

I feel like I just listened to that old guy at the end of the 2nd Matrix movie.

Colonel Sanders?

[Mergoth]

I feel like I just listened to that old guy at the end of the 2nd Matrix movie.

Thank You for that. :-)

I'm afraid my eyes kinda glazed over after the first two paragraphs. The over-use of jargon made me want to scroll to the bottom of the page to tick the "accept" box so I can click next and finish installing my new media player or whatever.

[nilus]

Pandalove forever

Wow a rare EricJ response post. Congrats Panda, that's like spotting Sasquatch dancing with a unicorn during an eclipse

[rancor709]

The Panda is on to something. or the Panda is not, perhaps we can all agree it just needs more testing.

[LordZombie]

Yeah, I am sure the OP is facepalming himself right thinking everyone here are pretty dim bulbs, but I got nothing out of that. Think I will take the blue pill and continue living in a dream. It was impressive though, not doubt on that.

[dgraz]

The Panda is on to something. or the Panda is not, perhaps we can all agree it just needs more testing.

I think something needs to happen.

[edonil]

Brevity is good, but thank you for your thoughts. Gonna be a little to process it all, but I do agree overall

[karn987]

Panda, wow man... thats a lot of text O.o

But well said sir

[edonil]

Woah. A Karn sighting!

[Twisted Metal]

No kidding... I have no idea what was said but its good to see Karn posting in the Malifaux forums again.

[karn987]

I still lurk around

I do hope to be posting more often in the coming months.

[Schism 93]

I feel you have missed some points. Firstly, as it appears a hot topic on forum right now, to say you are not gonna talk about an emotional stand-point yet to then talk about loving the hobby is counter-intuitive, as to avoid the emotional aspect is to avoid the criticism altogether as the the criticism is born out of love for the hobby. In my area people hit problems and went back to 40k, not spending months/years trying to help solve the problems (justified or not I won't get into that) The silent majority you refer to are the people who largely tried the game liked it but still went to other things. Yes the negativity is bad for new gamers on one level, on another level it warns them about certain things in advance. The concept of having all constructive criticism in a "frontier" section is a good idea imho.

Secondly. I feel you don't fully grasp the history of the non-historical war/skirmish gaming scene. I may well be incorrect saying that, sorry if I am, but that's the feeling I got reading it. To even bring GW's business model into any discussion relating to Wyrd is futile, it's like comparing Microsoft to a kid in a garage writing codes (no offence meant to Wyrd) I think the point you are trying to make, is that GW detached from it's community and we have to make sure we don't compel Wyrd to do the same. But for Wyrd to do so would be commercial suicide, whereas GW doesn't care because it doesn't have to and they know it. This bit "but most businesses still show their green roots while Games Workshop is both a pillar and an anchor" is what I refer to mainly though. GW has existed for 37 yrs, compared to Wyrd's 7, around 20-30 of those years GW has held a monopoly on the market as people are afraid to invest in another new game no one will play in case this one goes under as well. Small companies have to maitain good relationship with customer base as word of mouth is how they get around due to dwindling brick and mortar store numbers. They such different entities that they cannot really be compared to any meaningful conclusion.

Thirdly there is no way on earth a company and it's customers are comparable to a democracy, thankfully. The game is the company's, not the players'. In a perfect world, a passion driven hobby where a company listens it will become a symbiotic relationship, if it doesn't listen the company can become a parasitic drain on resources (time and money) that each customer will decide their own breaking point. I am not saying Wyrd is either of these. But the longer they run for (and bigger they get) the more companies in niche markets tend toward the latter, combined with families, life and such forth mean a constant renewal of new blood is essential for existence let alone growth. People will leave, some will quietly, some noisily, neither way is intrinsically right or wrong.

Overall, I feel you are right on a fundamental level but it got lost in there somewhere along the way, not like I don't ramble myself apparently There were more things I was gonna say but it's 3:15 and brain has retired. Thank you for working my brain for a while and good luck for the masters funding it can be tough. Also for a frame of reference, this post is longer than what most people will read on abstract concepts in a forum(and didn't follow my own tip ). Don't expect anyone else to read through it, but if you do I hope you can either reply or pm me in case I'm really off in how I read your stuff.

Take it easy

[Toonook]

I'm not sure what it means, but I'm happy to grab a pitchfork and burning torch and march wherever you need great panda man

[Justin]

But, most importantly, First place in the wall of text competitions! (and you used the word Frak, made me smile)

I've read longer posts from him.

[Plankwalker]

So you sat us in a business meeting, showed us pie charts and bar graphs of things going on in the industry and then went into the psychology about the "democracy" that supposedly happens with the communication. I agree completely with how Schism 93 puts it here.

Thirdly there is no way on earth a company and it's customers are comparable to a democracy, thankfully. The game is the company's, not the players'. In a perfect world, a passion driven hobby where a company listens it will become a symbiotic relationship, if it doesn't listen the company can become a parasitic drain on resources (time and money) that each customer will decide their own breaking point. I am not saying Wyrd is either of these. But the longer they run for (and bigger they get) the more companies in niche markets tend toward the latter, combined with families, life and such forth mean a constant renewal of new blood is essential for existence let alone growth. People will leave, some will quietly, some noisily, neither way is intrinsically right or wrong.

This community is definitely a good one compared to many many out there, but arguing with the internet and feeding trolls is sadly part of modern internet life, but it can easily be avoided and people may cry that Eric and Nathan aren't listening but we all know that's a load of garbage. I have lurked around these forums since the very early days of Malifaux and it's very easy to see how hard Nathan and Eric pour their blood, sweat and tears into Wyrd and even come to the conclusion that they are masochists for the insane amount of work they create for themselves before/during/after Gencon time.

It was a rollercoaster of a post Panda, I liked how it ended on a nice sentiment hehe. Was a decent, although confusing read to kill time here at work.

[Ozz]

I've read longer posts from him.

*Runs and hides*