EDITORIAL: Innovation Versus the Merry-Go-Round of the Mind

I have heard rumblings and, dare I say, didacticism, from some that claim that RPG design from the many companies now publishing compatible material should not be about innovation, that it in some way instead equates to a moment which appears to them to be frozen in time.  I will say this in response to those who actually believe this and promote it as truth:  It is the MOST patently absurd idea I have ever heard.

If we had thought that way prior to D&D's publication, the MOST INNOVATIVE GAME in the history of games would have never been published.  That D&D set a standard to be overcome is a matter of historical fact.  The very day that people form companies and cease being amateurs by accepting money for their products they approach the realm of professionals.  There is no differentiating; one cannot slide this way or that by whim nor escape their separate truths while embracing either.  In rising above the amateur state one must embrace a professional acumen that is always being propelled to the forefront and through which you take a hard look at yourself, your philosophies and your ways and means.  If indeed much of what brands itself as emulating the past stands out and proclaims itself as new, then I say:  prove it.  Prove it like the fans turned amateurs turned professionals did to make something innovative, who strived to continue improving upon that innovation, and who continue to do so today.  Embrace professionalism and the future of imagination as the originators of the game did or stop accepting money and remain amateurs--it is not a two-way street of convenience.  It's earned, just as E. Gary Gygax and David Arneson earned it.

To true creators, innovators and those individuals with plans of making careers out of their writing and design like I have done, please follow this advice as a saviour-path to it: Flee!  Run as fast as you can from such abhorrent thoughts and suggestions that your creative paths are best suited to the past.  Separate yourselves from those who do not know or do not care and those who say they do even though in your heart you feel otherwise.  Upon the singular plain of your own creative spirit will you find the true expressions of your soul and mind and not in the endless circling caravan of regurgitated thought or upon a merry-go-round of the mind.  Divorce yourself from the group; for at that time you will have the complete freedom to express yourself; in that hour will come your best work; and in that serene moment you will arrive at your truth.

**********

"Being involved in the RPG industry as long as you have, surely you’ve collected bits of wisdom and knowledge along the way. Is there any advice you could give to budding game designers?

"RJK:  Seriously: Throw out everything you think you know, including the rules. Challenge established norms, redefine what imagination and creativity “really” are, ignore the jealous and the pundits (re: critics), push past the mundane and open up possibilities, don’t close them, no matter how absurd someone says you are, or how off base they say you appear to be. With that, follow the words of my oft-quoted author, Orson Scott Card: “How can we experience the literature of the strange if we stay in well mapped lands?”-- my advice from one of the many interviews I've given.

"If we all think alike, if we all become uniform and bland, we shrivel up and die, and the great process shudders to an end. Uniformity is death, in economics or in biology. Diversity within communication and cooperation is life. Everything your forebears, your ancestors, everything you have ever done, will have been for naught, if we ignore these basic bacterial lessons." Autopoiesis and the Grand Scheme, Greg Bear

"Most of the time I look at my work as an ocean of missed opportunities...My lack of talent & knowledge bedevils me no end... But I realized a long time ago that my art is a race I run alone..."  Michael Bair

Up on A Tree Stump #6: The "I" Factor

Please follow my programmed absurdity for a moment or two...

Me, Me, Me, Me, Me, Me, Me!

Umm..

WE, WE, WE, WE, WE, WE, WE, WE!

Umm...

US, US, US...


Well, you follow, right?


It has come to my attention (again) that "I" and "my products" are being associated in some parts of the blogsphere with the OSR Movement.  Oh Dear.  That won't do. And let "me" explain why "I" am not "WE" or "US".

Start here.

Finished?  Thank you!  Now.  Please refer to the below extract from my Oxford dictionary:

movement |ˈmoōvmənt|noun
2 [often with adj. ] a group of people working together to advance their shared political, social, or artistic ideas : the labor movement.
 Let "US" examine this definition closely as it relates to "Me" dba Pied Piper Publishing.
1)  I despise politics.  I am very good at them, do not get me wrong.  I just hate their overall feel.  The best political movement in my estimation belongs to the ranks of those beheaded during the French Revolution.  So.  I am a very bad candidate for such things, really.  That disqualifies one.  Now...
2) Social agendas are often unclear and ill-defined; there are many which may or may not be worthy and I attach myself to some personally, but never in group mode.  As that relates to culture, geez, I helped create a socio-cultural phenomena which exists to this day, but quite unintentionally, the why of which relates to...
3)..."Artistic" ideas... Ooh!  We're on to something here!  Let me take out my Oxford, again, for some slight guidance in interpreting that...
artistic |ärˈtistik|adjectivehaving or revealing natural creative skill : my lack of artistic ability.• of, relating to, or characteristic of art or artistry : a denial of artistic freedom | her artistic temperament.
It appears that the examples all deal mainly with a singular case: "Her artistic,"my lack."  I would say that is generally good usage and appropriate for "Me" (and for other singular "Me"(s) which are not "Me") because of that.  I will also note, for the record, that I quit TSR Hobbies because of creative and company wrought political differences and pursued a free-lance writing career while educating myself.  This is covered in depth in my memoirs (which are making great headway), but suffice it for me to say now that I saw the vision changing which had been established from  early on and it assaulted my finer sensibilities and awakening tastes, then.  I knew what my choices were and I made them.  Further,  during an interview for Gateways Magazine #7 at DRAGONCON #1, the interviewer asked at the end of it if he could title the piece, having derived inspiration from the interview matter.  I said sure, shoot.  The title was, "The Maverick of Dungeons & Dragons."  I said, "Print it."  So for artistic measure alone, I consider myself quite singular and unique, not good for the corporate structure or flattened group think (unless one worked closely with Henry Ford in the day or in some more benign artistic companies today, by comparison, such as Tim Brown's outfit, for instance). 
So,  Where does that leave me?  Exactly where any true artist, IMO, should be.  Alone.  The OSR has its meritorious designers, but I am not here to cast a lot in favor or against them, and I hope the movement does likewise in exchange.  However, my pride at being a TSR alumnus is still with me, as I left the company but could not forsake the true friendships made and the times spent.  In fact, at DRAGONCON #1 EGG and I not only laughed and drank together for days, but we judged the final round together of the RPGA tourney I'd designed (Journey to the City of Brass).  He knew; and he appreciated everything we'd done together, and I did likewise. In keeping with my past association and camaraderie and the efforts of thousands who proceeded me at TSR, next up, a guest editorial...