Indie RPG Book Club: January voting thread

Haveamuffin · 2016-12-23T13:33:12+00:00

I am sorry but this won't qualify. This game is not even pass the KS phase, there's still 22 day to go. We are picking a game that can be read, played and discussed next month not games that have a temptative release date 5 months from now.

This place is not meant to be an extra KS promotion thread, rather a place to discuss small games that are out and we enjoy.

Haveamuffin · 2016-12-19T22:40:16+00:00

Okay, just told you to stop insulting people and you keep doing it. You need to take a break now.

Haveamuffin · 2016-12-19T22:10:17+00:00

Please comment respectfully or abstain from it. Not liking a game is ok, personal attacks towards the game creators are not! Consider this a warning!

Haveamuffin · 2016-12-19T19:21:59+00:00

That's why I have italicized best, I was referring to the 'community perceived best', the games that get recommended all the time and have a big number of fans.

Haveamuffin · 2016-12-19T17:53:55+00:00

Yes, I agree. That's why I was saying is hard to define and put some boundaries around it. And no matter how we set the boundaries, there will be people trying to push them. I am not trying to get it too restrictive though, I have no problem with bigger names or people that have been around for a long time, there's no reason why they should be excluded as far as I can tell. The goal originally was to find out something new and exciting every month, and usually this comes from the smaller press group. Discovering games like Warrior-Poet or The Clay That Woke feels great and you don't usually see them recommended a lot, so they're hard to find out about. This was the goal of the Indie Club, this little known games that are amazing but get no exposure. BUt in the end we ended up with about half of our picks being big names that everyone already knew. There was no discovery happening. Know I want to see if the community wants the discovery of new games or the appreciation of the best games.

Haveamuffin · 2016-12-19T17:19:06+00:00

I definitely think we can stick to small press

I really like that, small press. I feel it really encompases what was the original goal. Thank you!

Haveamuffin · 2016-12-19T17:17:22+00:00

I liked the small-press indie someone suggested. I feel it really reflects what we were going for originally, but, of course, than there's the issue with games that are only available in PDF...

Haveamuffin · 2016-12-19T17:15:47+00:00

Everyone of our previous winners is a game put out by a LLC or small games company as well, I understand that, and we are not planning to exclude anyone based on that. I understand that a company is needed for publishing and selling even if you are just one person doing it. That is all fine. It's hard to define exactly what counts and what doesn't. That's our problem too and why I want to have an open discussion here. So far, small-press indie was the closest description we got to what we are aiming for. Or, at least, what the original goal was for. What will it end up is yet undecided.

Thanks for your input, I appreciate the insight from your point of view as well.

Haveamuffin · 2016-12-19T17:06:58+00:00

That would be a good way to do it too. My only worry is that it would require dedicated people. Many times I've noticed people wanting to be a part of something and then not participating at all. If you select 5 people, permanent or rotating jury, and at the time to decide 3 or 4 go unreachable it would turn into an exercise in frustration. Besides, it could also end up feeling unfair to the silent majority, maybe(?).

But it is a good idea, thank you for it. I will keep it as one of the options.

Haveamuffin · 2016-12-18T22:29:56+00:00

That is one thing I have not thought about, thank you for that! How would you organise that?

Haveamuffin · 2016-12-18T22:28:25+00:00

That was indeed the goal when we started, however I've let the community drive the contest and shape it as it wished. I have considered ending it since it appeared there was very little interest in this thing anymore. We had people complain that only the popular games won, but they were not submitting any small-name games so there were only big-name submissions, therefore, a popular game was winning it. People have asked for more contests, but on the ones available almost no one participates. So instead of ending the Indie game of the month I've decided to try the open discussion approach.

How would you formulate the title? Small scale game ? Small Indie Game? Any other ideas?

Haveamuffin · 2016-12-18T22:04:29+00:00

Thank you! I just hope more people are willing to share their opinion and we can reach a sort of agreement.

Haveamuffin · 2016-12-18T14:37:35+00:00

Those games, no matter the quality, would not fit here since they are not indie at all (which has come from independent). They are games own by a company, not the creator. Modiphius, Cubicle7, MCG and others are companies that put out many different games under their name and the rights to the games belong to the companies for that, not the game authors. If any of this companies would be sold, the games could be changed no matter the author's wish.

Haveamuffin · 2016-12-18T13:49:23+00:00

My prefered moderation method would be as little as possible. Maybe exclude the really obvious ones, the ones that get a lot of exposure anyway on /r/rpg and already have a big vocal following. Games like AW, DW, Fiasco, Dread and such are all indie, but they are all very well known games that get recommended a lot. Do they really need the extra exposure?

Haveamuffin · 2016-12-18T12:51:56+00:00

That's why I want to have the discussion. So everyone can express what they actually want. After that we will do our best to steer it the right way. It won't be perfect, nothing is. But it will be easier with help from the community.

Haveamuffin · 2016-12-18T11:50:05+00:00

Let's start the new year with some new awesome Indie game. However, let's try to return to the basic and the original scope of this monthly contest, discovering new small indie games. There have been complaints about the Indie game of the month becoming a circle-jerk for the big favourite games around here. This has the effect of turning some of our readers away and maybe justly so. While I still believed we had a few great indie games selected and it did help me find some new awesome games, I do believe that some people have used it to push their favourite games, indie or not. This is understandable, since we all have games that we really love and we want everyone to try them, however I believe this might be the wrong place for it.

There's also been an influx of games that cannot be considered indie at all since they are being put out by gaming companies that hold all the rights (not the game designer/author, which many times in this cases are multiple ones). I will do my best to remind people who do this in the future of this particular mistake.

In the end, I want the whole contest to be as much as possible in the hands of the community. So let's have some honest and open talk about it.

What would you prefer?
Should we moderate it more heavily and enforce the rules more strongly (removing games that don't fit, allow only less known/ popular games in order to avoid the fans bandwagoning votes etc)?
Should we step back and just let the community moderate itself as much as possible? Are there any other suggestions you have?
Should we completely remove the Indie part of the contest?
Or maybe this whole thing has run it's course and we should put an end to it?

Please feel free to express your opinions. It would really help. Complaining only about it not being what you would like it to be, when not speaking up when offered the chance, does not help. I really want some honest discussion. That's why it will be part of the contest thread with contest mode on (that might help). Thank you!

Haveamuffin · 2016-12-10T23:24:47+00:00

Great job! I like short and to the point reviews.

However, I need to remind you to check and follow the self-promotion rules we have on the subreddit. Basically, only one self-promotion post is allowed per week. This is enforced on everyone equally.

Haveamuffin · 2016-12-08T23:02:44+00:00

Send a message to /u/lumpley and ask him.

Haveamuffin · 2016-12-08T18:25:45+00:00

Do not share other people's private information on reddit. This is against the site's rules.

Haveamuffin · 2016-12-06T16:45:17+00:00

While the game looks cool KS projects are limited to 2 post per project, one at any moment and one in the last 48 hrs of the project. This is to prevent spamming too much while still letting new projects get exposure. This game has already been linked before, all other posts directly or indirectly linking the KS will be removed, except one in the last 48 hrs.

You can view the full rules here.

Haveamuffin · 2016-12-04T11:47:19+00:00

Well the original idea was to focus on the small hidden gems out there. You can see that in the idea post. However, as with many other things, once you put them out they belong to the community and the community shapes them into what they are now. We still get one of the small hidden gems now and then but yes, your point is still valid.

I do believe however that AW is still very much an indie game since it's been put out by 2 people and they have full control over everything related to the game and can choose to make the game whatever they want it to be.

Haveamuffin · 2016-12-03T13:54:45+00:00

My question for Vincent or Meguey, or both, is What's the secret?

What, in your opinion, makes Apocalypse World and the rest of the PbtA games so popular? The popularity is undeniable. This game and the games it spawned have changed something in the RPG community. Is there something new? Was it just the right game at the right time? I would be curious to hear your insight into this phenomenon, as we might easily call it.

Thank you!

Haveamuffin · 2016-11-22T17:42:47+00:00

It's still owned by someone and not made publicly available for free.

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