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<blockquote data-quote="Thornir Alekeg" data-source="post: 3698821" data-attributes="member: 15651">I was just struck by a thought about perception of gamers.&nbsp; When MMORPGs were growing, the image that came to most people's heads when you mentioned online gaming was some guy up all night in his parents basement.&nbsp; Not a flattering image.&nbsp; Today if you mention those online gaming, you are more likely to come up with an image of people comfortable in their living room using their XBox or sitting in a front of a nice computer with soft lighting while playing WoW or Second Life.&nbsp; The image has been shifted from an odd hobby played by odd people, to one of general entertainment.&nbsp; Another example would be poker.&nbsp; Used to be poker evoked images of beer-swilling guys in the garage or seedy games in a dark room.&nbsp; Now people get the images from the TV poker tournaments.&nbsp; That image is much more flattering now than it used to be.There has been no such shift in TRPGs.&nbsp; The only image that comes to most people's heads is four or five people around a table with odd looking dice talking and acting strange.&nbsp; Forget changing the game, we need to change the image.&nbsp; Maybe we need a &quot;reality&quot; TV show.Cast with attractive people playing RPGs in a warmly lit room without a lot of clutter, they sit in comfortable chairs each with a small side table for some of their things while focused on the more &quot;roleplaying&quot; aspects.&nbsp; When it is time for combat, the GM (who is the show's host and must of course be very attractive, possibly a well-known personality) says, &quot;Let's shift to the table.&quot; or something.&nbsp; Music builds the tension and everyone moves to a large table that looks like it would belong in an executive conference room.&nbsp; There the tactical part of the game takes place.&nbsp; The show adds somewhat blurry cut scenes evoking images of what is happening as the players describe it, but does not directly show the characters - an arm with a sword flashing towards some screaming beast, a hand raised and flames shoot forth etc.&nbsp; Good editing of course allows much more to happen in each episode than would in a normal hour of gaming.&nbsp; Each week a player is eliminated for poor roleplaying, poor tactical playing or poor teamwork.&nbsp; Behind the scenes shots give you a chance to meet the players, see them interacting socially with each other, confessional scenes etc.&nbsp; On the shows website, the story as played out on the show is transcribed into a narrative tale.It could work.&nbsp; At the least it can't do any more damage than the D&amp;D movies.&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/laugh.png"&nbsp; class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing&nbsp; &nbsp; :lol:" data-shortname=":lol:" /></blockquote>

[QUOTE="Thornir Alekeg, post: 3698821, member: 15651"] I was just struck by a thought about perception of gamers. When MMORPGs were growing, the image that came to most people's heads when you mentioned online gaming was some guy up all night in his parents basement. Not a flattering image. Today if you mention those online gaming, you are more likely to come up with an image of people comfortable in their living room using their XBox or sitting in a front of a nice computer with soft lighting while playing WoW or Second Life. The image has been shifted from an odd hobby played by odd people, to one of general entertainment. Another example would be poker. Used to be poker evoked images of beer-swilling guys in the garage or seedy games in a dark room. Now people get the images from the TV poker tournaments. That image is much more flattering now than it used to be. There has been no such shift in TRPGs. The only image that comes to most people's heads is four or five people around a table with odd looking dice talking and acting strange. Forget changing the game, we need to change the image. Maybe we need a "reality" TV show. [indent]Cast with attractive people playing RPGs in a warmly lit room without a lot of clutter, they sit in comfortable chairs each with a small side table for some of their things while focused on the more "roleplaying" aspects. When it is time for combat, the GM (who is the show's host and must of course be very attractive, possibly a well-known personality) says, "Let's shift to the table." or something. Music builds the tension and everyone moves to a large table that looks like it would belong in an executive conference room. There the tactical part of the game takes place. The show adds somewhat blurry cut scenes evoking images of what is happening as the players describe it, but does not directly show the characters - an arm with a sword flashing towards some screaming beast, a hand raised and flames shoot forth etc. Good editing of course allows much more to happen in each episode than would in a normal hour of gaming. Each week a player is eliminated for poor roleplaying, poor tactical playing or poor teamwork. Behind the scenes shots give you a chance to meet the players, see them interacting socially with each other, confessional scenes etc. On the shows website, the story as played out on the show is transcribed into a narrative tale.[/indent] It could work. At the least it can't do any more damage than the D&D movies. :lol: [/QUOTE]

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