Is the Imperium a Metaphor for Games Workshop? The riposte!

It's a well known symbol, and one that stands for stability above all else

Well a little over a month ago I poured out some thoughts that I had bottled up in my brain, and maybe a few emotions I'd stored up in my heart. I poured them into this article here, and I hoped it would spark a bit of debate amongst bloggers and hobbyists alike. Not nerd rage or the normal play ground arguments we're used to seeing on an awful lot of message boards out there, where insults and ignorance win the day. No, I had hoped I'd get responses from like minded gamers, who care about our hobby, and yes care about Games Workshop. I wanted people to stop and think about things properly, rather than just leap into the pro or anti camps as so often happens with any attempts to discuss Games Workshop. In my first article I really did wear my heart on my sleeve, I was honest about how I felt. I wanted others to respond in a similarly passionate way and convince me of some of the counter arguments.

It didn't happen quite like that, or at all. In some respects the article was a success. I know from the responses I've had to the article and also private emails I've received that the article itself did get many people thinking about Games Workshop properly, rather than just blindly falling into the pro or anti camps we so often get. It was a success on the old hits counter too, if you can measure success in such ways. What I didn't expect though, if I'm honest was that the over whelming amount of responses I got to the article were people agreeing with me in the main or totally. My attempt to create a bit of passionate discussion, or debate without resorting to name calling, mud slinging and nerd rage failed. To be honest it spectacularly failed and as such I view the article as a bit of a personal failiure. Hell in the end I'd have taken a bit of nerd rage if it had sparked a bit of debate. So I've been pondering that article for a little while now.

Yeah so they're cannon fodder, but they're devoted cannon fodder!

You see, I deliberately chose the Imperium as a metaphor because I thought it was such a vast concept with the 40k background that it could in fact be twisted quite easily to whatever purpose you wished, when describing Games Workshop. I still believe the broad brush strokes I made in that article, when viewed from certain angles or perspectives ring true today, but I was deliberately one-sided in my commentary because that's normally the way you spark debate, even if I do more readily associated with those views I passionately expressed. It's certainly true of academia and other fields I have worked in, but not it seems wargaming. Perhaps the article was too long, perhaps people thought it so badly written that it neither deserved or indeed needed a well written riposte! Or maybe the contrary is true, perhaps people thought what I had written was so comprehensive and potentially intimidating that no one dared take it on...

But, given this is the Internet we're talking about here, where anonymity and 'robust' opinions come together to from a whirling vortex of controversy, I very much doubt it was the later option. I'm sure if the mood had taken some, there would have been plenty of people willing to shoot holes in the original. So what am I left with? Do I leave the subject alone? Allowing it to sit there as a single piece, an article in glorious isolation? I mean it's proved very popular and has gotten some rave reviews from some, so for many that would be reward enough. Not for me though, I don't like presenting lop sided arguments mainly because they are weak and invariably fall short of exposing the full truth. they serve their purpose normally by tweasing out varying strands of the truth from others, creating a discussion, discourse or lively debate, but beyond that they serve little useful purpose. They're supposed to be a catalyst for further enhancing our knowledge and understanding. I like to think of myself as a well rounded individual who can take a balanced view of things and as such I need to write my own riposte. Yes, it'll be long but I've tried to ensure it's not as long.

Playing Devils Advocate

So is the Imperium of Man a useful metaphor for the state of play with Games Workshop? Does it serve as a useful reference point for discussion? Yes and no. If I wanted to make any point at all about Games Workshop, be it positive or negative the background is so vast and diverse I could find some aspect of it and twist it to my means and ends. Ironically those exact same reasons also make it a splendid tool for use as a metaphor, as Games Workshop itself is a vast and varied topic with many facets to it. The reality is, the fact Games Workshop have developed such a vast and colourful background for their games is an undeniable strength as a company, and it shows their breadth and depth. It enables us as hobbyists and fans to engage deeper with the 40k universe than any other game universe. And as such I will also be using it as a metaphor in this riposte to my original article, to extol the virtues of Games Workshop. To lever in other examples from within the background to show how strong Games Workshop is and how as the Imperium of Man they will endure, grow stronger and ultimately triumph over their Xenos and Chaotic enemies.

So on the table they're a little broken, but they are cool!

The Imperium of Man endures not because it is stubborn, but because if it did not do so it would die. It's strength does not come from some single omnipotent leader as many would have you believe, it comes from it's multitude of citizens at all levels. Various facets of 'Government' uniting over a common cause, true the focal point in the fluff might be the Emperor, but he represents an ideal rather than an actual physical entity. Games Workshop is no different, in many respects it shares this strength of endurance with its fictional creation. Their two main games have endured for a very long time indeed. Warhammer Fanatsy Battle was first released in 1983, it's nearly 30 years old now, how many other wargames can say that? Warhammer 40,000 started life 4 short years later in 1987, as Rogue Trader, it too is a venerable old statesmen of the wargaming establishment. They have stuck true to their roots and design principles throughout this time, maintaining a consistency of existence and steadily building on it to create this vast universe that many others have struggled to compete with, and failed to match with their own products. They've ultimately failed to grasp this, and have caused their own demise. Games Workshop and their games endure like the Imperium of man because they know it's right to do so, and to give up now would mean all the previous struggles had been in vain.

This strength of purpose and religious zeal to the cause might be unpalatable to some, both in terms of the Imperium and Games Workshop. But so what? Empires aren't maintained by allowing deviance and new ideas in, they weaken the whole and once the questioning starts the unity disappears. That way lies oblivion and destruction and ultimately the demise of a way of doing things. Their way of doing things, as to change is to become something different. Games Workshop has maintained a common language of it's game systems for a very long time, much like Imperial Gothic, it enables hobbyists far and wide to communicate effectively over time and space. Should a long lost colony (a gamer) come back into contact with the Imperium after being lost to it for many years, then they will still have that same common language to communicate with. The Imperium will still be their for them and accept them back into the fold, they can start again from where they last left off. This is a strength to the hobby and Games Workshop in particular. No other game systems can claim this or even come close, and that's because where others have changed they've endured.

The Imperium might be an uncompromising place, but there is safety in numbers

We can all choose to leave the Imperium and fall under the sway of Xenos or Chaos, to play Warmachine, Flames of War, Malifaux or Infinity. We can go out and try new things, new heresies, but the Imperium of Man will still be there when we eventually return. Stoically it will have preserved its essence, and it will welcome lost sheep back into it's fold easily and effortlessly, with open arms and like we had never gone away. How many people do you know who left the hobby in their early 20's to get married, have kids, buy a house? Only for them to return years later and ask if Space Marines still exist? Of course they fricking exist, this is the Imperium of Man!!! Their methods and business model will still be familiar, warm and comforting. They might even still be able to use miniatures stored away in their attic. There will still be a local shop waiting to help them back on their way, the empire is still standing. The hobby needs this empire to endure, because without it our hobby loses its reference point.

Space Marines bravely holding back the tide

The Emperors Great Crusade might have crushed and quashed many smaller human civilisations under its inextricable advance, and Games Workshop may have done the same as it expanded. But, the hobby needed uniting if it was ever going to thrive and become the multi-million pound business it is today. Games Workshop have paved the way for others to thrive, without Games Workshop there'd be no Chaos, No Mantic Games, Privateer Press or many others. Without them providing an empire and a horde of 'citizens' for other to assault and colonise, those other companies wouldn't be able to thrive. Many of them are like the Orks, simply rampaging through the Imperium re-purposing the tools and equipment they find to their own ends. Very few are inventing much new, Game Workshops investment in their IP and technology such as plastics has shown the way for others. This trickle down will impact on other companies and games, but without Games Workshop many of these other companies wouldn't be in the position to reap those benefits. Those who call for the demise of the Imperium call for their own demise.

Much may have changed since this picture, but its undeniably 40k

Their are companies out there who have no official link to Games Workshop, rogue traders if you will, who's very existence depends on the spin off sales from the vast empire Games Workshop have built themselves. Resin bases from companies like Dragon Forge Designs, Micro Art Studios, Antenocitis Workshop and many others beside exist from the trade Games Workshop games provide. Conversion kits for 40k from people like Puppet Wars and many others allow them to survive financially, and withut this they would not exist for other games systems. They provide variance and richness to the Games Workshop hobby, but this also trickles out into the wider hobby too. It's a symbiotic relationship, the Games Workshop provides the customers for the hobby, just like the Imperium provides the resources for other races to live off of.

Tell me this isn't bad ass! Who's side are you on?

Think about it, would Horus have been able to lead his heresy had not the Emperor and he united the galaxy in the first place? Would Warmachine and Hordes exist? Would Mantic be able to have done what they have done without Games Workshop showing them the way? They provide a bench mark, the galaxy standard if you will. They are the barometer others pitch themselves against to find their 'niche' within the marketplace. We're cheaper than them! We're offering more tactical games! Our miniatures are more finely detailed than theirs are! Games Workshop provides an enemy to rail against. Without that standard, bench mark or universal understand of wargaming that they provide the hobby, how would any of us truly be able to judge the value of others products. Without Games Workshop introducing us all to this hobby we so love where would we be? You can speculate on the unknown of that question, but truly the hobby world we all operate in has been so totally shaped by them that it is impossible to know for sure. The time before them seems like the myth and legend in their background fluff, much of it romaticised and viewed through rose coloured optics I feel.

The Imperium has many facets, it's not just Space Marines

So yes the Interent might be Chaos, the analogy certainly fits, but like the Imprium of Man Games Workshop uses the Warp as little as possible and only when it needs to. It refuses to bend to its will, changing it's ways to suit whatever fad might be popular as others do. Or flip flopping from one bandwagon to the next, can we really blame them for not embracing Chaos? When all it seems to throw at them is spite and vitriol. Look around the Internet, see the 'seething animosity' the 'rage unbound' and ask yourself, is that where you want your hobby to be? Do you want the hobby to descend so lowly to that base level of discourse and communication? Or do you feel more comforted and happier sticking with the dependable rock that is Games Workshop? Sure they make mistakes and not everything is perfect, but it is more cordial and civilised than the brutal world of Chaos that exists beyond its realm. Sure some of us will thrive in the warp and love the new temptations that exist, falling totally to Chaos. But that's not for everyone, and Games Workshop are right to maintain the hobby as they see it for the majority.

Without them their would be a void of utter Chaos. The dark long night, people and hobby disjointed, sporadic communities rising and falling as quickly as a blinking of an eye. While some of us might toil under the yoke of unfair taxes (Australia and New Zealand), and suffer the burdens greater than others, it is for the good of the Imperium and the hobby. That might be an unpalatable truth, but Games Workshop has shown the best way, the only plausible way so far to grow the hobby is to maintain a local presence. Imperial outposts in far flung corners of the galaxy to ensure compliance, to recruit fresh meat to the Imperial Guard, maybe even the odd Space Marine too. That doesn't come cheaply, and if we want a healthy hobby surely we should all pay for that? Without Games Workshop what would our hobby look like? Who would indoctrinate the fresh blood to keep the hobby thriving? Who would keep the hobby growing and sustainable for all? Us, the gamers? Many of us can't keep our clubs going without help from Games Workshop, true that help also stifles at times, but with good intent. It must do, because despite this apparent mistreatment many remain loyal. Maybe blindly so, but like the Imperial citizens they have faith in something bigger than them, something greater.


Even I with my cynical and critical gaze must admire the passion and loyalty they still inspire in so many. I might always have been an outsider of sorts, the traitor within at other times, but I have seen the strength they provide. I have had bad service off of them, felt mistreated and frustrated at times, but as a company they're there doing their best. I mentioned a manager last time who exemplified the sort of good service you normally get in Games Workshops, Brett. But there are others who continue to surprise me, even though they know I'm not what you might call a devout Games Workshop hobbyist they all know this and respect it, but people like Richard at Solihull, Adam at Walsall and Stephen at Wolverhapton do their jobs with diligence and dignity. They've all tried getting me back into the fold, they've succeeded at different times too, with their friendly and professional attitudes and good customer service. Their enthusiasm is at times infectious and it is unfair therefore to tar the soldiers of the Imperium with the poor service of one. It's people like these who make the hobby what it is, hobbyists in the truest sense.

Beset on all sides they still bravely fight on!

The hobby world Games Workshop have created is as disparate as those hobbyists and we all want to make it. It's as vibrant as it is because of the shear numbers of gamers that currently play their games and have played their games. We've all added to the hobby as we've gone on, enriching it for others that come after, sure it's still Games Workshops IP, but it's our games! What other game systems have tournaments the size of those provided by Games Workshops systems? What other systems have Golden Daemon? What other systems have thousands upon on thousands of blogs dedicated to them? What other game system has as many Gaming clubs dedicated to their products? Provides as many cool looking miniatures? Maybe the system or plan is broken to an extent for some of us, but surely the Imperium must have some good aspects to it for it to have grown so big, for it to endure. For it to be able to support the fabulous products provided by ancilliary companies like Forge World and the Black Library. Then there are the third parties that thrive off of the Games Workshop too, with computer games from THQ and the RPGs and board games provided by Fantasy Flight Games. Maybe the Imperium of Man will ultimately falter and fail, like all empires do, because nothing man ever puts his hand to is built to last, because time erodes and changes all. But the day that it does fall will be a sad day for our hobby as a whole, and me.

Conclusion

So there it is, the counter argument as presented by myself. I accept it's not as long as my previous effort, that's not to do with me being deliberately biased to one side of the argument (although I probably am), I accept that much of what I have presented here is me playing pure devils advocate. No, it is more to do with the fact that the one single biggest gripe people had with the previous article was that it was too long. A criticism I have a degree of sympathy with. As such I tried to make my salient points briefly and as succinctly as possible this time around. hopefully it wasn't as long winded for some of you, and if you've read both in their entirety then I owe you my gratitude. I'm sure some of you will be wandering however, what my real position on all of this actually is. The truth lies somewhere between the two articles, but I'm not going to pretend, or lie to you and say that it sits comfortably in the middle because it does not.

Warhammer 40,000 has even influenced Lady GaGa!!!

While what I have written here within this second article is also part of 'my truth' on Games Workshop, and I believe in most of the points I have made, I invariably lean far more heavily towards the opinions I passionately expressed in the first article. Perhaps it is because I see the strengths I've illuminated in this riposte article, that the faults and weaknesses I identified as being inherent in the first article cause me such anguish and turmoil as a wargamer. Obviously both articles are just my opinion, they're not fact, very little in life is fact and we would all do well to remember that. What you all need to do therefore is come to our own opinions and conclusions, rather than blindly accepting the opinions of others as our own. Who knows why I feel the way I do about Games Workshop, perhaps somebody else can explain it to me. Peace out!