It's been a while since I made these rant videos but I feel like making one now, considering this has been something that's been on my mind for a while. And unlike that other rant video where I bitch about a name for 3 minutes I feel like this topic deserves some discussion since no one has really spoken up about this.

Anyways, what I wanna bring is how the HTCG community supports the games that are featured here. Because what I noticed after being a year and half into this community is that there's kinda of a problem in how this community functions, one where not a lot of people know about the games they're even supporting.

What I mean is that the Homemade TCG community tends to follow or support games that are in this community. And at first it doesn't seem that bad. I mean, who wouldn't want some support from a community that guarantees that sort of thing? But the issue rises when you realize that people follow you because you are part of this community and not because of the game you created.

Put it this way, say you were making a comic book and your comic book is part of a community called the Homemade Comic Book Club. So tell me, what are things that makes people interested in a comic book? The plot, characters, genre, setting, artstyle and overall premise. Well in the Homemade Comic Book Club all that is thrown away(expect for maybe artsyle) as the only reason you got subscribers is because you are part of that community. That's what I feel like how the HTCG community behaves. And I'm not saying this in the sense that people don't know how to play the game, I'm saying this in the sense that people don't know what the game is even supposed to be.

And look, I'm not saying that people who follow your games are fake fans and they don't care about you, I'm very sure that people do wanna see you progress and grow. And I understand that this may not seem like a big issue to some people, but for sometime like me, and I know there are some who agree with me on this, this seems problematic for a community who put more time on the artist's motivation rather than the actual art. This means that it is way harder for your game to receive constructive criticism or get the right audience. Because let me tell you, if people knew about the content my game had, they would not want to be around me just saying…

I know people will say that making content for yourself is the true nature of things and that in the end you shouldn't put so much focus on how people interpret your work. Which I agree, but doesn't it seem bothering that eventually your game finds a following only to realise that a majority of your fanbase doesn't even have the basic understanding of your game?

Call me egositical, but I feel like I put a lot of effort in my game only to hold no value in how I make a presence here. When someone follows me, it's only because I'm part of a community. The experience, quality and premise of many games won't even matter because they're just gonna be followed, subscribed to without regards to what made those games special in the first place. The fact that there are 2 videos about people making pack openings of my game without knowing that you need to fuse in fusiontale, says a lot. A lot of these game feel like accessories to the community.

To be fair, I am part of this problem, too. I follow games simply because of support and community but beyond that, I am really dead. It’s not like I hate these games but it feels wrong to be a fan of these games when you don’t even know what it’s about, but I don’t wanna unfollow them since that would make me look like and asshole and idk I’m stuck in a limbo. But with all that said, when I really look back at it, I feel really bad for these games because the majority of their followers are like that.

When I first joined the community, there used to be forum posts warning people not to come the htcg community. And I think now I can understand that. It might not be what everyone else as thinking, but I feel like this is a community not for everyone because of a lack of a dedicated audience. It’s probably why I want to leave the HTCG community in the first place. Look, I don’t wanna put down any supporters I have for this game, I appreciate all of you, but let me say this, when I make content that is based on my passion, showing what I like, it feels great to have followers that like the content of your game, think the premise is very interesting, want to see more, instead of ones that just followed me because I was part of the community. This feels way more earning. And, again, I know you do this for yourself and not other people, but I rather have no followers than followers who probably have zero knowledge of my game while they open a booster pack of it.

With that said, is there anyway we can fix this? Honestly, I'm not sure. The htcg community existed out of this fascination of one person making a card game, that's why Chaos Galaxy got big, and a lot of other games soon followed that motto. It's a lot like Avatar, people we're just so impressed with the special but when it comes to explaining the story and characters people just have no clue.

Surprisingly enough, there have been some attempts at trying to understand the games beyond just supporting them. Skycape Explains tries to explain the rules and premise of the games, but he barely uploads and I requested him to talk about my game, but it's been like a month sooo that's gonna take a while. And I'm interested to see if more content like that will show up in the community. And the day that happens I won't be around when I see it. Sorry, I guess.