Hey all…
I’m back from my little vacation and I’m ready to get to back to work. Which is good because I’ve got a month of work to cram into two weeks. Fortunately, I’ve only got about three months left before Angry Games closes forever.
Ha ha! Just kidding! At least, I hope I’m kidding. But, really, I’m kidding. It’ll all be fine. Probably. We’ll see.
I am of course speaking of the e-mail Patreon sent me at the tail end of my vacation. I’ll get to that.
The Personal Part of the Update
As I mentioned, I took a little vacation at the start of the month. I didn’t actually choose to; I kind of had the vacation thrust upon me. I also didn’t really go anywhere for any extended period of time. My cousins who are also my best friends came to visit and I decided to clear my plate to just spend the week with them. Fun was had, things were done, and there were a few really bittersweet and emotional moments that have left me seeing things in a different light. There was also some financial chaos due to external factors that had to be dealt with.
I don’t want to go into too much detail here or unload too many emotions, but it did help me feel better and flush a lot of the negative emotions that I’ve been carrying for the better part of the last year. I’m feeling pretty hopeful, all in all, which is something I haven’t felt in a while. I’m hoping this weird bittersweet optimism will translate into both the quality and reliability of my work.
Also, a member of this community sent me a danish and a cup of coffee just before my vacation started and that became a pivotal moment in my life for reasons I don’t want to go into here. But I will probably talk about this shit in my next Live Chat. Or in future updates.
Thank you for that. You have no idea what you set off.
Personal part over; let’s talk Patreon.
The Patreon Change
Those of you who support this site financially — without whom no one would be reading any of this shit — those of you who support this site financially on Patreon have probably already received a message from Patreon or from one or more of the other creators you support about upcoming changes to Patreon having to do with the iPhone app and changes to billing procedures and a 30% surcharge because Apple needs it’s pound of flesh from every transaction through ever yapp in every iPhone ever.
If you ain’t a financial supporter, you can skip all this shit.
Unfortunately, behind the scenes, there’s another change being forced on Patreon that actually affects the way I receive support. One that Patreon’s probably really happy to have forced on them because it’s something they’ve been trying to force on creators for a long time now. At least, that’s my suspicion.
Unlike most creators on Patreon, I charge for support on a Per Creation basis. Supporters are charged only for articles I actually publish and only after I actually publish them. These days, that’s the dumb way of doing shit. Most creators opt for charging on a monthly basis and they charge for support at the start of each month. Patreon actually prefers the latter. I prefer the former because my integrity demands I don’t get paid for work I haven’t done. I don’t really want support; I just want people to pay me for my actual work.
Yeah, I’m a dumbass.
That method of support will not be supported in the iOS app starting in November of this year. And by November of next year, it will not be available at all. That means, I have to transition to a monthly support scheme.
In addition, as noted, Apple will begin charging a 30% fee on every monthly pledge of support in November. As a Creator, I have the option to eat that fee myself or to pass it along to my supporters. Basically. My instinct is to eat it myself. That’s how I do business. But I also have to be realistic in what I can afford to do.
The point is, there’s a lot of data to sift through. I’ve got a lot of generous supporters on Patreon. Some use the iOS app, some don’t, some use Patreon’s limits to give me a monthly pledge of support, others support me on a Per Creation basis, and so on. I’ve got until November to crunch the numbers.
Ultimately, my goal is to change nothing on your end. I’ve already been looking at how to transition so that none of you need to do anything or change anything; so you keep giving me the same bottom-line amount of support you already think my work is worth and you don’t have to do a thing. The only hiccup is Apple’s damned 30% fee, which I feel is the wrong way for Apple to handle things. I think Apple deserves to get paid, but I don’t like this method, and I don’t think it’s appropriate for what Patreon provides. It’s a highly technical argument.
My opinions also don’t matter. Frankly, neither do Patreon’s. Patreon can’t afford to have their app pulled off the Apple store and they know how many users use the app versus the web platform. They’ve assessed whether they can win this fight or whether they can afford to lose it and the simple fact is they can’t.
The point here is none of my opinions matter: this change is coming. I really do want to make it so nothing changes for any of my followers, even if it means an overall drop in my income, but I have to balance that against whether or not I can afford to stay in business. I can’t make that decision over night. So I plan to use the time Patreon has given me to figure out what to do. As always, the minute I know how I need to proceed, I will tell all of you.
I will add a couple of things. First, I cannot ask you not to use the iOS app, but I can point out that you can support creators through Patreon’s web platform and ensure that more of your money will go to the creators you love as well as creators like me you grudgingly support. Second, I won’t tell you not to do what you think is right, but I will point out that withdrawing your support in protest of Patreon or Apple will only hurt the creators who are already struggling. Patreon is kind of screwed here too and Apple will not notice or care.
There is one more dimension here that demands noting: this is happening at a shitty time because I’ve been kind of a failure as a creator for a while now. Whatever my excuses about illness and drastic life changes, the fact is, I’m not giving people good reasons to support me like I once did and I’m not delivering on my promises. The weird emotions I hinted at above are a part of this. This is yet another in a string of events that’s making me look in the mirror, not like who I am seeing, ask myself who I want to see, and making that happen. Or trying to. If this transition goes badly for me once I crunch the numbers and make the changes, I’ll have to share the blame with Apple and Patreon.
Anyway…
That’s it. That’s what’s going on. As soon as I’ve crunched the numbers and I know how to proceed, you will know. I have until November, but I don’t plan to run out the clock. I also don’t plan to let this derail the content I need to put out in August. So call this shit a September problem.
Edit: Important Note About the 30% Fee
Adding this after the fact because in the ten minutes or so since I sent this out, I’ve already received a few messages and I want to make this clear…
The 30% fee affects only those who support creators via Patreon’s iOS app. It will not affect anyone else no matter what. If you don’t use the iOS app to support me — or anyone else — you don’t have to worry about it. The change will not affect you.
Creators like me will have the option to allow the fee to be taken directly from the pledged support or to have it added on to an iOS supporter’s pledge.
Monthly Content
I owe you four Features and four Features I shall deliver. I’m going to continue the True Scenario Design series with a feature about what makes challenges challenges and I’m going to start looking about to manage your ruleset and various tricky game issues with two True Campaign Managery articles, and I’m going to write that one-off Feature about sportsmanship at the roleplaying game table.
I also plan to continue offering Proofreadalouds and Q and Angry episodes and to refine my workflow and publication process.
And I’m going to do it all in just two weeks. The release dates for everything can be found in the handy release calendar at the end.
Mostly Monthly Live Chat
This month’s Mostly Monthly Live Chat for Discord members will be recorded on Tuesday, August 20 at 8:00 PM EDT and then released to all supporters a couple of days later. Expect this Live Chat to be a little heavier and more personal. Obviously, there is stuff I want to share with the community that I hinted at above. It may also be a longer chat than usual.
I am going to back to dedicated channels in the Discord server for my live events to make it easier to open threads for topics and Q and A. I am also changing the format of my Live Chats slightly to make them more interactive.
Angry’s August Content Calendar
Here’s when to expect what.
Monday, August 19
- True Scenario Designery: What Makes a Challenge (Early Access Feature and Proofreadaloud)
Tuesday, August 20
- Angry’s Mostly Monthly Live Chat (Discord Event, 8:00 PM EDT)
Wednesday, August 21
- True Campaign Managery: Managing Your Ruleset (Early Access Feature and Proofreadaloud)
- Q and Angry Recording: What Makes a Challenge (Discord Event, 3:00 PM EDT)
Thursday, August 22
- True Scenario Designery: What Makes a Challenge (General Access Feature and Q and Angry Podcast Episode)
Friday, August 23
- Q and Angry Recording: Managing Your Ruleset (Discord Event, 3:00 PM EDT)
Monday, August 26
- True Campaign Managery: Managing Your Ruleset (General Access Feature and Q and Angry Podcast Episode)
Tuesday, August 27
- Being a Good Gaming Sport (Early Access Feature and Proofreadaloud)
Wednesday, August 28
- Q and Angry Recording: Being a Good Sport (Discord Event, 3:00 PM EDT)
Thursday, August 29
- True Campaign Managery: Character Advancement (Early Access Feature and Proofreadaloud)
- Being a Good Gaming Sport (General Access Feature and Q and Angry Podcast Episode)
“I’ve been kind of a failure as a creator for a while now.” No, no you haven’t. You’ve been one of the most communicative creators I’ve followed, and have been desperate to keep your supporters informed. I’ve said it before to you, but you are only one of two creators that I felt the need to support financially, that I actively check eagerly for new content, of which I implement in my games.
I agree with all of this. Angry is a great creator and his content is one of the things that keeps me going in life that I look forward to. It makes my day whenever Angry publishes a new article. GMing has become a major part of my life and I have Angry to thank in large part of that when I stumbled on his website 3 years ago, and finally revisited his site again 9 months ago to pursue becoming a GM. You’ve got my full support, Angry!
Thank you for the update and for your transparency. It sounds like your vacation helped. I’m really happy to hear that. I hope that you’re able to sort out the issues you brought up. I’ve enjoyed your work for years, and would love to continue enjoying it for many more years to come.
You are going to be a busy man the rest of the month.
I’m annoyed that Apple thinks 30% is a fair bite to take for allowing Patreon into their app store. That’s excessive. And if there were something practical to do about it. . .
The way to do something practical about is is for the people giving to Angry to not use the app, you can give without an app from the Apple store.
Angry can eat the fee, tell people he’s doing so, and ask them to please stop using the App to make donations, unless they WANT 30 freaking percent of their donation to go to Apple rather than the content creator they’re trying to donate to. Which is what he appears to be doing here and I suspect will get most people to switch.
Or he could pass some or all of the added cost on, and thus annoy some patrons, but make the point that they really should switch away from the Apple App.
Another one of the creators I support on Patreon sent a poll to all of his patrons asking how many of them signed up or transact with them through the iOS app. It was only about 8%. So the hit may not be as big as you think it might be. For my part, I don’t even have the Patreon app on my phone, and have no plans to change that.
Thank you for the update! It really sucks to have to deal with this Apple/Patreon stuff, but I trust you’ll do your best. Also, just wanted to tell you that I’m so grateful for all the work you do. I look forward to every article; seeing the Patreon app notification on my phone for your articles always brightens my day. You’ve got a great community behind you. Good luck!
I know that you are always right when it comes to RPGs, but you could not be more wrong here. Since beginning of last year, you gave us the whole True Game Mastery series AND you started on Campaign Mastery and Scenario Design. It is hard to imagine a better reason to support someone than these series…
True that, Angry.
From WotC to Patreon, this year has not been kind to The Angry GM.
I quit using Patreon over their other scumminess some time ago, and now support creators through other platforms. This latest move feels like two consumer hostile companies colluding together. I can’t see what the fruity firm offers the backer platform that is worth 30% of the creators hard work that is hosted elsewhere. And as much as I like fixed costs for budgetary reasons, I end up supporting fewer creators when they cannot deliver X content for Y dollars on a subscription whereas I would support more per creation.
As a customer, I can accept that the cash price for a thing is lower than for plastic or e-payment. Thus, I see a markup for exorbitant platform fee as the price I pay for choosing the payment method. If I was so effected, devaluing your work by a 30% iTax would feel wrong, not that paying 30% more would feel good. Maybe split the tax 50/50 as both creator and customer want to do the right thing?
Anyways, this turn of events has prompted me, a a player, to b̶r̶i̶b̶e̶ gift my forever GM as SubscribeStar subscription to your fine offerings. I hope more people choose to support your work without without feeding the Cupertino Idiot Tax Operation.
While I appreciate your dedication and financial support for my work and your kind words, I am going to ask you — and everyone — to respect my request not to turn this into a debate over which companies are doing what evil, unfair things. Especially given that Patreon is actually working very carefully with creators to minimize the impact from Apple’s decision, which I greatly appreciate, and because Apple’s decision has no malice behind it and is merely an application of existing, published policies that Patreon was not quite in alignment with. This is not evil companies colluding to bilk creators. And this shit is business. It’s just business.
If you don’t agree with that, fine and dandy, I appreciate your financial gift. But please respect my wish not platform the fight. I will edit or delete further comments inflaming this ultimately fruitless debate. Especially if they spread demonstrably false information about the situation.
Thank you.
My apologies for missing some of your points and going off topic.
I wish to support creators that make the things I like on platforms that do right by said creators, and hope other enthusiasts do too.
I’ll be jumping on SubscribeStar now too, so I can stay on the same release schedule as my now subscribed GM and continue our discussions of your insightful articles over caffeinated beverages on break.
Thank you for your work, and I am sorry for being that guy in the comments.
Long live the World Wide Web, the hand that holds the hammer, and the Angry GM!
“I’ve been kind of a failure as a creator”
ORLY? I support exactly three people on Patreon. The other two are pro novelists, and I like their work, but once I’ve read it, I’ve read it. Your stuff I go back and re-read, study, and learn from. Wish there were more quote-Failures-unquote like you around.
Glad I’m “getting old” and not using all them new-fashioned apps and shit.
It sucks that Apple chose to take that much for this. I assume it’s because 30% is what everyone who sells products on the site has to give? And some applications have been getting around this by instead having “in app purchases” – and then Patreon which technically has that too gets put in a squeeze.
30% feels like a lot, but I know websites like driverthruRPG takes something along those lines to publish stuff on their website too. But, then you are available on the website and is somewhat “marketed.” In the case of the Patreon app it’s only the app being promoted on the Appstore, not the creators. As such the 30% feels rather excessive.
Does this mean Amazon has to do the same for any book people get through Audible if they buy it through the Audible app?
How about if you use an app, but pay through the website?
I get where Apple is coming from, they want to avoid every app being freemium apps, to avoid the Apple surcharge… but 30% for in app purchases is a lot.
Yes and no. You’re right that it’s Apple imposing their normal fee for purchases — including in-app purchases — on Patreon. But it has to do with how Patreon designed their app to work. And, yes, 30% is also a pretty normal cut in the publishing industry. Book distributors often take a cut along those lines. But that’s actually a completely separate thing. Storefront apps that have their own, separate payment processing or transfer infrastructure, like Amazon, Audible, and bank apps, will not be affected as far as I know. This is specifically because of how the Patreon app sells patronage as “subscriptions” and piggybacks off Apple iOS payment processing through users Apple ID. As far as I understand it anyway. I could be wrong. But you’ve got the long and short of it.
Currently running a vampire the masquerade campaign, it is going okay, but now i am in a mid game finale and have little idea what to do. The bad guy is gonna try to steal a thing and the pcs are gonna try to stop him. In hindsight it might have been better to the other way around but I’ll figure something out.
It sure is a good thing that the Patreon iOS app isn’t mandatory. Patreon has a whole website and everything.
But it is convenient for a lot of people and I’m not going to judge anyone for using the most convenient platform for their needs and use case.