Cute start to the thread.  That was a lot of fun, PJ.

Pity Pundy had to threadcrap it, but this is all supposed to be about him you know.  Realise that this is simply a position that he's adopted to incite controversy, that he may not really believe it and that it means nothing to him aside from bolstering post-count, and it all goes away.

!i!

I don't doubt for a minute that what Pundit describes does probably actually happen somewhere. However I think its a vanishingly small number of cases. To restate my position, its my experience that most Parents probably expose their kids to RPGs in much the same way as I was/did and as Clash did, in a way that suited the kids involved.

I think its probably a small percentage of RPG gamers are introduced by their parents, of that a majority are in games (at least at first) that are toned down or aimed directly at their age group. A vanishingly small minority are coerced or forced to play in their parents games.

I don't see a particular issue. Those edge cases that force or coerce their children to play their game are exhibiting behaviour that smacks of a far deeper issue in their parent/child relationship and their own social development, so if it wasn't RPGs it'd be something else.

In terms of the 'disneyfication' of a game to incorporate a younger child. Why not? Kids watch disney movies when they are young and then 'graduate' onto more grown up themes as they grow older. In that sense why should RPGs be any different. Because its 'cleaned up' or 'toned down' doesn't make it any less fun for the kid at that young age. And there is nothing to stop them introducing more mature elements as they take control as they grow older and play with their peers. Thats what happened with me.

If anything the comparison supports my view that in general the introduction of RPGs is a overall a good thing and is actually more likely to end up with a child who becomes an enthusiastic adult gamer later in life than not.

That's my view, as a parent, as a child who was introduced to RPGs by my Father and as a gamer today.

Quote from: CRKrueger;384009Well, there's no doubt that the phenomenon Pundit is talking about exists, I've seen it.  Parents turning their social lives inward and forming creepy social circles with their children is nothing new.  Participating in RPGs can be one of the activities that social circle is created around.

Is it common among gamers?  That I kind of doubt.  I think if the meme of "introducing kids to RPGs at 4 is cool" spreads to most gamers, the chance of something Pundit is talking about increases.  Maybe that's what he's on about.  Not sure I disagree.

You guys talk about it like its still a theoretical. Some of the things I saw on RPG.net would indicate that this is already the case.

And yes, I see it for many geeks who happen to have kids (or nephews/nieces, etc) as something that creates an excuse NOT to go out and find a gaming group, or recruit other appropriately aged gamers, and the justification is that recruiting their kids is "good for" the hobby. I do not think it is. I do not think that a majority of kids forced to game by their parents will end up being gamers, and I do not think that this is an adequate substitute to someone going out and starting their own gaming group,in terms of what is healthy for the hobby. It makes things worse, not better, for the hobby; or at least "I made my 4 year old play 4e!" is not the sign of hobby-growth some people are trying to justify themselves by claiming it is.

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPundit;384058"I made my 4 year old play 4e!" is not the sign of hobby-growth some people are trying to justify themselves by claiming it is.
RPGPundit

It's a good job that the people on this site aren't actually suggesting that then, isn't it? I know you've been quiet recently but do you have to troll so obviously?

Quote from: CRKrueger;384009@Benoist - You must bring back paper-mache Yoda.

I kinda like my pipe-smoking Aragorn.

Quote from: Benoist;384108I kinda like my pipe-smoking Aragorn.

I thought it was a hobbit...

Quote from: Joshua Ford;384110I thought it was a hobbit...

Hehe. Nope. Aragorn. From the first LOTR books I read in my life.