billd91
Not your screen monkey (he/him)
This sounds a lot like the question: How can someone show outside marketers that their research into a particular market segment is shallow?
companies staying away from rpg gamers
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This sounds a lot like the question: How can someone show outside marketers that their research into a particular market segment is shallow?
thecasualoblivion
First Post
We would need to chase Comic Book Guy behavior out of the hobby, or something close to it.
Raven Crowking
First Post
I think we should first ask, "Why should we care?"
How much of the revenue is highly dependent on the Comic Book Guys buying stuff every month? What percentage of Comic Book Guys are also hardcore completionists, who buy almost everything in a particular product line?
thecasualoblivion
First Post
Its a trade off. You have to weigh how much money you get from Comic Book Guys buying every book that comes out against how many other customers they drive away with their crap. Sometimes they drive so many other customers away that the amount they spend isn't worth it. This is exactly what the original blog post discusses.
This doesn't include the toxicity of "Former Comic Book Guy" who also exists on message board forums, and I don't know what the cure for that is.
I've seen people talk about how they'd be interested in a new D&D cartoon show. I'd be eager to see another D&D movie, well-done. Some CRPGs for 4E.
Now, all this sort of stuff can originate from WotC, but also requires a connection outside the company - a connection harder to create, if the outside world thinks that the RPG populace can be more trouble than they are worth as a fanbase.
I don't honestly know if it is truly enough of an issue to get in the way of things like this. But if it does have the potential to cause a problem, then... sure, of course we should care! Our hobby could have more cool stuff - I like cool stuff!
More than that, in recent years, fantasy and sci-fi elements have become more mainstream. The popularity of epic movies like Lord of the Rings and Avatar, and books like Harry Potter, has presented an opportunity for the hobby to also expand and make connections outside of its own home base. There is a good opportunity here for the RPG base to expand, and related interests seeing the popularity of such things might consider trying to connect to hobbies like this in order to reap the benefits themselves.
If a small subset of the gaming crowd drives them away, it is a lost opportunity for everyone - for the gamers, for the industry as a whole, and for the outsiders that might have found a connection and gotten drawn into RPGs themselves.
The only scenario where I probably wouldn't care much at all, is if I was a hardcore 1E AD&D grognard whom has zero interest in expanding the hobby.
Man in the Funny Hat
Hero
I would actually assume that Comic Book Guy behavior TENDS to chase itself out of the hobby. Nobody LIKES CBG behavior. Nobody wants to game with CBG, talk to him, hang around him, etc. He ends up ostracized and isolated by his own actions. But until then he draws unwanted attention and exerts unwanted (by ANYONE) influence.
But gamer/geek/nerd culture is reluctant and slow to police its own by its very nature. It's heavily built around acceptance or at least tolerance of eccentricity, even obnoxiousness in favor of the comfort provided by even slim common ground.
If I understand correctly the article from the OP is only decrying the damage CBG does while he's around, and lamenting that the "silent majority" isn't more assertive. Or something like that.
I don't have much to say on this topic that I didn't say yesterday, but upon reflection I'd like to apologize to eyebeams. I completely disagree with a lot of his conclusions, but that doesn't make him stupid, and it was lame of me to kick off my contribution to this discussion by calling him an idiot.
So, sorry about that, Malcolm.
So, sorry about that, Malcolm.
Which is a tricky thing to do - even if it is one we should do. I don't like how some people might act online, but I don't really have the right to drive someone from the hobby.
I think there have been improvements in some areas, in the form of better standards for behavior at cons and such, and places online like Enworld where the mods actively work to make it a welcoming environment.
But I think the real answer - and the one being proposed in the article - is to just make the heart of the gaming community more visible. Because the bulk of the community isn't the handful of jerks who draw attention - they just make themselves more obvious. Enough positive feedback can overcome the perception they offer.
In theory.
In practice, I don't know precisely how one would work to go about such things, on an industry wide level. On a personal level, I think it just means paying attention to what you say and how you say it, and try to focus on the elements that matter. When something comes along like the article on D&D Encounters, regardless of what edition you prefer, offer comments welcoming newcomers and emphasizing the best parts of the hobby, rather than drag things down into petty rivalries that will only drive away the outside world.
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