That Kind of Courage

Written by Dave Martin on 2010/02/11 – 00:00 -

Dave Martin spends most of his time working on projects for Tabletop Armory or fulfilling the terms of his mercenary contracts. On the rare occasion he is not writing something, he could be watching TV with his wife or lurking somewhere in the World of Warcraft.

When Tyson and Jeff asked me to write an article about my experiences in the RPG industry and attempting to have my writing support me full time, I had to sit back for a moment to ponder what they were really asking for and, more importantly, what I actually could share. Starting up a game design studio like Tabletop Armory alongside attempting to establish a solid reputation as a freelance mercenary writer has at time seemed like a fool’s task. The truth is that I did not plan to be going about things in this fashion. As a newcomer to the professional side of the industry, I was not prepared for many opportunities I found to do work for several companies. None of my projects have yet made it to print, and pretty much all of them are still ongoing, in varied stages of the writing and developing process. The most public example of my (small) success thus far has been the online posting of my winning entry for the Fantasy Brewmasters Dwarven Brew Story Contest, which is now in revision and undergoing further development. So, what I unfortunately can’t share at the time of writing this article is my success as a published RPG writer. (Not just yet, anyway.)

Instead what I would like to talk about today is “courage.” I think that this key element is what is most essential for any venture to have a chance at success. There are, of course, other key factors or qualities like drive, writing ability, creativity, ability to be taught and to learn from others, and the all-important skill of taking constructive criticism and using it wisely. But those factors are either with you from the beginning or picked up along the way. Yes, I am telling you that good writing is a developed skill. Writers were not born great writers. Even the best writers have room to improve, and I will make no claim to be among the best of them just because I have seen a little success so far. But I want to get back to the key quality, courage.

With the exception of a few companies and personalities, the RPG industry is open, accessible, and glad to welcome new professional developers. This is the first point where courage enters the mix. Make a proposal, send an inquiry letter, or otherwise contact gaming companies to get a feel for what they may be looking to do in the near future in regards to freelance writers. Rejection is not to be feared at this point (or any point!) in the game, and make sure to spread the net wide by starting conversations or submitting several proposals to multiple companies.

You may have noticed I made a small leap there for a moment. I assumed that the readers of this article are at least in some way interested in how to get into the industry if they are not already. That, or I was sharing how I did it. It’s no big secret, really. I am a tenacious person by nature, and I jumped in with both feet. But that is exactly what I am talking about. Having the courage to say to a line developer, “Yeah, I’ve got some ideas about this,” or, “Oh, and maybe this rule should do this instead,” is for some people a stretch in the beginning. I tend to think that it was more just me not knowing my place, but the point is that I was never afraid to speak my mind to anyone who would listen or reply to an email.

Maybe freelance mercenary work is not for everybody. If that is the case but someone still wants to make a mark in the industry, one can always start up a game design studio. All of the previously mentioned qualities need to be present, and I think the courage factor can be higher here. It is going to be hard. Owning a business is about more than being able to give yourself a day off of work to play a video game. In fact, my video game playing has all but ceased since I starting working on Tabletop Armory full time. You work hardest for yourself, and if you don’t, you won’t succeed.

I know, several readers will have already picked up on the fact that I might consider myself a courageous person, and maybe that’s true. But I’m not viewing myself as a hero or in a narcissistic manner. It does take courage to do some of the things that I have already done, and that’s why I believe in sharing that fact. I would hate for an otherwise great game developer to miss out on being part of something amazing just because he or she was too timid to do anything about an opportunity.

Like my friends here at Apathy Games, I believe in what I am doing. And we and everyone before us have all been courageous enough at some point to step out and risk taking a hit for something we believe in. So, the secret to my success? What little of it I have I think needs to be attributed to courage. So far, that is about all the wisdom this new RPG industry professional can share.


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