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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Clavis" data-source="post: 7647863" data-attributes="member: 31898">One of the reasons MMORPGs are so popular (although certainly not the only reason) is that they allow non-geeks (especially women) to be geeky without being seen associating with geeks.The non-geeks who previously would game privately (but never go to cons, wear game t-shirts, or otherwise openly advertise their love of RPGs) no longer need to sneak around, hoping their larger social group never finds out about their rpg habit.  They can simply log-on and play, never revealing their actual identity.Whatever we like to tell ourselves in our own press, being a geek is not cool.  RPG gaming is not cool. Gamers have a horrible social reputation that we've largely inflicted on ourselves. In my experience, many women simply don't feel like they can game without unpleasant social repercussions, either from their friends, or from male gamers themselves. At best, male gamers tend to inelegantly ogle any females who come around. At worst, there is outright misogyny born from bitter memories of unsuccessful love lives. I know for a fact that there are attractive, socially adept women who love fantasy and play MMORPGs, but would never consider for a moment stepping foot anywhere near a game store. The traditional RPG market is contracting in part because of gamers. Non-geeks simply don't need to associate with geeks anymore. I think that the Dungeons & Dragons name is both the banner of the RPG industry, and the albatross around its neck. "Playing D&D", in the mind of the general public, is reserved for misfits and nerds (who are also, not cool). As long as it's called "D&D" non-geeks won't do it in large numbers. If it isn't called D&D, the established base won't play. You can sell to the public, or sell to the geek base, but its very hard to appeal to them both.</blockquote>

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