Presentation of RPG's

[Arkobla Conn]

I wanted to ask if WOTC has presented 4th Generation (Artwork, Style, Format, Presentation, Materials) well...and how does it relate (in your humble opinion) to other RPG's out there.

Pathfinder
World of Darkness
Star Wars
Serenity
Battlestar Galactica
Dark Heresy

This isn't a mechanics discussion - it's a marketing discussion. Which system is doing the best to catch your eye...and keep it with quality products.

 

[jdrakeh]

Current market visibility in advertising on a scale of 1 to 5 (IMO):

D&D 4e: 4
World of Darkness: 4
Star Wars: 1
Serenity: 0
Battlestar Galactica: 0
Dark Heresy: 3

 

[Arkobla Conn]

Current market visibility in advertising on a scale of 1 to 5 (IMO):

D&D 4e: 4
World of Darkness: 4
Star Wars: 1
Serenity: 0
Battlestar Galactica: 0
Dark Heresy: 3

Thanks - I note you omitted Pathfinder...

Also, I was looking more for asthetics as a consumer than market visabiilty. Which ones pop out and why?

(I really love the Serenty books for example, but dislike the system...)

 

[jdrakeh]

Thanks - I note you omitted Pathfinder...

Whoops! I'd put it at "3" for marketing visibility.

Which ones pop out and why?

Well, market visibility is a huge part of 'popping' for me. If the publisher isn't doing much to market the game, they aren't reaching me. Frex, the only real brush with Serenity or BSG that I've had was a chance encounter while browsing the bookshelf at the FLGS. "Let Cam post infrequently to a few internet forums!" is not a very good marketing plan

Of those games listed, the ones that 'pop' for me are those that have a high market visibility — Pathfinder with its community playtest project, D&D and WoD with their heavy web presences, etc. Dark Heresy earned an unintentional "3" due to the Black Industries fiasco and subsequent high profile acquisition by FFG.

In terms of pure aesthetics, I think that Dark Heresy and the WoD books strike my fancy most, though the new D&D books would probably be up there if it weren't for the massive amounts of errata and the smudging ink. The current crop of Star Wars and MWP games simply aren't on my radar. I couldn't honestly assess them, as I haven't seen much of them.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Aesthetics wise I would say my favourite would be:

D&D: Nice big art pieces, clear writing, nice amount of white space, all colour.
WoD: Especially the Clan books. Those books are just glorious to look at. All in colour, interesting style of writing (not just normal text on white), etc.
Cthulhutech: Specifically the ones being brought out by Catalyst Games. These books have absolutely amazing artwork and all in colour with nice colour usage throughout the book not just in artwork but in the pages in general.

 

[xechnao]

Also, I was looking more for asthetics as a consumer than market visabiilty. Which ones pop out and why?

My impressions from what I have seen and remember:
D&D 4e: 3
WoD: 4
Star Wars: 3
Battlestar: 3
Serenity: 3
Pathfinder: 3
Dark Heresy: 3

All get a mark of 3 because while they are nice they simply do not pop out because they are of very similar visual style. While the mood might be different the artistic quality it is not IMO.
The only one that seems to pop out a bit more is White Wolf's style. It is not that it is better but it seems a bit different than others and this perhaps makes it more interesting.

 

[avin]

Pure aesthetic:

GURPS (new edition): 3
D&D 4E: 3
Mage: 3
Pathfinder: 4
Vampire: 4
Deadlands (original): 4
Call of Cthulhu d20: 5

 

[Shemeska]

D&D 4e: 2 (tons of recycled 3e artwork is jarring, especially when setting specific art is recycled for generic purposes without any changes)
WoD: 4 (vampire's clan books would get a 5)
Serenity: 3
Pathfinder: 4
Cthulhutech (Catalyst): 4 (if the scale went to 5, this would get it)
Shadowrun (Catalyst): 2 (as much as I adore the setting and like the system, some of the recent books have had seriously substandard artwork mixed in with the good and the great)

 

[Aus_Snow]

4e - 3
Pathfinder - 4
World of Darkness - 3
Star Wars - [if Saga] 3
Serenity - ?
Battlestar Galactica - ?
Dark Heresy - 3

(/5)

 

[Arkobla Conn]

Thanks all - keep em coming. Don't be afraid to comment or add RPG's. I only included the ones that were on the top of my head.

For the record, I'm thinking Pathfinder is looking rather striking. They have a distinctive artwork that I find appealing. I don't own any of it (aside from the free beta and 1 module) but I *want* to...heh.

Oh these edition wars and my need to stay on budget...