Sandy's Soapbox
Pause. Breathe. Assess your life. Their "2010 Life Satisfaction Checklist" consists of five self-practices:
- Unplug your devices and disconnect for a bit
- Join a group
- Take a moment each day to settle your mind
- Talk to her about it, converse with your spouse about life roles
- Practice courage, summon your courage, be authentic
Well, heck, four of those fit a typical RPG session... all five if you're dating or spous-ing a fellow player. Clearly RPGing as an activity is awesome in keeping you socially connecting and physically grounded.
But what about making a living publishing games? Isn't that just foolishness? Well, yes-- it's good foolishness. The article chronicles people (non-gamers, one presumes) who "follow this perhaps witless path free of the catcalls and jeers of those who might consider me a fool for putting spiritual satisfaction ahead of financial fundamentals."
We're gamers. We're used to catcalls and jeers. But guess what, it turns out we were right, we were onto something early. They note "that the new mindset requires facing the fact that the 'meaning' job pays a lot less than the 'money' job." But that's okay. It's not about the money, it's about life.
The killer pull quote is from a fellow who makes business and entertainment video, and could be the clarion call for game creators as well: "So although money is tight and the future is uncertain [...] my every waking hour is a contest to see how much fun I can have making money doing what I love to do."
So guess what, you self-publishers, you PDF merchants, you indy game writers? You've been ahead of the curve for years now, and the rest of the world is only now catching on to the point of what you've been doing.
Live, have fun, earn, create. Hopefully all at the same time.
Until next month,
Sandy
sandy at rpg.net
