Karma Strikes! Ouch!

Well World of Broadsword has been out a couple of weeks and my feelings have run from nervous and anxious to happy and proud to frustrated. At first I was nervous. Would my fellow gamers like it? And if not how badly would they stick it to me? I know how we are. When it comes to giving our opinion or spotting an error, gamers are always thorough and very often brutal, especially when wearing a +5 cloak of internet anonymity. I know because I’ve been pretty damn snarky when I get my nerd tail feathers riled up. So I was prepared for the worst.

So far I’ve been lucky the reviews that I’ve seen have been overwhelmingly positive. So then I entered the “happy zone” as sales figures started to come in and WoB cracked the top ten at RPGNow. I will admit I checked everyday (Okay, several times everyday) to see how my ranking fared. I made a concerted effort not to be a pain in the ass to Heyoka studios and James by sending in constant inquiries for updates. I also tried to ride a fine line between letting people on the various boards I frequent know that I had a product out and becoming a pain in the ass “game pimper.” Some message boards have very strict rules on self promotion others don’t allow it at all. So for the most part I tried to keep it low key, adding a message on my signature line and/ or sending out free review copies to key people. Here at the Lair I was less restrained, but I figure this is my house and I can shout as much as I want.

Many of my friends especially in the Blogosphere answered the call and gave me and WoB a mention or an entire post on their Blogs. My only frustration is in the area of the online review. You see, all of the virtual stores that sell PDF games have a place where purchasers can post their thoughts on the products they have purchased. It’s very helpful when making a purchase, especially when the vendor is new and untried like me. Personally, I use it every time I consider a purchase. And I feel it’s often saved me time, money and frustration. Despite the decent sales WoB has seen, the online reviews for it have peaked at a whopping two (thankfully those two are positive reviews, *whew*).

Now I buy quite a bit from RPGNow and to be honest I only write reviews for a fraction of my purchases. Well Karma is a bitch huh? Now I know what it feels like to be on the other side of the counter. I recall the “Free RPG day” last year, I downloaded a ton of free stuff- I still haven’t even opened most of it- did I write any reviews or even show a bit of appreciation? Hell no. but I was there fattening up my hard drive like everyone else. And so I’ve partaken of a bit of a payback appetizer, and I’ve taken the lesson to heart. I will go back and try and post a few words about the purchases I’ve made, I’m still going to be objective and if I thought the product was crap I’ll say so. But at least I’ll say something. To some small extent, I’ve joined the ranks of these guys, of course my chair is way in the back by the broom closet, but still- I finally got a ticket to the dance. So it’s time to up the support.

It’s funny, as a parent I see many similarities as to how our intellectual offspring are cared for and how our children are. Like my minions, I know WoB is good, I know it’s valuable, and I want it to succeed. But just like any proud parent at a dance recital or Karate tournament I want everyone else to see it as well.