Quote from: ggroy;321606These days they'll spend it on street drugs.

Or  a WoW subscription.

Quote from: RPGObjects_chuck;321182You have to remember that Pundit *IS* the hobby.

When he quit playing in the late 90's, the hobby was at its absolute low point and was in a state of utter desolation.

His pick for the Ennies, Starblazers, is objectively the best game. Anyone who voted for anything else, is an idiot.

So of course, since he is getting older, the entire hobby must be aging along with him.

Objective fact.

Objective fact that the D&D generation are getting older. Not so sure about the entire hobby though.

Loads of students play rpgs in the UK - most unis have up and running clubs. Difference is that they're very short on cash and play cheap/ free games that they homebrew. They might be 'off radar' for now but they'll get jobs and careers eventually and, probably, want RPGs more like what they've played than D&D.

Quote from: Diavilo;321756Objective fact that the D&D generation are getting older. Not so sure about the entire hobby though.

Loads of students play rpgs in the UK - most unis have up and running clubs. Difference is that they're very short on cash and play cheap/ free games that they homebrew. They might be 'off radar' for now but they'll get jobs and careers eventually and, probably, want RPGs more like what they've played than D&D.

My experience: Oxford has a pretty healthy university RPG club. Official club activities tend to revolve around homebrewed LARPs and freeforms, but there's also a fair amount of tabletop action. People play D&D, but it's one of a range of games out there (Call of Cthulhu and Dark Heresy actually seem more popular, based on the number of actual campaigns I'm aware of), and people are by and large unconcerned with ideological internet wars.

Quote from: Warthur;321789My experience: Oxford has a pretty healthy university RPG club. Official club activities tend to revolve around homebrewed LARPs and freeforms, but there's also a fair amount of tabletop action. People play D&D, but it's one of a range of games out there (Call of Cthulhu and Dark Heresy actually seem more popular, based on the number of actual campaigns I'm aware of), and people are by and large unconcerned with ideological internet wars.

If the nation's brightest students are all playing Cthulhu and Dark Heresy, I can finally sleep easy at night. Safe in the knowledge that our future is secure in your well-educated hands.

:respect:

Quote from: RockViper;321568You assume that they will want to pay that much rather than spend the money on something else.

Noooo. I assume they don't want to buy a product such as the one we're talking about at all. I'm just pointing out that cost isn't a factor...

Seanchai

Quote from: ggroy;321606These days they'll spend it on street drugs.

Very true. Back in my day all the kids were Peter Perfect. Society has certainly gone downhill since then.

This is actually something that is of interest to me, as I am in the process of launching an "entry level" game: Adventures in Oz.

One thing that hasn't been touched on much that I think is very important to the success of early RPGs is "pick-up-and-play"ability. Can you be playing the game within 5 or 10 minutes? In old school D&D, the player can be rolling up their character at the same time the DM is rolling up the dungeon, and both are ready to go in just a few minutes.

I have tried to make sure that my game has at least some of that. Character creation is very quick. I'm not sure how quick a starting GM can pick up that bit of the book, but I am using a deliberately casual writing style there to make it more approachable.

Aldo Ghiozzi of Impressions Marketing and Advertising has stated that it is next to impossible for a publisher to create new gamers. I think one of the reasons for this is that publishers focus so much on creating new gamers that they don't properly woo the existing audience. This is why I'm attempting a mixed strategy. Along with activity in the online Oz community, I am keeping my gamer roots in mind with posts on forums like these.

Actually advertising is a step for when I actually have money. Considering that I have yet to spend dollar one on marketing, I think I'm doing pretty damn good.