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Message: <blockquote data-quote="trollwad" data-source="post: 1568955" data-attributes="member: 19187">There have been some excellent posts by Umbran, etc. and I wish I could address each one.  However, although the guy who started this post is maddeningly vague, I think he does have at least one relevant point.  Our hobby/games needs to attract an influx of young people to remain viable and vibrant.  TO ME (this is NOT a scientific assessment), it seems that D&D,  and other rpgs (even fantasy lit like comics) are less visible than when I was a child.  I remember such being carried by 7-11 and Wal-Mart as a kid.  Practically, every kid that I knew growing up at least tried d&d even if they 'outgrew' it.There are many potential causes of such.  One obvious one is the ever-increasing role of videogames.  Nowadays, when I visit the houses of one of my friends who has children, I am usually STUNNED to see how widespread nintendo, playstation, etc are.  Think about it, look at the difference between Temple of Elemental Evil (the pc game and the only one I own) and Combat or one of the really old video games 10-15 years ago.  What do you think the video games of 10-15 years in the future will look like?  Simply put, the exponential rise in pc processing power makes them ever more 'realistic' and visual -- and ever more competitive with our beloved hobby/games.  Not to betray my business orientation, but how do you compete with the video game onslaught -- how do you market against it?  Already, I notice that the one teenager in our gaming group and at least one other older guy automatically assume the 'right' way to play rpgs is as a video game because it is what they are acculturated to -- it is the modern default and gamers are slowly being squeezed into a niche.  The teenager is actually very bright and a very good kid but he averages losing one character every 2 sessions or so (video games have a save function), he doesnt really roleplay too much (rp options limited in video games), his characters are always tricked out specialists (who die because they always have absurd weaknesses), gets frustrated when he doesnt advance rapidly (video game powerpills), and has trouble playing any alignment other than chaotic neutral/evil (video games dont have many repercussions for such).  Having watched d&d evolve since the little brown books over two decades ago, 3.5e is a decent edition but it is very video-game like in some areas.Is the niche that d&d survives in 20 years from NOW the niche of improv theater that this post originator is sorta intimating?  Is that desirable?  Or do we just end up dooming ourselves even more by emphasizing the things video games have trouble with (acting, spontaneity), we end up reducing our appeal to newbies even more because we are 'weird'?  Dont we need a bridge to the rest of the world?I THINK that C&C from the troll lords isnt a bad idea.  What about a really simple, fast & fun game to get newbies into the game, expand our base at least until processing power and AI crunch our hobby in 20 years or so?Other thoughts are welcome.  I hope this is a little less vague.</blockquote>

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