NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tinner" data-source="post: 2554755" data-attributes="member: 19667">The idealist in me thinks WotC has the right idea with their new Afternoon Adventures With Dungeons & Dragons programs in local libraries. I just hope they actually get some responses, and that the program actually gets some support.The realist in me says that what gaming needs to become truly ubiquitous and popular is the same thing that poker needed. Big-time money.Poker has literally exploded with the advent of things like the World Series of Poker. The organizers of these events have hit the nail on the head by convincing the fans of two things:1 - That ANYONE has a shot at winning.2 - That winning could make them rich.This formula has worked for singing and dancing too, with the popularlity of American Idol, and So You Think You Can Dance? Even with cruel judges they get huge turnouts for auditions because everyone thinks they have a shot, and they want that fame and fortune.This formula even worked to a lesser extent for Magic: the Gathering. The DCI's Pro-Tour has made MtG players feel that any of them could be the next winner, and that winning will net them some cold hard cash.I realize that D&D is a fundamentally different kind of game, but if WotC were to devise some sort of tournament format that gave ANY player the feeling they could be the next big winner, and that being that winner would be a prize worth seeking.I think Niven & Barnes were on to something when they came up with the International Fantasy Gaming Society in their Dream Park books. Sponsored teams competing in the same modules in tournament format, standardized scoring, some method of making gaming into a spectator sport (hey, they did it with poker!), and a big cash payout would all add up to increased popularity for gaming.</blockquote>

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