Gamers Who No Longer Have Time to Game

[Aeolius]

I recently posted HERE about how many hours a week I “work” on my gaming hobby. I also mentioned that I have a wife, 7 kids, job, hobby farm, and a few hundred gallons in saltwater aquariums to fill up the rest of my time when I am not gaming.

Did I mention that my last face-to-face session of D&D was in 1994, or that I have been running play-by-post and chat-based games since 1995?

I also recently got into a heated edition debate over at Canonfire and decided I nearly represented the “lost demographic” - gamers who no longer have time to game.

While WotC's foray into Virtual Tabletops is a start, what else could be done, with the debut of a new edition of D&D, to help those of us who have hectic schedules and little recreational time?

Me, I'd like to see 5e support, in the core rules or an online supplement, the role of online gaming via VTT, message boards, chat rooms, and the like. I would like the 5e VTT to support iOS, so that I can carry my D&D game around with me on my iPad, as I am needed in different rooms of the house.

How about you?

 

[ExploderWizard]

Cheer up man. You have 7 kids. Thats like a whole table full of players just waiting.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I would like 5E to be OGL so we don't have to wait for a miracle to occur and WotC to give us a mobile-enabled VTT system.

 

[Nylanfs]

I have read some reports of people getting Maptool to work on android tablets. And I know that Fantasy Grounds is working on getting a lite version that will work on tablet.

 

[Stormonu]

It's all about the opportunity costs; the time and money lost trying to enjoy playing the game. That means that in each case, the following needs to be minimized:

1) Learning time (Time lost learning a new ruleset vs. actually playing)
2) Prep time (Time lost preparing to run a game/characters vs. actually playing)
3) Game Complexity (Time lost looking up rules/info vs. actually playing)
4) Monetary Investment (Money spent vs. the value of doing another activity)

Tutorial videos (either on YouTube or their own site, prominently pointed out) might help with #1. As would keeping the game of low complexity.

I think #2 and #4 are the biggest problems for those of us with little time, especially those trying to use a VTT. You have the redundancy of buying the dead tree books AND pay out for the VTT (which usually has the rules built in...). If 5E either came with a download code that let you use the VTT free for 10, 15 or 30 days or if you could buy the VTT with included "rulebook" help files so that physical books weren't needed, it would be a great assistance.

 

[Saracenus]

I am glad you brought this issue here and not leaving it at Canonfire.com.

I think the topic is more accurately, Gamers who have limited time to game and/or geography issues.

While I think that a rules lite core rules will facilitate play-by post and chat based gaming for those that cannot meet face to face, some thought how to make the barriers to entry to such play is something that should be considered. After all the idea is to bring as many gamers into the tent as possible.

It is my hope that by making your voice heard here and during the playtest you can have a positive impact on how this edition can better serve the audience you represent.

Thanks,

 

[AlioTheFool]

I'm definitely in favor of getting virtual tabletop tech onto tablets, just not necessarily iOS. I'm an Android guy, so I'd prefer a more flexible standard. I don't yet know enough about HTML5 to know if it would serve the purpose, but I would hope so.

 

[wedgeski]

I think you need to remember that Wizards have said that they still see the core experience of an RPG as being on the tabletop. And I also feel the need to say that "Gamers who have no time to game" is not necessarily a demographic that WotC will see much future in.

The current edition solved *a lot* of my time issues with the Compendium and the ease with which you can develop your adventures; if D&D Next includes similar electronic tools, *and* has a rules-light variant, then those of us really stretched for time might be in for an even better experience.

 

[Piratecat]

Aeolius, you're spitting distance to Raleigh/Durham. I hope you can plan now to take a day off and attend April's NC Game Day. Heck, bring kids that are old enough to play. I'm hoping to be there, and it would be fun to meet.

I am really hoping that D&D Next keeps 4e's ease of game prep and adventure design, and I hope it utilizes electronic tools that work seamlessly on tablets. My prep time went from hours per session with a high lvl 3e game to 15 minutes per session with 4e, and that alone gave me enough time to run two campaigns instead of just one.

Likewise, online play is going to get easier if fiddly complexity is kept to a minimum. Faster play with player-chosen levels of complexity means that online games can choose the rules portions that work best for non-face-to-face play. It's all theoretical at this point, but I'm encouraged by what I've seen so far.

 

[Scribble]

Seriously... If they do one thing for me in D&D next it will be to keep prep time fast. If they manage to speed it up even from 4e I'd be super impressed.