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<blockquote data-quote="Scurvy_Platypus" data-source="post: 3873319" data-attributes="member: 43283"><p>From the very little that I've gathered about 4E (I'm avoiding any thread about it), it sounds like 4E _might_ be an attempt to tap into both the complex/rule monkey market, as well as the market (like myself) that is not interested in joining or dealing with that part of the hobby.</p><p></p><p>Face it, people like me (I'd be termed a "casual gamer" by folks I suppose) aren't going to bother doing the online thing that WotC has set up. I don't need it. I can buy whatever corebook is put out, and go from there. All the hardcore people can log into their special website, argue themselves sick over the rules, and get instant errata updates.</p><p></p><p>Best of both worlds (potentially).</p><p></p><p>The real problem is whether or not the casual people will stay around long enough to be able to bring in new people.</p><p></p><p>To an extent, a new edition is a way of being able to hit the "reset" button. You can lower the bar enough so that once again everyone is on a relatively "equal" footing, and while new/casual people will still have to put up with a certain amount of "Man, in the previous edition, it used to be...[insert some story nobody cares about]" it does mean that the conversation doesn't have to be entirely about some obscure interpretation of some rule that we've never heard of, let alone learned how to abuse.</p><p></p><p>Although I would say that Magic The Gathering is a pretty good example and warning that new editions and rule changes don't necessarily mean that the barrier to entry is really reduced. Or even if it is, that the overall system complexity can still be overwhelming.</p><p></p><p>I've got a friend that was really into MtG for the past couple of years. I played a bit with him, and had fun. But I was completely out of my depth. I quit playing MtG one or two sets after Legends. Sold all my cards, and turned a tidy profit. The game he was introducing me to? Way beyond what I used to know.</p><p></p><p>Back when I started playing rpgs 20 years ago, I remember meeting a fair number of the "old school wargamer" crowd. A bunch of the people I knew and played with had been wargamers themselves. There was this kind of contempt from some of the old-school guys, about RPGs and how they weren't "real" games, where tactics didn't matter, and it was a bunch of sitting around and playing make-believe with elves. "Fru-fru crap" I heard on more than one occasion.</p><p></p><p>Fast forward, and I look at RPG players these days, and see that same kind of contempt for anyone that's not into the "hardcore" way of doing things. I don't personally know anyone that does those old hex style wargames these days. Chits and counters and all that. I'm sure there's still holdouts; they just don't dominate the game scene like they used to.</p><p></p><p>It'll be interesting to see if the hardcore gamers suffer the same fate or not.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>You can start with the information that was made public regarding the research for D&D 3.0.</p><p><a href="http://www.seankreynolds.com/rpgfiles/gaming/WotCMarketResearchSummary.html" target="_blank">http://www.seankreynolds.com/rpgfiles/gaming/WotCMarketResearchSummary.html</a></p><p><a href="http://www.seankreynolds.com/rpgfiles/gaming/BreakdownOfRPGPlayers.html" target="_blank">http://www.seankreynolds.com/rpgfiles/gaming/BreakdownOfRPGPlayers.html</a></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Scurvy_Platypus, post: 3873319, member: 43283"] From the very little that I've gathered about 4E (I'm avoiding any thread about it), it sounds like 4E _might_ be an attempt to tap into both the complex/rule monkey market, as well as the market (like myself) that is not interested in joining or dealing with that part of the hobby. Face it, people like me (I'd be termed a "casual gamer" by folks I suppose) aren't going to bother doing the online thing that WotC has set up. I don't need it. I can buy whatever corebook is put out, and go from there. All the hardcore people can log into their special website, argue themselves sick over the rules, and get instant errata updates. Best of both worlds (potentially). The real problem is whether or not the casual people will stay around long enough to be able to bring in new people. To an extent, a new edition is a way of being able to hit the "reset" button. You can lower the bar enough so that once again everyone is on a relatively "equal" footing, and while new/casual people will still have to put up with a certain amount of "Man, in the previous edition, it used to be...[insert some story nobody cares about]" it does mean that the conversation doesn't have to be entirely about some obscure interpretation of some rule that we've never heard of, let alone learned how to abuse. Although I would say that Magic The Gathering is a pretty good example and warning that new editions and rule changes don't necessarily mean that the barrier to entry is really reduced. Or even if it is, that the overall system complexity can still be overwhelming. I've got a friend that was really into MtG for the past couple of years. I played a bit with him, and had fun. But I was completely out of my depth. I quit playing MtG one or two sets after Legends. Sold all my cards, and turned a tidy profit. The game he was introducing me to? Way beyond what I used to know. Back when I started playing rpgs 20 years ago, I remember meeting a fair number of the "old school wargamer" crowd. A bunch of the people I knew and played with had been wargamers themselves. There was this kind of contempt from some of the old-school guys, about RPGs and how they weren't "real" games, where tactics didn't matter, and it was a bunch of sitting around and playing make-believe with elves. "Fru-fru crap" I heard on more than one occasion. Fast forward, and I look at RPG players these days, and see that same kind of contempt for anyone that's not into the "hardcore" way of doing things. I don't personally know anyone that does those old hex style wargames these days. Chits and counters and all that. I'm sure there's still holdouts; they just don't dominate the game scene like they used to. It'll be interesting to see if the hardcore gamers suffer the same fate or not. You can start with the information that was made public regarding the research for D&D 3.0. [url]http://www.seankreynolds.com/rpgfiles/gaming/WotCMarketResearchSummary.html[/url] [url]http://www.seankreynolds.com/rpgfiles/gaming/BreakdownOfRPGPlayers.html[/url] [/QUOTE]
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