Author: Gareth

Transmedia developer — writer, consultant, game designer, graphic artist, and publisher. A sharp tongue, a sharp blade, and on a good day, a sharp mind.
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Insurgent Creative: The Changing Business of Webcomics.

Insurgent Creative

heykidsI know, I know — it’s been ages since I’ve posted. The realities of life as a Creative: Time gets away from you as you get busy, and things need to be prioritized. The ol’ blog here has been largely ignored, as I’ve concentrated on three things: One, getting the famously-delayed FAR WEST finished. Two, working my side-gig as a Game Design teacher at the Kansas City Art Institute. And Three, EVERYTHING ELSE.

But, I saw this earlier today, and it definitely falls into the sort of information that I’ve provided here as part of the Insurgent Creative series, so here we are again.

Insurgent CreativeOver on The Observer, they’ve done a four-part series about the changing business model of Webcomics — from it’s beginnings in the early days of the internet, through it’s early-2000s advertising-monetized boom, through the days of merch and T-shirts, and now, in the post-merch, social-media era. It’s definitely worth your time to read, not just if you’re interested in webcomics, but if you make a living offering any sort of creative output online. Remember: the biggest problems that various media have had in the internet age has been failure to look outside of their own silos, and learn the lessons of what other media have gone through.

So here are the articles (there are also links to all at the end of each article):

PART ONE: The Webcomics Business Is Moving On From Webcomics.

PART TWO: Patreon, Webcomics, & Getting By.

PART THREE: The Changing Internet Through Webcomics.

PART FOUR: Lessons In Creativity From Successful Webcomic Artists.

There ya go. Read. Absorb. Add the info to your arsenal.

Go forth and create.

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#RPGaDay2015, Day 31

rpg-a-day-2015We’ve reached the end of 31 days of #RPGaDay2015. I’m pleased that I managed to stay in the habit of getting regular content up on this blog (even if it required writing in batches and scheduling posts in advance). The final topic is: Favorite Non-RPG Thing To Come Out oF RPGing.

This one is going to be pretty easy for me, as the far-and-away favorite non-RPG thing to come out of my RPGing is, without a doubt, my career.

I write and design games for a living, and in recent years, I’ve added “teaching others to design games” to my career mix as well. And all because I started playing Top Secret and Dungeons & Dragons during the latter half of 1980.

It’s more than that, though — most of my friends have been met as a result of gaming (whether recreationally, or as industry colleagues), and I met my wife, Laura, when we were members of the Kansas University Gamers and Roleplayers club (KUGAR).

Not a bad result for a nerdy little hobby.

Let’s check in one last time with Dave Chapman:

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#RPGaDay2015, Day 30

rpg-a-day-2015Today’s topic is Favorite RPG Playing Celebrity.

This question used to be a bigger deal than it is now. If you’ll excuse a bit of old-man-cane-shaking-“back-in-MY-day”-ism, for most of my gaming life, we had no idea if any celebrities played, and would eagerly share even the slightest rumor that somebody famous shared our hobby.

Today, though, when people like Vin Diesel posts pictures of the D&D-themed cake he had for his 48th birthday, and Oscar-winners like Anne Hathaway gives a shout-out to Cards Against Humanity in a red carpet interview, well, we’re in a Brave New World, kids.

I have to say, though, that the celebrity gamer that I’ve loved the most, since the earliest rumors of his involvement, has to be the late Robin Williams, who was a big-time Warhammer player (pictured here at a store in the Bay Area).

Here is Dave Chapman’s video:

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