Communicating is hard. Most people struggle to tell others about their thing, whether it’s a solo business service or a creative project.
There’s a lot of psychology involved, in ourselves as well as our audience.
And communication, like any set of skills, is something people have in varying measure.
Here are a few points to help with talking and writing about your TTRPG.
The familiar knowledge assumption
If we put a lot of time and effort into something, we can normalise it subconsciously and assume that other people know what we do. In reality, they only know what you tell them.
What seems obvious to you needs spelling out to someone who’s coming to it for the first time. This is a key principle when you want information to jump from your head to someone else’s. What do they need to know so they can understand what you’re talking about and (hopefully) take the action you want?
If you’re in a face-to-face conversation you can use questions to work out where they’re starting from. If it’s written, you have to make reasonable assumptions based on the channel and probable audience.
Perhaps there’s additional info you need to give. Work out where it fits in the flow: necessary info up front, supplementary details available later. Shorthand terms are good and useful, as long as you both speak that language. For example, make sure there’s enough for new gamers to follow along if you’re addressing a general audience.
Relax their pigeonhole
The reader’s brain wants to know what kind of thing this is, and will feel a tension till it does. That can stop them hearing other things you want them to know. You can’t tell them the story while they’re hovering in the doorway.
So lead with a broad-brush category, eg it’s a sword and sorcery game or a modern supernatural game. Then they have a framework to slot it into. You can build from there with extra detail.
There’s a concept in online marketing called filtering. You give people the basic info to tell whether this might be for them, in which case they’ll stick around a bit, or it’s not their thing and they can move on. That’s good, because trying to engage people who would never be interested just creates frustration. So put the right sign on the door.
Points of interest
What makes your thing usefully distinct? And no, it’s not 78 character classes.
You need some market awareness for this. What games are out there, and how have old games moved on over time? What’s old and left by the wayside; what’s old and still valued; what’s new and getting a good reception? You don’t want to make a pitch that no longer has an audience.
You also need enough objectivity about your work to identify its standout features. Ideally there are just 1–3 key points. What will it give them?
More features can emerge for people who explore further; hopefully there are lots of good things about your game. But what are the core things you want it to be known for, and that will lead people to latch on to it? Does it take a setting idea into new territory; mash up genres; solve problems in system design; make a genre easy to pick up and go; or something else?
Tip: listen to what other people say about your work. Especially if you struggle to identify points of interest. Maybe people have seen a draft of the current project, or maybe you’ve had consistent feedback about previous products. Perhaps people appreciate your writing style, or your quirky ideas, or the way you make products attractive and/or easy to use. It can be hard for us to recognise our own superpowers. Sometimes others let us know that something we think is routine is really valuable.
Traps to avoid
Don’t fall into the trap of gushing superlatives, claiming your thing is the best ever in a particular department, or even generally. This makes you look like you don’t understand the field.
Most readers have been around long enough to see those claims before — and to know they usually fall flat. They’ll also be aware of other products for comparison. You want to help them make that comparison, by highlighting features they’ll genuinely value. Make the case, don’t froth.
Don’t get hung up on originality. It’s overrated, especially in rules. On its own it doesn’t do much. People want products that help them to have good experiences. Doing things well is better than doing things fancy.
An original setting can be a selling point, as long as you handle it in a way that gives practical support for play. For instance, making up lots of fancy terminology in fictional or archaic languages is a barrier to use; having a handful of key ones can be atmospheric. Giving a couple of quick adventure hooks for each settlement is a support feature people will appreciate.
Don’t think that more equals better. There has been a past trend for this, with people thinking they can make a better version of D&D by adding more classes, more feats, and whatnot. Often you get a good play experience by having less — honing your game down to what’s important for reflecting the genre and premise. This is partly a point for the design stage, but also a note on what to highlight when you talk about it. (If it’s a supplement, maybe the audience does want to hear about More Stuff!)
Earning the right to say more
Make it an easy on-ramp. You want to draw people in, and not make assumptions about their time or enthusiasm. Don’t assume you have a right to people’s effort. They can walk away if it feels like work.
At each step you’re trying to keep their interest so they follow you to the next. Give the big picture first, and offer a pathway to explore further. If you can connect to their enthusiasm they’ll keep going.
But make the initial view a flash of the key points. If you establish those in their mind, maybe they’ll come back to it later — or mention it to someone else who will be more interested.
Do a bad version first
As a practical tip, if you’re writing about your game, forget about making it perfect first time. You can easily get stalled and frustrated.
Start with the main points you want to make, in note or bullet form. Then you can structure those ideas in a way that works, and work them up into full text.
Aim for a journalistic writing style: conveying info in a concise and readable way. Of course you should also inject personality and voice: enough to make it interesting but not to take over or detract from the message.
Perspective is a limited resource. You may need to work on it in stages, going away for a while and coming back to it. That’s particularly useful when it’s almost done and ready for a final check through.
Editing services
I hope the post was helpful. If you’re interested in getting editing help with your project, further info is here and we can have a conversation.