It was way back in 2014, when I was designing a game for my friends, that the thought occurred to me – I should make a game design company! Ironically, the year 2023 seemed like, at the time, a mystical far-off place. I figured that would be a good target year to aim for, so I had a goal – I would create my own game company by 2023.
I continued designing games and RPG campaigns for me and my friends, when in 2018 I asked myself the question – “why not now?” So, in 2018, my hobby game design business Paper Dice Games was born.
A lot has happened both in my personal life, and the world, in the last nine years. I count myself extremely lucky that I can design and play games for fun, as well as run a hobby business around this passion.
After reflecting on the last nine years of game design, I think there are two main reasons I continue this hobby – to spread fun, and to help others.
Fun – Spread it On
It’s hard to explain how much joy I feel when someone shares how much fun they’re having when they play one of my games. Whether it’s in person, someone creating a multi-post blog on BGG, or just sharing an image through social media, it’s absolutely incredible to see people having fun playing games that I’ve designed.
One of my favorite interactions from this year took place through email, about my newest free release GridHack. A wonderful fan of games spent a ton of time building a custom version of GridHack that was larger, easier to read, and built over a whiteboard to allow for easy repeat gaming. I wish I could share the pictures he shared with me – they are absolutely incredible! Seeing how much time this fan spent building a custom version of my print and play game, so he could play a game he loved more often and easier, was really special to experience.
It’s seeing interactions like these, and seeing people have fun playing the games I make, that creates joy for me. This is the main reason why I burn through hundreds of pages in my design notebook a year – even if few of these ideas will never be published. This is why, for as long as I can remember, I keep designing games.
Find a way to Help Others
I think helping others is one of the most important things that anyone can do. As I stated earlier in this post, I am a very lucky person – I can design games for a hobby. And while I do think it’s important for people to do what brings them joy, I think there should be a balance that involves helping others.
There are a few ways I try to help others through PDG and designing games. The first is by giving some games away for free. I think sometimes this can be a tough balance to strike, because I want to enable others to design games in this space for a living (or some extra cash). But at the same time I empathize with those who want to play fun tabletop games, but don’t have a ton of extra cash to spend – I was in a phase like that several years ago myself. So, to spread some extra fun around and help others, I try to release at least one free game or expansion a year. This year I released GridHack, as well as the Dwarf Mine expansion Beyond the Mountain.
I also think donation, whether it’s time, money, or another resource, can make a big difference in helping others.
One way I do this is by donating 4% of the net revenue Paper Dice Games generates. Honestly, it’s currently a paltry amount, but I’m always looking to increase the %, as well as revenue. I’m hoping this practice of donation grows over time with PDG.
In my personal life, I donate what I consider a good balance of time and money to different charities throughout the year. One gaming related donation drive I participate in every year is Extra Life. Though I didn’t post about it this year, I have written about this in the past. One of my friends has hosted an event for over a decade, and I was able to attend in person for the first time this year. Here’s the page if you are interested in adding a late donation this year.
This is Why I Design Games
If you’re still with me on this article, thank you for reading! This article was fun to write as a reflection for me – but I hope it also gives readers the grounded reasons why I have stuck with designing games all these years, and why I continue the hobby-business of Paper Dice Games.
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As always, thank you for being a fan of games!
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