Mercurius
Legend
Over the years I have come to realize that I firmly exist in a kind of nebulous, liminal zone of RPG fandom that could be described as the Fringe. I haven't played in about five years, and really haven't played in a long-term campaign (i.e. a year plus) in decades. My hey-day of RPG interest was probably decades ago, from about middle school to my mid-20s. But like many who find their way into the hobby, it never fully goes away and some of us end up in the "Fringe Zone" of RPG fandom.
What is this Fringe Zone and how does it figure into the larger RPG fandom landscape? Well, it is a space between but overlapping with two more prominent portions of fandom--diehards and casual/trend players--but distinct enough that I think it deserves its own category.
Casual/trend/passing phase players: For some, RPG fandom is a passing trend. There are still many 80s D&D boomers who played a bit back in the day but never played again, except maybe on a lark. There are many people since who went through a gaming phase and then grew out of it into more Adult Things like bourbon or golf. I imagine that there are already many recent "Covid boomers" who played D&D for a bit in 2020-24ish, and found it more of a passing trend than a newfound passion and life-long hobby. These -- in whatever shape and form - are those who experience RPG as a passing phase. They're often (but not always) people who played it in any of the "boom periods," most especially the early 80s and early 2020s, but it could also be in other smaller boom phases (e.g. early 90s White Wolf, early 2000s d20, etc). But by and large, for them it doesn't stick.
Diehards/lifelong players: The hobby is driven by diehards: Those that fall in love and stay in love. They might go through down periods but always come back. They abide through rises and falls, booms and busts, and always find a way forward. For them, gaming is a lifestyle or, at least, a major component of their lifestyle. Most, if not all, game designers are diehards. Diehards tend to almost always be in an active game (or two), or want to be in an active game.
The Fringe: Then there are those, such as myself, that exist in a kind of fringe zone. We neither fade fully away or remain actively engrossed. I would even suggest that members of both of the above groups might enter the Fringe Zone temporarily...diehards might go through a "fringe phase" but if they're true diehards, will become re-invigorated (perhaps a new group, edition, etc), while casual/trend players might have the appearance of being in the Fringe, but then would eventually fade out of interest. But more to the point: some remain in the Fringe, as their primary RPG habitat.
Or to put it another way, the Fringe is a liminal space and state of RPG fandom that is distinct from being a diehard or a casual player. It is its own thing.
What is life like from the Fringe? Well, basically RPGs is more of a secondary hobby than a primary one. It is more of a interest that a person checks in on, but doesn't (or no longer) invests a significant amount of time in. Fringers sometime mistake themselves for diehards, perhaps because they had a period of time as a diehard but gradually faded into the Fringe. They also sometimes think they are casual/trend players, but then find their curiosity perked again and again.
One way to illustrate this difference is by comparing my interest in RPGs to two other past-times: writing and reading comic books.
Writing (and world-building related to my writing) is my central creative focus and passion. It is almost always on my mind; if not consciously thinking about it, then on the back-burner. I carry around a little notebook because I get random ideas and am always working out this or that element of one of my stories or the worlds they're in. I usually have several documents open on my laptop that I pop back into, when I have an idea I need to explore. It is an obsessive, ongoing project.
On the other side of the spectrum of my geekly interest, we have comic books. I was a passionate reader in my teens, probably subscribing to a couple dozen titles at my local comic book store back in the late 80s to early 90s, but then lost interest in my early 20s. But over the years, I've found myself checking back in every so often. For instance, my favorite title back in the day was the X-Men and while I pretty much didn't ready anything a bit after Claremont departed, I have tried at various times (and usually failed) to put together a general sense of what happened in the convoluted story over the decades.
For me, RPGs is somewhere in-between. Really, it is closer to comic books, but with more interest and frequency of attention. I can't tell you about the current storyline or composition of the X-Men, or even what titles are currently active (beyond, say, that Jean Grey is the Phoenix again and somewhere in space...I think). But I can tell you quite a bit more about what is going on in D&D and what some other popular games and trends are. But like comics, I don't actively "subscribe" (play) and will often go several months at a time without thinking much about RPGs, except in passing. But with both, I find a spark of interest and find myself back at a place like EN World, either as a skimming reader or posting an inquiry of some kind.
Being a fringe RPG fan has no value judgement or merit attached to it. It isn't a bad (or good) thing: it just is what it is. In other words, this isn't because I can't find a game to play in or create the time because real-world matters have overwhelmed me. On the other hand, it isn't because I no longer like RPGs. It is just...what it is. And, I think, interesting to note because we tend to think in binary, in either/or, or to consider that people are either long-time diehard inhabitants or passing tourists.
Why am I writing and, more so, sharing this on a website dedicated to focusing on RPGs, where most participants are diehards? Well, I find it interesting that even when a hobby becomes less central to one's interest, it still doesn't go away. I still come here and participate, if more sporadically than in decades past. I still want to know what's coming out, and still enjoy buying the occasional RPG book or three (usually in flurries). I am not a casual, but nor am I a true diehard. In a way, it is like the spectrum of like-to-love: If for diehards RPGs are true love, fringers exist somewhere between like and love.
I'm guessing that both casual and diehards confuse fringers for diehards, but I think diehards could more properly view us as...cousins? Friendly kindred? Allies? Hey, it is up to you...just know that we exist, though are a bit different in terms of our investment - but we still exist like/love the hobby, if from a bit further afield (though am not sure if we are legion).
As for Fringers and our own identity, I think sometimes we forget that in terms of who RPGs are designed for, that is who the target audience is, we aren't much of a consideration. Diehards--even if they are some degree of grognardism--still make up a significant enough portion of money spent to be worthy of consideration, if you're a publisher. They are the bird in hand and we've seen some rather notorious examples of what happens when they get marginalized. On the other hand, Fringers aren't casuals...we do buy books, but it generally has less to do with "catching a wave" of a boom and more to do with long-term interests and tastes. Meaning, I don't think we can really be considered as far as our wallets are concerned. We're more akin to niche or impulse buyers and can't really be tracked or catered to.
p.s. A brief addendum. What inspired me to write this? Oddly enough, it was the cover art for the upcoming Forgotten Realms books. I strongly dislike the art and found myself thinking (and saying in the thread) that it is a rare occasion that I might not buy a book because of the cover art. This got me thinking about why - and I think some of that why is answered by the above, by my Fringe Zone fandom. I was planning on buying at least the DM book because I love RPG settings and am curious what the latest version of the FR will look like. I still remember getting on a bus back in 1987 to go the one hobby store in town that had the FR gray box in stock, picking it up, and excitedly rushing home to pour over it. I want to see what become of that setting, 38 years later. In a few months, I'll go into my local game store and check out the FR books when they come out, see if the alt covers and the contents within are appealing enough for me to shell out $50-100. But the cover matters - it sets the tone and implies the general approach, so we'll just have to see.
What is this Fringe Zone and how does it figure into the larger RPG fandom landscape? Well, it is a space between but overlapping with two more prominent portions of fandom--diehards and casual/trend players--but distinct enough that I think it deserves its own category.
Casual/trend/passing phase players: For some, RPG fandom is a passing trend. There are still many 80s D&D boomers who played a bit back in the day but never played again, except maybe on a lark. There are many people since who went through a gaming phase and then grew out of it into more Adult Things like bourbon or golf. I imagine that there are already many recent "Covid boomers" who played D&D for a bit in 2020-24ish, and found it more of a passing trend than a newfound passion and life-long hobby. These -- in whatever shape and form - are those who experience RPG as a passing phase. They're often (but not always) people who played it in any of the "boom periods," most especially the early 80s and early 2020s, but it could also be in other smaller boom phases (e.g. early 90s White Wolf, early 2000s d20, etc). But by and large, for them it doesn't stick.
Diehards/lifelong players: The hobby is driven by diehards: Those that fall in love and stay in love. They might go through down periods but always come back. They abide through rises and falls, booms and busts, and always find a way forward. For them, gaming is a lifestyle or, at least, a major component of their lifestyle. Most, if not all, game designers are diehards. Diehards tend to almost always be in an active game (or two), or want to be in an active game.
The Fringe: Then there are those, such as myself, that exist in a kind of fringe zone. We neither fade fully away or remain actively engrossed. I would even suggest that members of both of the above groups might enter the Fringe Zone temporarily...diehards might go through a "fringe phase" but if they're true diehards, will become re-invigorated (perhaps a new group, edition, etc), while casual/trend players might have the appearance of being in the Fringe, but then would eventually fade out of interest. But more to the point: some remain in the Fringe, as their primary RPG habitat.
Or to put it another way, the Fringe is a liminal space and state of RPG fandom that is distinct from being a diehard or a casual player. It is its own thing.
What is life like from the Fringe? Well, basically RPGs is more of a secondary hobby than a primary one. It is more of a interest that a person checks in on, but doesn't (or no longer) invests a significant amount of time in. Fringers sometime mistake themselves for diehards, perhaps because they had a period of time as a diehard but gradually faded into the Fringe. They also sometimes think they are casual/trend players, but then find their curiosity perked again and again.
One way to illustrate this difference is by comparing my interest in RPGs to two other past-times: writing and reading comic books.
Writing (and world-building related to my writing) is my central creative focus and passion. It is almost always on my mind; if not consciously thinking about it, then on the back-burner. I carry around a little notebook because I get random ideas and am always working out this or that element of one of my stories or the worlds they're in. I usually have several documents open on my laptop that I pop back into, when I have an idea I need to explore. It is an obsessive, ongoing project.
On the other side of the spectrum of my geekly interest, we have comic books. I was a passionate reader in my teens, probably subscribing to a couple dozen titles at my local comic book store back in the late 80s to early 90s, but then lost interest in my early 20s. But over the years, I've found myself checking back in every so often. For instance, my favorite title back in the day was the X-Men and while I pretty much didn't ready anything a bit after Claremont departed, I have tried at various times (and usually failed) to put together a general sense of what happened in the convoluted story over the decades.
For me, RPGs is somewhere in-between. Really, it is closer to comic books, but with more interest and frequency of attention. I can't tell you about the current storyline or composition of the X-Men, or even what titles are currently active (beyond, say, that Jean Grey is the Phoenix again and somewhere in space...I think). But I can tell you quite a bit more about what is going on in D&D and what some other popular games and trends are. But like comics, I don't actively "subscribe" (play) and will often go several months at a time without thinking much about RPGs, except in passing. But with both, I find a spark of interest and find myself back at a place like EN World, either as a skimming reader or posting an inquiry of some kind.
Being a fringe RPG fan has no value judgement or merit attached to it. It isn't a bad (or good) thing: it just is what it is. In other words, this isn't because I can't find a game to play in or create the time because real-world matters have overwhelmed me. On the other hand, it isn't because I no longer like RPGs. It is just...what it is. And, I think, interesting to note because we tend to think in binary, in either/or, or to consider that people are either long-time diehard inhabitants or passing tourists.
Why am I writing and, more so, sharing this on a website dedicated to focusing on RPGs, where most participants are diehards? Well, I find it interesting that even when a hobby becomes less central to one's interest, it still doesn't go away. I still come here and participate, if more sporadically than in decades past. I still want to know what's coming out, and still enjoy buying the occasional RPG book or three (usually in flurries). I am not a casual, but nor am I a true diehard. In a way, it is like the spectrum of like-to-love: If for diehards RPGs are true love, fringers exist somewhere between like and love.
I'm guessing that both casual and diehards confuse fringers for diehards, but I think diehards could more properly view us as...cousins? Friendly kindred? Allies? Hey, it is up to you...just know that we exist, though are a bit different in terms of our investment - but we still exist like/love the hobby, if from a bit further afield (though am not sure if we are legion).
As for Fringers and our own identity, I think sometimes we forget that in terms of who RPGs are designed for, that is who the target audience is, we aren't much of a consideration. Diehards--even if they are some degree of grognardism--still make up a significant enough portion of money spent to be worthy of consideration, if you're a publisher. They are the bird in hand and we've seen some rather notorious examples of what happens when they get marginalized. On the other hand, Fringers aren't casuals...we do buy books, but it generally has less to do with "catching a wave" of a boom and more to do with long-term interests and tastes. Meaning, I don't think we can really be considered as far as our wallets are concerned. We're more akin to niche or impulse buyers and can't really be tracked or catered to.
p.s. A brief addendum. What inspired me to write this? Oddly enough, it was the cover art for the upcoming Forgotten Realms books. I strongly dislike the art and found myself thinking (and saying in the thread) that it is a rare occasion that I might not buy a book because of the cover art. This got me thinking about why - and I think some of that why is answered by the above, by my Fringe Zone fandom. I was planning on buying at least the DM book because I love RPG settings and am curious what the latest version of the FR will look like. I still remember getting on a bus back in 1987 to go the one hobby store in town that had the FR gray box in stock, picking it up, and excitedly rushing home to pour over it. I want to see what become of that setting, 38 years later. In a few months, I'll go into my local game store and check out the FR books when they come out, see if the alt covers and the contents within are appealing enough for me to shell out $50-100. But the cover matters - it sets the tone and implies the general approach, so we'll just have to see.
