WtAF did I walk into this time?
Okay. It so happens I followed this person before this post on #TTRPGTwitter .
Here’s the link if you’re on Twitter.
**WARNING!** Before anyone freaks out- There are parts of this statement that I wholeheartedly agree with and a couple of things that I think require careful examination and discernment. I’m not offended by any of it. (Some of the comments on Twitter were another story.)
I’m a “Male creator in the #TTRPG community.” (Sorta-ish.)
Okay. So far so good. No secrets there. I’m a pretty standard issue older white guy. Tabletop Roleplaying Games are very much my jam for 40+years now.
She’s calling on me “not to work…” Whoa. What? Let’s stop the bus for a second. I’ve been unemployed for a year and a change now. Um- I’m sorry. But if someone offered me a real, cash-paying job at Wizards of the Coast or some other game company? At this point I wouldn’t argue.
Now, obviously people aren’t beating down my door to offer me a job. I’ve never gotten to hold one of the rare, highly coveted writing jobs at one of the “real” established game companies. Make no mistake- It’s on my vision board. It has been my dream for 36-ish years. I believe it will happen eventually.
Make no mistake, I have zero issues working with anyone on an RPG. (*Okay, except bigots, homophobes, transphobes, haters and other such -ists.) But People of Color? Women? Trans folx? Sign me up. Awesome. It’s about the GAME! (and maybe a paycheck.)
Now to unpack the more of this statement.
“…not to work with project leads who consistently lead projects that only include white men and the occasional token non-man.”
Okay, cool. I think people took the ball and ran toward the wrong end zone with this statement online. I think what she means is don’t go work for white guys who only hire other white guys and the occasional person of color or woman/trans male/trans female. That’s the lengthened version if I read it right.
That’s actually very good advice! Note she said “project leads.” I would take that to mean likely larger companies. Yeah, at this point in the year 2022, we have better options than all-male, all-white RPG design teams at Wizards of the Coast, Paizo, Renegade, and other big game companies. I agree.
The negative, harsh criticism from this post is unwarranted.
I’ve seen too many comments of “Don’t tell me who to work with” and “Don’t tell me who to hire.” Those comments are all for nothing. Guys, she’s not speaking in absolutes. She’s not trying to force anything. She’s trying to promote diversity and inclusion in game design teams. Good for her!
I would personally have said it a bit differently in an effort to keep things positive. I might not have the perfect phrasing, either. If I posted a similar statement here on my blog, it would look like:
Hey, if you’re looking for a job on a design team, please look for project leads who work primarily with diverse and inclusive groups. There’s plenty of work in large companies such as Wizards of the Coast to go around.
If you have the option to work on a project with a manager that encourages diversity and inclusion of ideas from all the people from every walk of life, culture, climate, condition, whatever- that’s awesome. Please do that. I think most people would argue that an abundance of varying ideas from different sociocultural perspectives is a good thing.
I have issues with the last part of the statement again.
“There are so many better, cooler, more fun projects to work on.”
Sure. I can start my own game company. I can struggle for years to get noticed or get my product noticed. Can I come live in the world where all of these amazeballs options exist, please? I guess if I’m doing shit for fun, maybe? (*I mean, yay fun, personal projects, but those don’t pay so well.)
Sorry, RPG family/community. It’s not that I have issues with @wildrosemage (Hannah) Quite the opposite. She’s an accomplished editor and designer. I admire her success. (*Law of Attraction rule: Never disrespect someone for their being prosperous. Positive success is a good thing.)
Oh, and damn near 15,000 followers on Twitter! Geez! What am I doing here? At least there’s almost zero chance my comments will be noticed once again. LOL!
The issue I have with there being supposedly being so many other projects to work on, like I have all these amazing options in front of me, is that the statement comes from her worldview. Obviously, she has options.
I can put good ol’ Matt Colville or Matt Mercer on blast on this blog any day of the week. No one will give a hoot. Why? Because I’m small potatoes right now. I could disappear from the internet tomorrow and very few people would notice.
Game companies are not beating down my door to hire me. Yes, I am very picky about who I work for these days. I’m also very reluctant to deal with criticism. In short, I’m a hot mess of a human being. I’ll own any/all of my shortcomings. Obviously, some folx have it a lot better.
Yeah, I’m still barking in the dark. Sigh. Nothing like a major case of imposter syndrome to end my day much the same way it began. Not even sure where I belong any more.
I am so happy and grateful for every last one of my readers.
Thanks for being here. I may be taking a social media break after this. I appreciate you stopping by. You’re a wonderful and kind audience. Thank you!
Jeff's Game Box 