Rpg's dieing out in our life time?

[ggroy]

The funny thing is, just because a thing has "died" doesn't mean it won't come back.

Disco music came back as:

- elevator music?
- techno music?
- background music?

 

[abhorsen950]

Thanks again for the responses

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

Vaudeville used to be part of pop culture too. So did Malt Shoppes and Soda Fountains and Radio Dramas. Pop culture does not equal immortality, in fact, one aspect of pop culture is its ephemeral nature.

People need to accept this fact, otherwise growing old is gonna be very disappointing and lead to just being bitter about life. The key thing is to not worry about it and just enjoy what you have. If tabletop RPGs die off, we need to find something new.

But all those things still exist, and not even just in nostalgic, retro ways. They have changed and evolved, and we don't use the same names, but at the heart of them, they are the there.

Malt Shoppes? Ice cream stands
Soda Fountains? Fast food restaurants
Radio Dramas? Now with pictures: Television - or podcasts for those who don't like them with pictures.
Vaudeville? variety television, Prarie Home Companion (vaudeville for radio)

RPGs as a category will probably continue to exist. The specifics will likely be different in a few decades, and perhaps we won't like them and will gripe about the "good ol' days of [OD&D, AD&D, 3e, 4e]," and talk about when miniatures were made of [lead, pewter, plastic] and didn't move on their own, but there will be something there for people who are willing to move along with the changes that come with time.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Disco music came back as:

- elevator music?
- techno music?
- background music?

Lady Gaga?

 

[JohnRTroy]

But all those things still exist, and not even just in nostalgic, retro ways. They have changed and evolved, and we don't use the same names, but at the heart of them, they are the there.

Malt Shoppes? Ice cream stands
Soda Fountains? Fast food restaurants
Radio Dramas? Now with pictures: Television - or podcasts for those who don't like them with pictures.
Vaudeville? variety television, Prarie Home Companion (vaudeville for radio)

Yes, but you are missing my point. Things don't always last. Even if an Ice Cream Stand replaced the Malt Shoppe, the old thing disappeared. It is still something different even if it replaces an old role. (And the Soda Fountain was not replaced by Fast Food, it was replaced by Bottled Soda). A Drive in Theater is not the same as a Hi-Def Home Theater. I mean, replacements are good but they are not the same thing.

Disco (or any other music) "coming back" is mostly a sign of people reaching middle age. There's always a resurgence of older music when the audience who was in their teens reach middle age. Now styles do come back but are usually mixes of several influences when they do.

The traditional tabletop RPG may die, depending on the market and whether or not replacements take over. Even if you can get stuff on-line, this could die as a hobby (outside of a microscopic niche) if not enough people want to play in a geographic location, and if a replacement fills the need.

The point is not to depress, but rather to provide some perspective when somebody says "X will Never Die, EVAR!". Well, an old phase can be said--"This Too Shall Pass". It's important to keep this in perspective.

For some, replacements will be enough. For others, not so much. I, for instance, don't like MMORPGS, but I do like a few MUDs, because the former really break immersion with all the out-of-character chit-chat. I also love computer RPGs that have good stories like Dragon Age.

 

[Silvercat Moonpaw]

"Oh well, who wants to live forever? DIIIIIIIIVVVVEEEEEEE!!!!!!"

 

[Ourph]

I still listen to Radio Dramas all the time. You can download a lot of the old radio programs as .mp3s for free. In fact, I was listening to "The Man and the Snake" by Ambrose Bierce as broadcast on the old Sleep No More program on my way home from work last night. Spooky and awesome!

 

[Turtlejay]

I think the Internet (and it's successor, the Integrated Interbrain Reality Matrix Augment, or IIRMA) will make it very tough for any hobby to ever really disappear. There will always be some, in a quiet corner, doing their digital thing and playing away. As technology matures, being in physical proximity to someone will become less and less necessary, so that even if companies go bankrupt and people drift away, the hardcore few could continue to play.

Jay

 

[Raven Crowking]

Yes, but the Ice Cream Stand, the Malt Shoppe, the Soda Fountain, Fast Food, Bottled Soda, the Drive in Theater, and Hi-Def Home Theater all require a certain amount of public support to be retained, because all of them cost those who produce them. There must be a profit, or they are gone.

So too the RPG rules company.

Not so, though, the rpg player. So long as you can find -- or make -- a group, you can game. Materials might be hard to come by, though, if the Internet fails, or if the free games disappear.

There is a difference between industry and hobby.


RC

 

[PaulofCthulhu]

RPGs will not die out, will not be forgotten. As long as records exist - either in paper format or as discs of audio recordings curated by several national archives - then even if they did lapse, they could be resurrected by future generations at any time.