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Did you know I was once co-owner of a company that made physical #games? We were called Escape Hatch Games, and very few of you would have ever heard of it. It didn't last long because stuff is hard and having more than one full time job is hard and junk. Here's the logo:
I learned a LOT about game design during that time, and I learned even more about the realities of the gaming industry. Ever wonder why #TTRPG writers are getting paid 5 cents a word for entry level if they're lucky? Why PDFs cost more than free? Why physical books are expensive?
EVERYTHING costs money, practically. Namely time. But holding something in your hand that you designed from scratch? Seeing something you and your friends made together made manifest? That's pretty damn cool. We had plans to do a variety of games, books, etc. but reality is a
cruel mistress, so we only ever released 1 game physically, despite a lot of work going into the others. We even went to Gencon and had a booth and everything. If you're that dude who was blowing his viking warhorn while I was demoing, I'm still not sorry I yelled at you to STFU.
I lost my voice super hard & you weren't helping. If you're the DM of the Baldman Games AL #DnD game I played that one night, yes, I was indeed drinking at the table. But Varen Krent demanded good roleplaying, and that gnome wasn't going to Spare the Dying himself. But I digress.
There was a little boy who came by the booth with his parents, and he was DELIGHTED by our game. He played his heart out. His parents told me he barely ever spoke, but with our game, he couldn't stop talking excitedly about EVERYTHING. I felt like we actually made a difference.
His parents bought the game on the spot, tears in their eyes, because they finally found a way to get him to be social and speak without being crushed by anxiety and engage with other people, adults no less. I didn't cry with them. OK I definitely cried with them. We did good.
I regret that that game didn't do more, that I couldn't give it the time and attention it deserved. It was a good thing we did, but it just didn't last, and I wish it had, but things change. That game, though, will always have a special place deep in my heart. My friends and I
MADE it. And it was a force for good. It had heart. And it still does. That game is called Tell Me A Story. Some of you might own a copy, but I know not many do. I regret that. So I think I'm going to do something to change that, if only in a tiny increment. This game has a piece
of my heart in it, and it means the world to me. I would like at least one more person to have it. Something I made with people I care about. Something that meant something to other people. Something that helped a child find his voice in a shitty world that's hard to handle.
#gamers and co. - I'm not going to give away the next big #dnd book. I'm not going to give away something someone else made. I'm going to give away something that will tell you about who I am. Something that matters. Something I made with time and effort that I couldn't really
afford to spend on it, but did anyways because my soul was screaming that I needed to. So sure, I'll ask you to follow me, like the post, retweet - because that's the game, right? That's how this dance is done if you want to be taken seriously. But the winner is going to get
something that means something, not just a marketing ploy. I really, truly care about what I'm doing here. I'm not just trying to be a successful businessman so I can feel important. I want to make GAMES and stuff FOR GAMES. That's the whole point.
Here's the game, btw.
Here's the game, btw.
