RPGs in Target!

[Lhorgrim]

It is because that what we teach in criminal behavior classes, regardless of actual science if you take one of these one week classes. D&D = satanism and occult practices and Video Games = violent behavior. The cops are just repeating what they learned in class from the "experts". Now if you talked to actual experts they would tell you hes that messed up from something in his past and he was using the game as therapy so he didnt act out but thats not what they teach in the classes.

I hear what you're saying, but that article never really says the police believe the game is the reason for the crime. They apparently told a reporter (paraphrasing) that the suspect's gaming may be linked to the crime, based on statements the suspect made after his arrest, but they don't have an actual motive nailed down and are looking at any possibilities. The article, along with a "game connection is a rush to judgement" quote from a defense attorney certainly leads the reader to think that the police are linking the game to the crime.

I've had entire news articles written about my department's theories on a crime, when all I ever said was "we are not ruling out anything at this early stage of the investigation".

We'll have to wait to see what the suspect, or his attorney, say is the reason for the crime. I'm too cynical to post my guess as to what the justification will be.

 

[Hussar]

I totally understand that... just wish the situation was otherwise.

Fair enough I suppose. It would be nice if gaming was mainstream enough that fifteen different RPG's appeared in stores like Target, same as board games or whatnot. I really hope that day comes.

Until then, ANY mainstream marketing is nothing but win for the hobby. I just hope that those who don't like 4e can see the bigger picture here. I'd be just as happy if any RPG managed to get into these kinds of stores. This is not the place to start into edition war pissing contests.

 

[Scribe Ineti]

Fair enough I suppose. It would be nice if gaming was mainstream enough that fifteen different RPG's appeared in stores like Target, same as board games or whatnot. I really hope that day comes.

Tough to say. I don't think there are that many RPGs that'll have mainstream appeal potential. A Harry Potter RPG, maybe. Maybe a new Star Wars RPG that's tailored more for an entry level kid, like the Essentials box. Star Wars and Harry Potter seem to be two of the big mainstream kiddy-friendly things out there, and there are a lot of potential gamers tied up in those two properties, I think.

Get them hooked with a RPG set in a popular setting, then expose them to the huge variety of other games out there.

 

[Imperialus]

I think it's both a good and a bad thing. In general, I think it's a good thing because it broadens the hobby to a wider audience. However, some people who don't know what rpgs are might also be lead to believe that the way D&D plays is the only thing playing a rpg has to offer, and the only way to play a rpg.

I'd say if we got a show of hands from a cross-section of RPGers playing any system, 90% or more would say that their first exposure to roleplaying was from D&D. I'm not sure how you can perceive this as a bad thing? I mean lets face it, how many players do you think got started playing a game like Burning Wheel, or True 20, or GURPS, or Shadowrun, or Pathfinder or just about anything else? The only possible exception might be one of the Warhammer RPG's just because they can draw kids in from the Warhammer side of geekdom.

Well, that's a risk when introducing anything to anyone. You play a song for them, and they think all rock music is like that one song. You take them to one Chinese restaurant, and they think all Chinese food is like what they ate there.

And then they go to China and frantically search for "ginger beef" on the menu.

 

[Hussar]

Tough to say. I don't think there are that many RPGs that'll have mainstream appeal potential. A Harry Potter RPG, maybe. Maybe a new Star Wars RPG that's tailored more for an entry level kid, like the Essentials box. Star Wars and Harry Potter seem to be two of the big mainstream kiddy-friendly things out there, and there are a lot of potential gamers tied up in those two properties, I think.

Get them hooked with a RPG set in a popular setting, then expose them to the huge variety of other games out there.

For my dream to come true, the gaming population would need to be about ten times what it is right now. If current gamers are about 5 million world wide, it needs to be about 50 million before you'd see ten or fifteen different RPG's in a mainstream store.

I'd be one hell of a happy monkey if the current gaming population hit those levels.

Never going to happen, but, wow, would that be so cool.

 

[Argyle King]

Fair enough I suppose. It would be nice if gaming was mainstream enough that fifteen different RPG's appeared in stores like Target, same as board games or whatnot. I really hope that day comes.

Until then, ANY mainstream marketing is nothing but win for the hobby. I just hope that those who don't like 4e can see the bigger picture here. I'd be just as happy if any RPG managed to get into these kinds of stores. This is not the place to start into edition war pissing contests.

Yeah, I agree that any exposure is good. I'm not dead set against D&D 4E. I have my complaints about it, but I play it.

However, I have found that there are certain habits which D&D fosters that can be difficult to break someone from when teaching them a game which doesn't cater to the same style. - the style in which those habits are good. At one time, I would have included myself in this statement; I had many ideas about gaming which were based upon only being exposed to D&D. For an example, see the thread I started about minis.

I'm not espousing this as a fault of D&D. I'm simply saying I wish there were other brands which were stronger so as to showcase more of a variety of styles.

I'd say if we got a show of hands from a cross-section of RPGers playing any system, 90% or more would say that their first exposure to roleplaying was from D&D. I'm not sure how you can perceive this as a bad thing? I mean lets face it, how many players do you think got started playing a game like Burning Wheel, or True 20, or GURPS, or Shadowrun, or Pathfinder or just about anything else? The only possible exception might be one of the Warhammer RPG's just because they can draw kids in from the Warhammer side of geekdom.

I agree with this as well. I was one of the people who was brought into rpgs by D&D, but that has more to do with the exposure of the brand name than it does with how I feel about the quality of the game relative to my gaming interests. At the time, had I been aware of some of the other games, it's wholly possible that I may have never played D&D. For a long time I was in love with D&D, but, thinking back on it, some of that love came from being unaware that I had other options.

You're correct; many people do get their start in rpgs because of D&D. Unfortunately, this also means that many people never try anything else beyond D&D. I agree that the exposure is good. Though, ideally, I'd rather there be either another game with enough exposure to present a different style or a community of gamers which was more willing to teach a wider variety of games to prospective gamers.

 

[JoeGKushner]

I apologize if I missed it but was there ever a confirmed link on this or ?

 

[w_earle_wheeler]

Well, I just saw the D&D commercial on Hulu, and it was awesome. I tried to find it online, and my Google search came up with this thread as the top result.

Heavy metal, "animated" art from the Fiend Folio and other old school books... low budget but in an Adult Swim kinda way instead of a local access TV kinda way.

 

[Festivus]

Hmm, might need to sneak down to Target tomorrow morning with lots of little slips of paper with my meetup url on it and tape one to each box.

 

[Scotley]

Now if Target will start selling beer I'll have a 1-stop shop for all my gaming needs.

My local neighborhood target sells beer already (its the bigger grocery version of Target), will be eagerly looking for D&D stuff as well...