Why is fantasy the dominant RPG genre?

[Azlan]

I think it's indicative that the most popular sci-fi RPG presently on the market is Star Wars, which really isn't science-fiction, but science-fantasy.

And then there are RPG settings like Gamma World, which, again, are science-fantasy. (Beneficial mutations from radiation? There cannot possibly be any such thing! No, those are just another form of magic.) A true "post nuclear apocalypse" setting (such as that given in Twilight 2000) would be bleak and dismal for most RPG'ers, though for some it might be interesting and challenging.

 

[Stormborn]

I think this discussion is realted to a similar discussion going on about Comic Books. Why are Superheros dominate? Is it because they were first? Nope, they weren't first. But somewhere along the way people got an idea that Comic Books = Superheroes. There have been periods where that was less true, but over all it has been. Today there are a lot of different genres available, but when you look at what SELLS the most you come back to Tights and Capes.

Fantasy RPGs dominate because of the perceptionof the game playng public that RPGs are Fantasy. There may be those of us who would like to do somethign different, and do, but the idea of Fantasy will always influence the RPG market, and dominate it, until there is somekind of significant breakthrough in the collective unconscious of Gamers. Otherwise its Fantasy, in its infinite variety.

 

[d4]

I think there is almost no-one like this (at least in the RPG demographic). Almost everyone in the Western world is inclucated with the sort of fairy tales and Greek and Norse myth that fantasy has it's roots in.

you'd be wrong. i've gamed with them.

Any modern day campaign, will probably need info that the players don't have. I know about where I go shopping and where I go to work, but if it's an adventure about espionage or set up a mountain there is technical information that I don't know. This can get in the way.

ever run an espionage adventure in a fantasy world? ever run a fantasy adventure set up a mountain? not only do you still need that "technical information" that you'd need for a modern-day scenario, but you also need to know everything about the fantasy world -- what are the nations? how do they interact with each other? what races are available? what do they look like and how do they typically behave? how does magic work? how available is it?

there's a lot more assumptions and knowledge needed to run a fantasy game than a modern-day game. like i've been saying, it's just that since we already have that knowledge from years of D&D-playing, it's hard to notice it.

just curious, but how many modern-day / sci-fi campaigns have you run compared to fantasy? myself, only perhaps 20% or so of all the games i've GMed have been fantasy. i think that's why i have a different perspective on this.

 

[DragonLancer]

In my opinion, fantasy games such as D&D are more popular because our cultures and civilisation are build about the mythic. We have stories of Ancient World (gods, heroes, the minotaur, medusa and curses...etc), King Arthur and the Round Table, George and the Dragon, Nordic mythology, the spirit/demon/ghost beliefs of the Orient, sea monsters and all that good stuff.

Children grew up on fairy stories, and they play at fighting dragons long before cowboys & indians.

Just my take on it.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Go into a bookstore, and see how many sci-fi novels there are to fantasy, and how they sell. Fantasy sells the best. Same compared to comic books.

Er, the average successful fantasy novel sells about the same numbers as one of the more successful comic books. And when you get into the top end of each, they're about even. But in fantasy novels, the disparity is a lot larger than it is in comics: Only a handful of Robert Jordans, JRRTs, Harry Potters and so on sell in the millions, whereas most sell far, far less than that. In other words, most fans buy one or two series, and that's really it. Comic fans, in comparison, tend to buy MANY comic series, particularly franchise properties like the X-Men, which tend to proliferate like crazy.

I'd be interested in seeing dollars put side by side, but even with novels' advantage of a generally much higher price point, I bet comics, overall, are about the same, or better.

 

[frankthedm]

Fantasy fans have more spare time, while a sci-fi fan might have the temperment for RPGs, he will be likely pulled by his fandom into real life sciences and computing. The fantasy fan has less RL occcupations to be drawn to, leaving him with more free time, the main ingredient for RPGs

 

[Corinth]

Want the real answer? Go dig into the archives and look up the Ryan Dancey interviews from around the launch of D&D 3.0. He explained it in terms that everyone here approaches, but doesn't quite connect to the truth.

 

[DragonLancer]

Got a link to save us the effort of looking?

 

[Wombat]

In a very basic sense, it is easy to get people into a Fantasy mindset. While there might be small changes in details and particulars, people know what to expect in the aggragate -- swords, knights, horses, magic, hand-to-hand combat, dragons, general level of technoligical achievement, etc. There is a set number of motifs that people accept as being "Fantasy".

Sci Fi, OTOH, is very different from setting to setting. How much is Transhuman Space like Star Trek like Flash Gordon like Star Wars like 2001 like Traveller? There are almost no set values, thus one person's Science Fiction is another person's Space Opera, amongst other matters. There are no pre-set mental values. Is there space flight? If so, is it faster than light? Do you need a large or small crew for that ship? Are there ray guns? Of what sorts? Interstellar monsters? Only terrestrial? Psioncs? Magic? Gods? Is technology far beyond our current understanding? How many laws of physics are broken on a regular basis? Hard Science? Silver suits & blastoguns? Everything in a sci fi game, ultimately, is setting specific.

So while it is easy to get people interested in Fantasy and then explain particular details of a given setting, you have to work harder to sell a specific sci fi setting before you can even begin to get people into the game.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

I think this discussion is realted to a similar discussion going on about Comic Books. Why are Superheros dominate? Is it because they were first? Nope, they weren't first. But somewhere along the way people got an idea that Comic Books = Superheroes.

This is only true for the US market. The situation is vastly different in Europe or Japan.

Really, there are lots of comics published by European artists over here - but when they do a superhero comic, it is almost inevitably some kind of parody. Chalk it up to cultural differences...