Attn: Users under the age of 20 (or thereabouts)

[der_kluge]

So, BelenUmeria's thread got me to thinking about marketing efforts for role-playing games. Maybe it's because I'm older, but it does seem like most of the people I game with (NC game day, I'm looking at you) are older, Corlon excluded.

So, it does seem that the RPG industry itself will go to the graveyard (or at least nearly will) when we all go to the graveyard. Let's face it, the next generation (what is it, generation Y?) is more interested in video games and CCGs than they are in P&P RPGs.

But, like Corlon, there are younger players, and several even frequent this board. So, I'm curious, and I'm specifically asking the younger crowd on here -


- what brought you into D&D/d20/P&P role-playing?

- Do you find it difficult to find gamers your age? Do you game with people typically 10 years (or more) older than you, or is it easy to find gamers your age?

- what are your peers into?

 

[der_kluge]

And for the record, I'm 32, which pretty much seems to be the median age around here.

 

[Raloc]

I'm 20, but I started playing when I was 12, and I don't find many players my own age. I know about 7 other people (internationally) that also play D&D (and P&P in general) that are my age.

 

[Kemrain]

I'm 22. Been playing RPG's in one form or another since I was 9. My first real long term game was with a bunch of kids and a 30-40 year old guy at the local community center. I was around 12 at the start fo that game, and we ended when I was 17 and the GM's mother got alzheimer's and needed to move in with him full time.

The people I play with now are 23-26ish. I've played in another game with people my age, and one run by a highschool teacher in his late 30's. I have yet to seriously play with anyone over 40, and no one over 30 has been a player in game I've been in, save at Cons and Gamedays (which don't count for my average roleplaying experience). From my experience, younger gamers are the norm, and even those in their 30's are rare. I know this isn't the case, but it doesn't help when you look for players at a community college. From my perspective, the game is healthy as ever.

- Kemrain the Young-ish.

 

[Oryan77]

I just tried to get a 20 y/o guy to join our group. He's into rpg video games, played Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, NWN, and he just bought PS Torment. I figured he might like the real version so I invited him over to meet the other players and to make a PC. When I invited him to actually play a session, he declined. I guess it didn't really appeal to him (or my players scared him off j/k). He'd probably like a hack-n-slash game, but that's just not what I run.

I think college guys play a lot though. I see ads for player searches on a couple different college newsgroups around my area.

I'm 28 and I started when I was 18.

 

[hexgrid]

One thing to consider- I don't think younger gamers tend to hang out at EN World.

If you want evidence of young gamers, start reading the WoTC message boards.

 

[Jdvn1]

I'm 22. I got into gaming because it seemed fun, but I was taught by older players. The oldest person I game with currently is six years older, and two or three younger. It's not hard to find gamers the same age, especially if you hang out at gaming stores.

My peers are mostly into computer gaming, though. Or they're not geeks at all.

 

[Desdichado]

From my perspective, the game is healthy as ever.

I imagine that's probably true. Not that I'm in the target age group (turned 33 last month) but I remember a co-worker telling me two or three years ago that D&D was all the rage at his son's junior high again; he was picking up some books for him to use. I'm sure we'll see the same filtering process that distills the "lifestyle gamers" from all those "fad gamers" over the years, but as long as there's a continually replenishing supply (which based on that decidedly anecdotal evidence, there is) then we're all in good shape.

If anything, the prevalence and general acceptance of things like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings recently can only help as well -- it's not necessarily nerdy to be into fantasy these days.

 

[Narfellus]

I'm 32, started gaming on and off when i saw the books my older cousins owned, then i picked up the Endless Quest books. I've taken breaks from DnD for years at a time, burned out i guess, but i've come back to the game because it's the greatest creative outlet i know: part storyteller, writer, artist, judge, mediator, soundmixer, comedian and...friend.

 

[Ferrix]

I'm 21, so I guess I fall into that around 20 age group. I started playing back before the start of high school, I was probably 14. One of my neighbors played and it got me interested in it, he played Magic and so did I, so that's how I saw it first. So I picked up some books, basically didn't play for at least a year or so until I got to High School and started gaming with some friends there who played magic. I played AD&D mostly with some Rifts interspersed here and there, then I got a pretty solid small group (my two best friends) along with some others, we all played pretty regularly (once a week on fridays). Then I went to University, started playing with people there (it was RIT, a tech school, so it wasn't hard to find poeple), then moved to Montreal about a year ago. I mostly play in Play-by-Post's now, since I don't have a group up here, or short one shots when I go home with my best friends.