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(More) ruminations on the future of D&D
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<blockquote data-quote="Mercurius" data-source="post: 6366069" data-attributes="member: 59082"><p>Trying to catch up here...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Well I think this is one of the questions I'm asking: Will D&D gain a new audience, a new generation of fans, or will it gradually dwindle away into a kind of anachronistic ultra-niche hobby that fewer and fewer people are into? Some of the anecdotes in this thread seem to go against that notion.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Good to hear! So the good news is that there <em>are </em>new, younger players coming in. But here's the million-dollar question: Can there be another boom? I'm not saying like the 80s, but what about something more moderate? New players have trickled in since the 80s, but it doesn't seem like there was another generational boom with 2E or 3E, just something more gradual. But I could be wrong. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>In the "Golden Era" thread (I think) someone made the comment that a gamer's career rises and falls and then might rise again, and that this follows somewhat of a pattern with age. We could imagine a kind of stereotypical gamer who gets into gaming at that magical age of 12 (or so), play a lot through his teens and then starts to slow down a bit in college, but still finds a group. Then, after college, his focus is more on career and perhaps marriage and family, so gaming drops away. Sometime in his mid-30s or so, with a stable career and family life, he's having a beer at a dinner party and ends up talking with another guy about D&D. Later that night he goes online and finds out about the new edition, and starts dreaming about playing again...</p><p></p><p>Of course there are as many "gaming biographies" as there are gamers, but I think that general trajectory is a common one - and certainly fits your observation that there's a gap in the gaming populace, but it might have more to do with age and related life circumstances than it does generation.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>This is a very good point. I hate to sound like a "hater," but my first thought when reading this was, "Good riddance!" </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I think you're right on here, and that 5E's "three pillars of adventure" probably arising out of a conversation around some of these issues. Combat is one pillar - which means that it is "only" one-third of what the game is about (in a general sense), but also that it is <em>fully </em>one-third. The vast majority of D&D players <em>do </em>enjoy combat, but it is that Extra Something - immersion within a story, the play of imagination, the thrill of exploration and lost mysteries, and the enjoyment of friends and role-interaction that sets tabletop gaming apart.</p><p></p><p>I was reading over <a href="http://www.evilhat.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/DD70s_PreRelease_TSR.pdf" target="_blank">the pdf excerpt</a> of the new edition of <em>Designers & Dragons</em> and was thinking about how amazing the halcyon days of D&D </p><p>must have been, what an incredible, magical discovery it was, to take on the role of a hero in an imaginary landscape and story. I think the key going forward is to tap into that - not try to recreate the past, but connect with that which is universal - the play of imagination, the telling of stories and, of course, the <em>adventure.</em></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>This is a good point, although there is a difference beween comics and RPGs and that has to do with interactivity. You watch a movie, read a comic, but <em>play </em>an RPG. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I agree, but as you just said--that the hobby is maintaining--maybe the industry doesn't need "saving?" It seems the general view is that the RPG industry is doing fine and is stable, but just isn't booming (although we just remember that all booms are followed by a bust). So I think the question isn't as much about how to save the industry, but how to grow it.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Yeah, I agree, although I do wonder about generational differences. I was gifted a set of hardcover AD&D books back in the early 80s when I was maybe 9 or 10 years old and remember diving deep into them, reading to all hours of the night - just loving the world I had discovered. But I wasn't raised in a culture in which I could simply turn on and tune in, pick up a joystick (or whatever) and be instantly entertained. In other words, the learning curve is different now - there are more competing distractions. So it goes beyond merely <em>gifting </em>but also <em>teaching, </em>and then it is a time issue. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Thanks. I guess. <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/erm.png" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":erm:" title="Erm :erm:" data-shortname=":erm:" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mercurius, post: 6366069, member: 59082"] Trying to catch up here... Well I think this is one of the questions I'm asking: Will D&D gain a new audience, a new generation of fans, or will it gradually dwindle away into a kind of anachronistic ultra-niche hobby that fewer and fewer people are into? Some of the anecdotes in this thread seem to go against that notion. Good to hear! So the good news is that there [I]are [/I]new, younger players coming in. But here's the million-dollar question: Can there be another boom? I'm not saying like the 80s, but what about something more moderate? New players have trickled in since the 80s, but it doesn't seem like there was another generational boom with 2E or 3E, just something more gradual. But I could be wrong. In the "Golden Era" thread (I think) someone made the comment that a gamer's career rises and falls and then might rise again, and that this follows somewhat of a pattern with age. We could imagine a kind of stereotypical gamer who gets into gaming at that magical age of 12 (or so), play a lot through his teens and then starts to slow down a bit in college, but still finds a group. Then, after college, his focus is more on career and perhaps marriage and family, so gaming drops away. Sometime in his mid-30s or so, with a stable career and family life, he's having a beer at a dinner party and ends up talking with another guy about D&D. Later that night he goes online and finds out about the new edition, and starts dreaming about playing again... Of course there are as many "gaming biographies" as there are gamers, but I think that general trajectory is a common one - and certainly fits your observation that there's a gap in the gaming populace, but it might have more to do with age and related life circumstances than it does generation. This is a very good point. I hate to sound like a "hater," but my first thought when reading this was, "Good riddance!" I think you're right on here, and that 5E's "three pillars of adventure" probably arising out of a conversation around some of these issues. Combat is one pillar - which means that it is "only" one-third of what the game is about (in a general sense), but also that it is [I]fully [/I]one-third. The vast majority of D&D players [I]do [/I]enjoy combat, but it is that Extra Something - immersion within a story, the play of imagination, the thrill of exploration and lost mysteries, and the enjoyment of friends and role-interaction that sets tabletop gaming apart. I was reading over [URL="http://www.evilhat.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/DD70s_PreRelease_TSR.pdf"]the pdf excerpt[/URL] of the new edition of [I]Designers & Dragons[/I] and was thinking about how amazing the halcyon days of D&D must have been, what an incredible, magical discovery it was, to take on the role of a hero in an imaginary landscape and story. I think the key going forward is to tap into that - not try to recreate the past, but connect with that which is universal - the play of imagination, the telling of stories and, of course, the [I]adventure.[/I] This is a good point, although there is a difference beween comics and RPGs and that has to do with interactivity. You watch a movie, read a comic, but [I]play [/I]an RPG. I agree, but as you just said--that the hobby is maintaining--maybe the industry doesn't need "saving?" It seems the general view is that the RPG industry is doing fine and is stable, but just isn't booming (although we just remember that all booms are followed by a bust). So I think the question isn't as much about how to save the industry, but how to grow it. Yeah, I agree, although I do wonder about generational differences. I was gifted a set of hardcover AD&D books back in the early 80s when I was maybe 9 or 10 years old and remember diving deep into them, reading to all hours of the night - just loving the world I had discovered. But I wasn't raised in a culture in which I could simply turn on and tune in, pick up a joystick (or whatever) and be instantly entertained. In other words, the learning curve is different now - there are more competing distractions. So it goes beyond merely [I]gifting [/I]but also [I]teaching, [/I]and then it is a time issue. Thanks. I guess. :erm: [/QUOTE]
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