What Will Influence the Next Generation to Play D&D?

[joethelawyer]

Some folks in another thread were talking about how reading fantasy books is what got them into D&D. I know for me reading those books went hand in hand with playing D&D.

There are studies out which are showing dramatic drops in reading amongst kids today.

The study referenced in the article below is attached to this post, as well as another.

Social Studies 101 - 11/19/2007 - Publishers Weekly

We all know about the Harry Potter craze, and how kids were into that. Now we have the Twilight craze, and teens are into it big time. With both series, there is an adult audience as well. A lot of us have read from both series.

Did the Potter series bring in new gamers? Do you think the Twilight craze will? Is there a carry-over from reading this genre of books to playing D&D?

There are many more multimedia distractions today with kids. When I was growing up it was basically TV. Now with the Internet, Facebook/MySpace, IPods, Cell Phones, IM, MMORPG's, the window of opportunity in a kid's day to read has shrunken down to be much smaller than what we had. Plus, a lot of what books compete with is social in nature, whereas books are not.

Selling the social aspects of gaming seems to be the way to go in order to get more people into the hobby. We know 4e has incorporated elements of MMORPG's. WOTC is trying to sell the electronic social aspects with DDI. Smart moves, I think. For reasons stated ad nauseum in other threads, the results don't seem to be what was originally hoped for so far.

Even worse, we still don't know how many new people have been brought into the hobby.

I know based on some recent polls that we're mostly a bunch of old geezers on this board, not many kids. I'm 38, been playing since '84. Our perspetive may be a bit different, and we may be a bit out of touch. Probably those of us who do have kids in the target market, don't have the typical kids, bcause they were influnced by the gaming hobbies of their parents.

But still it has to be asked--where is the next gaming generation coming from? Are they coming at all in the numbers needed to sustain the hobby? Can more be done to get them involved? How do you sell it to them? How do you deal with a lack of young readers of the type of books that inspired us to play? How does gaming compete with all the rest of the things that take up their time?

We all know what we want th future of gaming to look like, in that we all want a bunch of new gamers to help the hobby grow. How do we get there?

 

[malraux]

Given that rpgs have always been a niche hobby, I don't find it implausible that the general decline in reading will not affect the gamer population all that much. Since you're likely to see some self selection going on, even if the pool from which you are drawing shrinks, you could easily see a corresponding increase in the rate at which readers move to gaming.

aside: I also have some reservations about this sort of report. It always has the air of old fogey "kids these days". Does reading a paper book impart its content less truely than in audiobook form? Is reading the latest pop-culture dectective crime story by the fact that it's on paper do something more for a person than watching "The Wire"? If I read a magazine in individual articles online over the course of a month, does that not count as reading just as buying the paper version would.

 

[FriarRosing]

I really think the way new players will get into the game is through video games. That's how I got into it. Actually, I got into fantasy books from getting into Dungeons and Dragons and various CRPGs. I think, for the time being, the new generation of gamers will come from video games.

 

[pawsplay]

Me.

 

[Mark]

I think the trend will continue that other games with be one of the largest influences on the D&D game going forward in both design and gameplay.

 

[Darrin Drader]

I don't see things being as different as some do. How are video games anything different than advanced versions of the ATARI? How many of us didn't have either those of the Nintendo growing up? The internet makes it a lot easier to talk to people in far off places, but how is that different than long distance telephone calls, letters, and home movies? Cell phones make it possible to take the phone with you wherever you go, but so what? People can get in touch a little easier. Texting is the equivalent of sliding notes into your friends' lockers.

As much as people try to say that things have changed, I tend to look at how technology makes it possible to do the things we used to do more efficiently. Information is more accessible, friends and family who live in far away places can still be part of your everyday life through sites like Facebook and Myspace, and shopping is easier because you don't even have to leave your house to purchase many things. In addition to this, online ordering makes it so that you can buy things that otherwise wouldn't be available in your area.

So what of roleplaying? Roleplaying has become one of the major genres of computer games, and there is good awareness of what led to those types of games. The younger generation will likely start with video games and experiment with tabletop as a means of having a good time with their real life friends. Really, how much fun is it to have a group of friends over and everyone get on their computers to experience an RPG together? It's not as fun, so as long as they know that tabletop is an option, I think it will continue to appeal to certain groups of kids.

It is true that fantasy fiction now means more than it did when I was growing up. When I was younger, there was Tolkien, David Eddings, Terry Brooks, Piers Anthony, and then there were a few others who were starting to become popular, but there certainly wasn't the same number of authors out there as there are now, nor was there as much variety in the genres covered. Harry Potter is its own sub-genre, as are the horror inspired stories that probably have their roots in Vampire the Masquerade and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This just means that future roleplaying games may incorporate more of these elements.

And remember that Tolkien style fantasy is far from dead. Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings have become some of the most important movies ever made. I wouldn't be surprised if the next generation of kids look at them in much the same way as we look at Star Wars. They may not be reading the books, but they're watching the movies, and that's just as good an introduction to traditional fantasy as I could hope for.

In addition to this, there's Star Wars, which is more alive now than it was for the sixteen years in between Jedi and Phantom Menace. Again, that may be science fantasy, but its another path to geekdom and roleplaying.

All in all, I don't think the future is bleak for RPGs. Also, I've said this before but it bears repeating, I'm back in school finishing my degree and I actually see more college age D&D players than I did the first time I went through. Young people are still getting exposed to it.

 

[Filcher]

I really think the way new players will get into the game is through video games. That's how I got into it. Actually, I got into fantasy books from getting into Dungeons and Dragons and various CRPGs. I think, for the time being, the new generation of gamers will come from video games.

This. We aren't losing that many people to video games. Rather, more non-geeks are playing video games. A small fraction of those will make it to WoW, and a small fraction of those will make it to RPGs.

Rather than the bane of table-top games, I bet we see a growth in gamers as geekery becomes more acceptable.

 

[Cadfan]

A per capita decrease in reading doesn't guarantee a drop in absolute numbers of readers.

A general decrease however calculated in reading doesn't guarantee a drop in readers of fantasy and science fiction literature.

Also, for the record, some amount of internet-as-leisure-activity can be just as useful to you as reading, because it involves... reading. Also writing!

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I think we have already seen dome influence from both Harry potter, and Harry dresden...then again I also see starwars infleuence...Darthmaul/double weapons...Swordmage/soulknife/jedi

I am sure that 5e will show influence of others too...I just don't know what will last and what will be a flash in the pan

 

[DaveMage]

Parents that play D&D are probably the biggest influence on the likelihood of kids getting into D&D.

And it's going to be a tough sell to keep them playing once they are tought.

And, while I can see some similarities, I really don't think you can compare the Atari of yesteryear (and its very simplistic gameplay) with the game systems of today, that are capable of very immersive RPGs.

I think 4E could very well be the last version of D&D we see. If it isn't, I'd venture that 5E will be the last, and hopefully it can somehow recapture the D&D gamers lost by 4E as well as retain any new gamers that start with 4E. However, gameplay needs to be more efficient than it is in 3E/4E. IMO, combat in both editions takes too long under the RAW to entice players used to quicker gaming gratification. The next edition should separate tactical combat (using the grid/mins) into a supplement and the core rules should be similar to the old versions (i.e., the game takes place in your imagination). I love tactical play, but it sure was faster in the old days to complete a quest.