Behind the Counter
GAMA
Lately, I have been having involved in a discussion with many other game industry people. You know ... people you have actually heard of not just retailers like me but people who write, design, and publish the games we all love.
The discussion revolves around the value of a membership in the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA). And, whether or not it is worth the $400 a year to be a Full Voting Member in that association. There are learned, intelligent people on both sides of this discussion. Some feel GAMA dues are too high at $400 a year, some feel they are too low, and some who just don't see the benefit. I was doing the math, which comes out like this:
Lets see: about 40 Full Voting Members paying $400 a year is $16,000, and that does not cover the lowest paid full time GAMA Employee, I believe. (I am not certain of this, but I think this is accurate.) Still, what does a member get for their $400?
I can only speak of my own membership, and, yes, I am a voting member of GAMA, one of maybe 3 or 4 retailers who are (because we publish something, or used to publish something, that got us membership-qualified).
GAMA has lots of neat things for its members including a credit card processor with lower than average fees and better than average service. And, the GAMA Membership comes with a couple of badges to the GAMA Trade Show, and ORIGINS Game Convention. But, I cannot really justify the $400 just on what I "get" for my money.
And, still, every year, I pay my dues. Not because of what I get for my money, but because of what my money does for the industry, I suppose.
For me, being a member of our trade organization is worth the $400 because it makes me feel good to be part of the trade organization, mostly. I cannot quantify it beyond that.
Jonathan Albin, a former GAMA Employee, who was in charge of the dealer's hall the first year I attended, allowed me to set up as a vendor at Origins, without any money upfront, and agreement to pay for my booth on Saturday Morning. We did so well that first year, I paid for the booth on Thursday night. (That was our first Origins as a vendor.) That first Origins was a huge part of our success over the past several years.
Two years later(?), when my truck caught fire, Jonathan Albin offered to use the GAMA Truck (a rented vehicle) to help take my "stuff" back to Battle Creek, on the way back to the home offices (In Colorado) if I would pay the mileage. A very generous offer, I felt. And, although I didn't take him up on it, it meant a lot to me that he had offered.
That was the same year I ran the Origins Auction with, oh, four weeks' prep time. That was stupid of me to do, but I don't regret it. Although I did lose money doing it, it also gained me a certain level of notoriety in the industry as a person who could get things done.
Other members of the GAMA Staff and the GAMA Board, over the years, have offered personal help, and even back in the day when I was a GAMA Hater (yes, I was, I know it is hard to believe) Rick Loomis offered me three olive branches before I finally saw that he was not an evil guy, and GAMA was not what I had been told it was. (For those who do not know, Rick is one of the original organizers of GAMA, a founding member, has been elected president of GAMA about, oh, 15 times, and also owns Flying Buffalo games company.)
So, maybe my $400 FVM membership each year is just my way of saying "Thanks for all the personal help, friendship, and encouragement" to the people who have given so much to me.
I find that, as I get older, the relationships are more valuable to me than most anything else I can do in business. I like making a profit, I enjoy selling games--but the relationships I have in the game industry is worth a lot more to me than anything else I could have accomplished in the industry. And, many of those relationships came from my involvement in GAMA.
I count people like (and in no particular order) Ryan Dancey, Rick Loomis, Nicole Lindroos, Mike (at Avalanche and I am sure to misspell his last name, so forgive me for not trying), Jamie Chambers, Will Niebling, Chris Pramas, Margaret Weis, Anthony Gallela, Don Perrin, and many many others as my friends.
Now, I don't know what anyone elses definition of success is - but mine is knowing I have done my best each day, and measuring the number of people I call friend.
This industry has given me a lot. And, GAMA has been a key in that. $400 a year for dues is--honestly--a full week's salary for me. But, once a year, I refrain from taking a paycheck, and pay my GAMA Dues, and count myself lucky for the blessings this industry, and GAMA, has given my life.
It works out to like $1.09 per day to be a member.
Okay. Now a bit more on the industry as a whole ...
Wizards & D&D4
Lately, I have been thinking of the effect that WotC, D&D, and such has on the industry--and wondering about what will happen when the next "version" of D&D comes out.
I was a game shop owner when AD&D Second Edition was released. And, years later, D&D Third Edition, then 3.5. Both Second and Third Edition games were well received (though not well anticipated), and in my opinion needed. As I remember it anyway, the rules had become too cluttered and obfuscated for fast play or easy learning.
The thing is, they are that way again now. 3.5 is probably the hardest (popular) RPG to learn at this point, because there are so many rules to take into consideration. So many race, class, specialization and other options and books of rules to consider. It is daunting. Not to me or you perhaps. But to new players who want to play that game they have heard of, and come into my shop, and want to play. When I show them the shelf where we keep the 3.5 core books--and they see all the other hardcovers there--the new almost-customers often back out, and go back to playing video games.
If you have kept up with the D&D happenings of late, it is apparent that Wizards of the Coast is pulling its license(s) back in house. This could mean they are going to sell the license, or they are about to release D&D 4.0, or any number of other things (many of which I cannot even fathom). One thing seems to be certain: things have been changing, and are about to change more. Official D&D has been pulled back, and things like Raveloft, Dragonlance, and other, previously licensed settings, are not seeing new releases, or having their licenses renewed.
Is that bad? Not necessarily: buzz creates interest, after all. I just hope they do it right this time.
Which, is not to say that they did it wrong with 2nd or 3rd editions. I think they got those right, too. Both TSR, WotC, and, yes, retailers, made money with Dungeons & Dragons, the property that literally spawned the Adventure Game Industry.
I guess I will say I am excited to see what comes next: will D&D be spun off to another company? Will it see a 4.0? Or a 3.75 revitalization, perhaps? Will D&D become something different? Maybe be a miniatures-focused game, not so much of an RPG? If you read the message boards around the industry (which, mostly I do not) you will see much speculation and even some panic.
My prediction? I would guess that D&D will become on online-pdf subscription product where you get your Dragon and Dungeon Magazines, and most of your modules and supplements, there will be new rulebooks, and lots of miniatures, and the game will become much more of a miniatures game. It will be packaged with the mass market CLEARLY as the focus.
Would I bet money on it? No. Likely as not, I am way off base.
Thats all I have time for this month. This weekend (May 18-19-20) we will be at the Novi Comic Book Convention (Motor City ComicCon), and the following weekend, Colleen and I are getting married.
See you good folks in a month or so,
Marcus King
Titan Games
637 Capital Ave SW
Battle Creek, MI 49015
269-963-3773
