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<blockquote data-quote="Aaron L" data-source="post: 5976489" data-attributes="member: 926">RPGs are a niche hobby.&nbsp; Let's face it, our games attract people like us, brainy intellectual types who enjoy fantasy and sci-fi, who aren't quite happy with the way the world really is and like to imagine what it would be like if magic was real, or if we could be giant robot pilots, or we were super-heroes.&nbsp; We're also just obsessive enough that we want rules to make sure that things stay consistent.&nbsp; Let's be honest, most of us are at least slightly eccentric, and we have an eccentric hobby.&nbsp; RPGs are never again going to reach the levels they did back in the early 80's, because back then it was a &quot;new thing&quot;, a novelty that had a mysterious, forbidden aura to it, and as much as it hurt us in a lot of ways, every BADD panic attracted more curious people to the hobby.But by now most people have realized that gamers aren't summoning demons with heavy metal music playing in the background, and RPGs are seen as just a weird hobby for brainy geeks.Plus, there's a strong current of iconoclasty in RPG culture, and for a lot of people who've been seen as outsiders for most of their lives, they've eventually learned to take a sort of twisted sense of pride in being a bit of an outsider (it's either that or be ashamed of not fitting in.)I don't see RPGs dying.&nbsp; We'll lose some gamers, but we'll also gain new gamers as more oddballs like us mature and join our ranks.We're geeks, guys.&nbsp; We like geeky things.&nbsp; RPGs are geeky.&nbsp; We'll always be the smart, kinda odd, creative types who don't quite totally fit in.&nbsp; Just as poets and writers and artists have always been seen by the greater society as being kinda odd.&nbsp; That's us.But we will always be here and there will always be room for us.And I really don't have a problem with that.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Aaron L, post: 5976489, member: 926"] RPGs are a niche hobby. Let's face it, our games attract people like us, brainy intellectual types who enjoy fantasy and sci-fi, who aren't quite happy with the way the world really is and like to imagine what it would be like if magic was real, or if we could be giant robot pilots, or we were super-heroes. We're also just obsessive enough that we want rules to make sure that things stay consistent. Let's be honest, most of us are at least slightly eccentric, and we have an eccentric hobby. RPGs are never again going to reach the levels they did back in the early 80's, because back then it was a "new thing", a novelty that had a mysterious, forbidden aura to it, and as much as it hurt us in a lot of ways, every BADD panic attracted more curious people to the hobby. But by now most people have realized that gamers aren't summoning demons with heavy metal music playing in the background, and RPGs are seen as just a weird hobby for brainy geeks. Plus, there's a strong current of iconoclasty in RPG culture, and for a lot of people who've been seen as outsiders for most of their lives, they've eventually learned to take a sort of twisted sense of pride in being a bit of an outsider (it's either that or be ashamed of not fitting in.) I don't see RPGs dying. We'll lose some gamers, but we'll also gain new gamers as more oddballs like us mature and join our ranks. We're geeks, guys. We like geeky things. RPGs are geeky. We'll always be the smart, kinda odd, creative types who don't quite totally fit in. Just as poets and writers and artists have always been seen by the greater society as being kinda odd. That's us. But we will always be here and there will always be room for us. And I really don't have a problem with that. [/QUOTE]

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