Wizards aiming younger audience

[frankthedm]

Yeah but lets be honest, there's more than just "kids dont want to" going on there. Comic book prices are outrageous compared to when I was a kid. Comics went from 50 cents to 1.25 to about $2.

The companies making the full colour glossy comics saw VIZ was able to gouge $3 for dry paper B&W manga in the 90's. The glossy companies raised their prices to match.

 

[Wormwood]

Comics? How old are you? What D&D needs today is Manga!

Both would be good actually---but yeah, a manga line would be genius.

 

[avin]

D&D mangá?

Record of the Lodoss War.

 

[Dire Bare]

Now, with the release of the Player's Strategy Guide (cartoon style) and Monster Slayers - https://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4dnd/monsterslayers - it feels that Wotc decided to really focus on kids and teenager.

While I do think that WotC is targeting a younger audience with 4e, I feel that is only part of their targeting goals. 4e attempts to target several different demographics, long-time players, long-time fans who are lapsed players, kids & teens, and folks new to the game in general.

The Player's Strategy Guide is geared towards newer players in general, not just younger players, IMO.

The Monster Slayers is the evolution of one of WotC's older book lines targeted towards kids, the "Practical Guide" series, which sprang from "Dragonlance: New Adventures" and "Knights of the Silver Dragon" book lines.

 

[mgbeach]

While there isn't much roleplaying here, I think it serves the purpose of introducing kids to the mechanics of the game and then from there more can be introduced. My niece is so imaginative, I would bet dollars to donuts she'll work in a story of her own anyway.

 

[Eridanis]

Merged threads.

 

[vetanda]

I am more disappointed than apalled, but unlike Thornir, I am not joking.

Sure the kids are learning some math, and taking turns, and following directions, and reading... but the whole exercise is simply "kill things", which is not what I want to be teaching my kids.

This is hardly "creative thinking" or "problem solving".

My kids are ages 4.5 and 6.5, so I am very soon going to be in the target audience.

This has about as much roleplaying as the board game Descent.

I’m sorry you feel that way! I’ve also run role-playing oriented games for kids, and those were a lot of fun. However, I made the choice to concentrate on a collaborate, problem-solving oriented combat game, where you work together and use your characters’ synergies to defeat monsters, because it is much simpler and more approachable, and could be thoroughly written up in a small amount of space. Trying to write up a comprehensive role-playing oriented game in a similarly small amount of space for someone who has never played is beyond my current skill set .
This is supposed to be just a simple adventure that is easy to learn that gives kids and adults a taste for D&D’s rule set. Hopefully, someday I’ll get the chance to do a more open-ended, role-playing oriented adventure for kids.

 

[smetzger]

Someone saw "How to train your Dragon".

 

[mgbeach]

Someone saw "How to train your Dragon".

haha! I thought the same.. saw it this weekend with my niece and she loved it.. which is another reason I think it will be a good intro to D&D for her. I think I'll be getting her the associated youth novel to this little adventure when it comes out as well.

 

[darjr]

I've run games for kids. I don't ever recall having a problem getting them to play a role, getting them to break out of the shell and play at all, sometimes, but once that happens the role playing wasn't a problem.

Edit to add:

I didn't mean for that to sound so snarky... Just that kids will roleplay regardless imhe.