Transparency Agenda Daily August 11th 2016 - The sickness got me again…

Transparency Agenda Daily June 9th 2016 - Money, Pirates, and What its worth...

Transparency Agenda Daily June 7th 2016 - Nepotism! Yep it exists in gaming...

Our friends at Go Make Me A Sandwich don't seem to like our artwork...

With a title like "Hey, game devs. Knock it off with the corpse tits!" you know this is only going to be a quality rant against LPJ Design. So I just found out about this yesterday from Go Make Me A Sandwich and I have to say, I like the artwork.  I don't understand her issue with my artwork, but art is subjective. Some people love it, some people hate it. I am OK with that. Personally, I think she has a specific way she thinks the world she be and if it goes against her views or concepts it is sexist. This is the SAME tactic people use with the infamous "pulling race card". So using this same tactic against me is silly, because I know it is bullshit.

Instead of saying and criticizing the creative work that is being done, why don't you just do what you like see and sell it. That is what I did. I didn't think there were enough "minority" game developers in table top game industry, so I started my company and did games that I thought other would like to see.  Nearly 15 years later, we are going strong.  For real change to happen, I HAVE TO ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING and not just complain about it. So stop pulling the bullshit Slacktivism card, and actually DO SOMETHING! I don't hate women, but I do hate bullshit, and I am calling you on YOUR BULLSHIT. Talk to you later...

Transparency Agenda #16: Return of the RANT!!!!

New Years Eve wishes and 2013 changes!

[RANT] My two new nemeses - Sarah Robinson & Crystal Frasier

When it come to great looking products for the Pathfinder Role Playing Game, I think LPJ Design is at the top of the list.  This isn't me being cocky or arrogant. This is a true statement.  We have AWESOME artwork and graphic design for NeoExodus: A House Divided!  Point blank. Don't believe me?  Compare our artwork to theirs: Enemies of NeoExodus: Folding Circle,  Enemies of NeoExodus: First Ones, NeoExodus Chronicles: Races of NeoExodus. and many more.  That should be proof enough for our level of artistic and graphic design quality.

[RANT ON] But, I will let you in on a little secret. There are two names, that when I hear them, they always get me worried. These two ARE the best at what they do.  They are always forcing me to improve my design and look of mt artwork and graphic design. They are always there pushing me to work harder and find better artists.  Who are these two people? They are Sarah Robinson and Crystal Frasier. They are the "Dynamic Duo" of Paizo's Graphic design an presentation of products. They understand how to make great design and artwork work together in a way to make products come alive and feel real.  Any time you see either of their names on a Paizo project, it just drips excellence.  Their artwork is considered to be the best in the industry. Having Wayne Reynolds in your corner as a cover and character design artist doesn't hurt either.  What those two do it is beyond quality, it is graphic excellence. And with that, they have made a new enemy of LPJ Design. Don't worry ladies, you are safe as long as we never meet in public. But if we do, get ready to throw down with some artistic and graphic design excellence.  You two are now on my list. [RANT OFF] 

PS: The Jade Regent Player's Guide is a AMAZING book. Get your copy now. Talk to you later...

[RANT] If one more person tells me you can’t make money making RPGs, I am going to punch them in the [BLEEP]ing mouth!!!

How many times have you heard this one: You can’t make money in the RPG industry. 
Basically ALL THE TIME!!! And who do you hear it most from? People who have failed to make money in the RPG industry.  But here is the question you should ask yourself, Why the [BLEEP] should you listen to any [BLEEP]ing thing they have to say?  All they have [BLEEP]ing proven is that THEY CAN’T MAKE MONEY IN THE [BLEEP]ING RPG BUSINESS.  Not you. 

The RPG Industry is full of failed RPG companies, right? So is the [BLEEP]ing real business world!!! One out of ten businesses fails their first year; one out of ten businesses fails in the next 5 years.  This fact is well known to everyone, so why do we think it would be any different for RPG companies? It isn’t dumb [BLEEP]! The RPG industry and companies are no different than any other industry or business, no matter what some people think or feel.  The reson it looks so severe in the RPG industry is because the RPG industry is so [BLEEP]ing small!!!  Anything you do looks a hundred times more extreme to us. 

If you look at RPGNow.com, there are over 500 publishers listed there right now.  I am willing to bet you 85% of them are out of business or have not released a product in over three years.  Those are people who tried to get a RPG company off the ground and as they found out the hard way, 90% of those FAILED in the first year. Out of those remaining 10% of them, 90% of them FAILED in the next five years.   So at RPGNow you can “guess-timate” that there are only 75 to 100 publishers who are actually active RPG companies.  You can even add Monte Cook and Malhavoc Press to that list also.  The last thing he released at RPGNow.com was Dark Tidings on January 27, 2009. 

There are a several companies that are not just making money, but actually making a profit and expanding their business. Take a quick look: Green Ronin just celebrated their ten anniversary and now has the DC Comics license; Paizo is now tied for 1^st place for top selling RPG; Fantasy Flight Games and Privateer Press started off as RPG companies and expanded into new gaming markets; Mongoose Publishing started off as a D20 RPG company and now has a decent sized staff and various game lines; White Wolf has had ups and downs but still remains in business with it various business arms including PSI and RPGNow.com.  Plus many, many more… Don’t ever let someone else tell you that you can’t be successful in something. Especially if they failed at doing it.

The real funny part to all this is that video games got this same story told to them in the beginning.  Now there are dozens of Hollywood studios fighting over video game properties that want to make movies about.  Why have so many RPG companies just accepted that they will never make money? Because deep down a lot of them are losers and they know it they just don’t want to admit it out loud.  Not me. Not LPJ Design! We are valuable. Not just because I say it. Because I do something to prove it by putting out products people want AND do buy. 

What is the Conan line that is so often quoted to you by gamers all the time: Conan, what is best in life? To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women. Do bad many of us don’t act like that when dealing in people who are trying to drag us down and tell us we are going to fail. Everything you get in life good or bad is because you worked for it consciously or unconsciously. Back to work for me, I have to make LPJ Design more profitable. I hope you are doing the same.  Talk to you later…

[Rant] Start updating your blog you [CENSORED] lazy bastard!

Yes I am talking to you! Update your blog you [CENSORED] lazy bastard! What kind of person actual goes through the time to build themselves a blog and then is too [CENSORED] lazy to actually update it. Updating once a month? Y ou’re a [CENSORED] lazy bastard! Updating once a week a week? You’re a [CENSORED] lazy bastard! You need to update your blog EVERY other day AT LEAST. You life is not that busy that you can’t update your blog that often. Hell I have a wife, four month old, mother-in-law living in my house with a full time job and part time RPG business and I find time to update nearly once a day. So stop your [CENSORED] crying like a baby with a full diaper and update your [CENSORED] blog, you [CENSORED] lazy bastard. Talk to you later…

Stop revving your engines, and just go somewhere…

OK this is a little bit of a rant for a friend of mine who is very talented, but sometimes can be a really assclown to execution of something. Being a PDF publisher for so long I always get questions from people who want to get into the RPG industry. The question I get the MOST often is, “How do I start?” My answer is “Stop revving your engines, and just go somewhere”. Too often people TALK about wanting to be the industry and don’t do any actually work. Too many people do that. What you NEED to do to be successful as a RPG publisher is actually do the work AND put something out for sale. That is it. Just put your nose to the grind stone and just do it. Stop with the bullshit reasons why you can’t, and just do it. But what of you don’t know how to do it? Then figure it out. It not rocket science. Do what you think is best and try it. If it doesn’t work figure out what you did wrong and don’t do it again. Look the only difference between Monte Cook and you is Monte is motivated to work. That is it. Just motivate yourself and do it. So are you motivated, then you are half way there. Now come the sweat and hard work. Talk to you later…

[BLEEPING] Sean [BLEEPING] K [BLEEPING] Reynolds … are you [BLEEPING] kidding me!– [A Rant by LPJ]

[BLEEPING] Sean [BLEEPING] K [BLEEPING] Reynolds!!! Are you [BLEEPING] kidding me!!! This guy has just been added to my [BLEEPING] RPG hit list. I was bad enough that he was a well known and respected [BLEEPING] RPG writer and developer. It got worst when he started up his own [BLEEPING] PDF RPG business. It got even worst when he hooked up with [BLEEPING] Paizo to become a developer and designer for them, but now he has crossed the [BLEEPING] line.

Yesterday morning over at Paizo’s [BLEEPING] website blog, [BLEEPING] Sean [BLEEPING] K [BLEEPING] Reynolds put up a little item that he thought would be useful for those people who will be playing an Alchemist (or in my case an Alchemist/Monk). That [BLEEPING] [BLEEPING] [BLEEPING] [BLEEPING] put out an Alchemy Tracking Sheet. What the [BLEEP]! Are you [BLEEPING] kidding me? This is the kind of thing people would love to have!!!! Including me!!!! Why didn’t I think of that? Even worst, this [BLEEPING] Sean [BLEEPING] K [BLEEPING] Reynolds is giving it away for FREE!!! [BLEEP] me! FREE!!! What are you [BLEEPING] crazy! That is TOO [BLEEPING] good! There are so many people who would be looking for an Alchemy Tracking Sheet to use at their local game. There are people who would have paid good money for that product, but he is giving it away for free. What kind of [BLEEPING] nice guy [BLEEP] is this? OK, Reynolds just know you on my [BLEEPING] list. Watch our back, because I will be looking for you!

An Alchemy Tracking Sheet. What the [BLEEP]!

Talk to you later…

[BLEEPING] Wayne [BLEEPING] Reynolds…what the [BLEEP] - [A rant by LPJ]

I can say with honestly that LPJ Design does one thing better than 95% of the PDF RPG publishers in the market today and that is our artwork and graphic design. The artistic work we do, on the budget we do it for, is AMAZING! This isn’t me being cocky. It is the truth. I make sure all the LPJ Design products look great, even though they are made on a shoestring budget and I do mean SHOESTRING BUDGET! All the artists I work with are top notch and I keep their identities on most of them hidden because their work is so good I don’t want anyone else using them. But there is one artist that when I see his work, he makes me realize no one even comes close. It is like magic on the paper. It is always THE BEST…

[Rant on] …and that artwork belongs to Wayne [BLEEPING] Reynolds. That [BLEEPING] guy is [BLEEPING] ridiculous. His artwork is [BLEEPING] top notch. No one else in the [BLEEPING] industry today even come close to the [BLEEPING] work he is doing. What the [BLEEP]! It is not [BLEEPING] natural to be that [BLEEPING] talented. [BLEEPING] Wayne Reynolds is [BLEEPING] sick. I swear, if I see him on the [BLEEPING] street, I am going to cut off his [BLEEPING] hands. He is so [BLEEPING] good, I am actually jealous of his [BLEEPING] talent. Paizo just [BLEEPING] released their [BLEEPING] Advanced Player Guide playtest with all the art by [BLEEPING] Wayne Reynolds, and even in [BLEEPING] black and white pencil sketches, they [BLEEPING] look amazing! I hate that [BLEEPING] Wayne Reynolds. He is too [BLEEPING] good. [Rant off]

Sorry for all that [BLEEPING] language. My mom reads my blog you know. Talk to you later…

Warren Ellis is not a great comic book writer and I will tell you why…

I like Warren Ellis’ work. I think he understands what makes a story interesting and what is needed to keep it moving. But the one thing that keeps him back from really being a GREAT comic book writer and that is …

He has the weakest ending for all of his stories.

What do I mean by this? I mean Warren Ellis ends his comic stories horribly. My god! A writer with all that talent, and he couldn’t end a story strong to save his life. I am always amazed when he gets more work from comic book companies. Do they actually read the product he produces? Forget get the persona. Forget the attitude. Forget all the bullshit. Just look at his actual writing skill. Look at the list of work he has done and just ask yourself this little question, “Did this story end with the some power and excitement that is started off with?” The issue that really revealed his inability to end a story strong was Planetary #26. While the concept and idea to create Planetary was excellent and brilliant, the execution of it was not. Global Frequency is another one. Great concepts. All of them innovative and new. How does the series end, like oatmeal bland and boring.

Now I know I am breaking the hearts of many of you out there. Your love affair with Warren Ellis is everything to you in your little world. But let’s get to reality and tell the truth, Warren Ellis is like an OK race horse; great out of the gate and horrible finish. I am sorry I have broken the hearts of some of you. Now I am not saying that Warren Ellis is a bad writer. He always brings innovation to the next level. I am just saying he is a bad closer and like David Mamet said, “Put that coffee down. Coffee is for closers only.” Talk to you later…