I don’t really cover “news” as
such too often here at Hobby Games Recce. Other websites compile the
deluge of relevant adventure gaming developments in a far more timely
and comprehensive manner. But I still occasionally find “breaking
news” that grabs my attention. Dyson Logos’ recent announcement
deserves note: he’s releasing every map that hits the $300 level on
his Patreon site under a free commercial license for use by anyone in
a for-profit project.
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| Cool Map by Dyson Logos |
The prolific and talented mapmaker
already allows individuals to use his maps in their personal, free
materials with the proper attribution. Several times each week his Dyson’s Dodecahedron blog releases new maps, each with enough
adventure hook notes to suggest how to populate them and use
interesting features he’s packed into each creation. Many other
talented artists produce maps and map-based game materials online –
Tim Shorts, Matt Jackson, and Simon Forster remain among my favorites
– and while I like their contributions to the collective map-making
community, Dyson’s style really connects with my ideals for how
dungeon maps should look: black-and-white line art, crosshatching
(with some nice embellishments), intuitive secret door notation, and
a solid feel for imbuing the graphic map with elements suggesting
their specific and more general purpose.
I’m excited about this news for two
primary reasons: it provides free maps for publishers and it
reinforces the effectiveness of the Patreon model.
Anyone could use one of Dyson Logos’
maps for their home game – his excellent Dyson’s Delves books encourage that by presenting a map on one page and lines for
notes on the facing page – but with the possibility of a free,
commercial-use license, independent publishers who don’t usually
have access to this kind of cartography can now use it to enhance
their products. All they have to do is credit him in the product for
his work (“Maps by Dyson Logos,” for instance). Free graphic
materials don’t matter much to the big game publishing houses, but
to smaller, independent game creators they make a world of
difference. Not everyone has the talent or time to draft an
eye-catching map, but it certainly can serve as at least an appealing
embellishment for a game book, if not the focal point for a product
like an adventure; and independent game publishers need all the help
they can get producing attractive materials. I like to think I
possess decent enough artistic talents to render my own maps (often
done in a similar style to Dyson’s), but it takes a great deal of
effort and time, which I don’t always have, and the results are
certainly nowhere near Dyson’s well-developed, crisp, inspiring
pieces. Dyson’s free-for-commercial-use maps aren’t exclusive –
any publisher can use a map released under this license with the
standard credit attribution – but they’re a wonderful source of
fantasy roleplaying game location maps to enhance creator’s
projects without having to spend additional cash, finances that, if
they have them in the first place, they can use for other
enhancements.
Patreon Reinforcement
One might argue whether the real effect
of Dyson’s announcement comes in its reinforcement of Patreon’s
subscription model approach and the value of individual creators.
I’ve talked about the adventure gaming hobby’s history of using the subscription model before. Although much of the material is
intended to remain free to some extent, Patreon’s arrangement works
very much like the subscription method, with supporters pledging
certain amounts per month or per release, with the ability to “cap”
their contributions at a certain amount or frequency. They pay only
when the creator releases product, instead of paying in advance for a
product still in development in a sort of “pre-order” system.
They can “cancel their subscription” at any time for whatever
reason; possibly their own financial reasons or because the content
doesn’t appeal to them anymore. Patreon offers a platform where
independent creators can connect with fans who, if they believe
enough in creators and have the means, can become paying patrons
providing financial incentive to support new materials. This in turn
encourages creators to regularly produce work; whether operating on a
monthly or per-release basis, creators get nothing unless they
produce. This positive environment – enabling fans to interact with
and financially support creators – nurtures new, beneficial
developments in the relation between creators and their followers and
encourages creators to pursue original projects often beyond the
scope of what’s normally seen.
Subscription as
Patronage
A few years ago I briefly discussed the patronage system in both its historical context and its relation to
creators in the adventure gaming hobby, just as Kickstarter was
making its mark but before Patreon appeared on the scene. In an
adventure gaming hobby long dominated by traditional publishers –
though independent designers now have more venues for creating and
distributing their work – Patreon offers a platform to connect
creators with consumers and helps drive the independent designer
economy.
Of course these creators still release
many materials to the gaming public for free, but Patreon allows
people to financially support their efforts, interact in positive,
encouraging ways, and ultimately provide creators incentives to keep
producing. It’s hard enough to eke out a living in the adventure
gaming hobby or even make it worthwhile amid financial challenges and
online sniping; so I’m encouraged to see a positive environment
like Patreon nurturing creators.
I hope Dyson continues these
arrangements in the future...and that funding levels sustain it. He
deserves credit and thanks for demonstrating that the Patreon model
can benefit both designers and gamers in innovative ways. I encourage
creators to examine how Dyson uses Patreon to expand his scope and
popularity, use the platform themselves as a means to develop original projects
and deliver them to fans, and learn from the experience to enhance
everyone’s involvement in the adventure gaming hobby. I urge people
to continue supporting creators in their paid endeavors, whether
through Patreon or other venues. Crowdfunding has quickly become yet
another means for gamers to acquire new material beyond the Friendly
Local Game Store and online sales of physical books and PDFs; it’s
also a new way for independent designers to fund and distribute their
works. I’m not going to debate the differences between a
subscription patronage like Patreon and the one-time, “pre-order”
investment in a future product like Kickstarter (though others, most
notably Tenkar’s Tavern, have already examined this issue). I think
the crowdfunding experience has helped both creators and patrons.
Granted, crowdfunding has seen its growing pains – newcomers still
have to gauge the value of their experiences and satisfaction with
each new platform – but the net result offers more ways of enabling
creators to release material and connect with gamers.
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