if you build a company based in fun, and you make it less fun to make more money, you are going to fail
hi i am atticus q redghost
and i occasionally moonlight as your business advisor on tumblr dot corn and i have Feelings about Business because of Reason I am resolving this year
the promise of increased technology, at it's core, is increased reach
(I am talking to you via text that I typed out on Sunday, September 1, 8:57 AM -- you are reading it at whatever day/time -- and in a location we are not together at, which is good because I just woke up and I look A Mess)
and/or increased accessibility
you are reading my ramblings for free instead of paying me to be your business consultant
i am publishing my ramblings at no cost and minimal effort
this is accomplished via the technologies of internet connections, browsers, and good ol' tumblr, which I am working on a client essay for and it's due in twelve hours but it's fine it's fine it's totally fine to spend 20 minutes writing this
and/or increased efficiency
this could go under "accessibility" and frequently does but we're listing it out here because this is Business Ramble 000 not How to Business 101 a course many folks would benefit from
Good Idea: Digital Character Sheets Tracking Things
These are glorified spreadsheets.
At the end of the day they have "Number interacting with Variable equals New Number."
That's.
Not.
Rocket science.
Something basic (you do math yourself), make it more efficient (it does math for you, infinite variety, infinite quantity, copy/paste, starters for infinite builds)
Given ~*~the very basics of fucking technology since the early 90s~*~ you can make these printable, blank and/or filled out, at minimal (likely $0) cost and therefore every goddamn character sheet is an ad for your company. Hey! Did you like playing this game! Come Here For More!
Better Idea: Release versions of every system you've ever built ever.
What's Cooler Than Cool? Ice Cold!
What is among the cheapest resource a company can acquire and maintain i am literally talking about paper clip money? Server space for black and white PDFs as they can be compressed like whoah!
There are arguments and measurements about what systems it makes sense to build and maintain digital auto-calculate auto-populate systems for. That's a whole consulting / internal structure.
I'm explicitly talking the sheets that you spent decades putting into books and selling as loose sheets to write on and/or photocopy.
You should have your old static rules available for a nominal price or significantly more preferable, free.
Your business case: "We want people to buy the latest" makes sense. You're a business.
My proposal: "You have to make this stuff fun or you will die. Stuff that costs you nothing to provide should be provided.
Everyone playing an old school game night is an ad for your new stuff.
Every retro enthusiast who says 'Oh Crap Old Stuff is Free'...
Is an ad for your new stuff that costs you nothing."
My case study that I am correct is the existence of YouTube (free to use, premium subscriptions, whole lot of old stuff watched EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY), Tubi (old stuff, free to watch, paid for via ads), PlutoTV (old stuff, free to watch, paid for via ads)
Best Idea: You shape the world you build in partnership with the players. OLD AND NEW.
Aside from maybe computer programming, in which there are entire civilizations of work being done for free, a system that is literally as old as the internet -- I don't know the exact number but I promise you between Website To Ever Exist #001 and Website To Ever Exist #100 there was a guide on How to Make a Website, a spirit that has never died and has only increased exponentially --
D&D has one of the largest, most expansive, most dynamic, most diverse research and development laboratories via player base
and the company could be given this data
for free for the simple cost of not trying to squeeze the blood out of every copper penny
I would murder people really enjoy having a personalized R&D department so vast provided to me for free.
you have built a dedicated fan base over the course of multiple generations by publishing books and guides and accessories
you want to increase revenue which is what a business does
why not try increasing accessibility and efficiency
you have
so much
low hanging
fruit here
If your product is "make more fun" and you make it less fun to make more money then you are going to go out of business.
the decline will be slow and grinding and you're going to spend a fucking fortune on consultants and management turnover
maybe i should stop talking here and send a request for pitch materials and become one of your consultants
BUT I WON'T BECAUSE MY TUMBLR IS BASED ON "HERE IS FUN STUFF IT IS FREE."
you think listening to shareholder demand is going to keep you in business and you're scared because interest rate levels have jumped from damn near zero to a reasonable level in a (relative) short period of time
you are in the imagination and inspiration business
you are not a tech company
you are not a microtransactions warehouse
you are a company where a single DM at a single game can say "Everyone is looking a little bored. Everyone gets free magic god weapons!" and then everyone cheers
and you are a company where a single person at a single DM at a single game -- even this very same game -- can say "everyone start rolling the magic god hates you now" and then the crowd cheers because it's a big battle
you are a modern mythology company
a myth begins to change if you wait 20 years or go in any direction 20 miles
if you provide frameworks you will succeed
if you provide roadblocks you will fail
as for me, thank you for this space, the above move is creating a lot of fucking problems for my back office and I do not want to deal with them and I Have Feelings and now they're parsed into words and images from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind for various reasons
("Atty it's very early in the morning")
I believe I said good night!
(Atticus shuffles out of the studio grumbling)