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Post by darkscar on Jul 14, 2012 9:51:16 GMT -5
I'm 46. Whether that qualifies as old fart or not, my body sure feels like it. But that could be the mileage... These last few posts got me thinking (a scary proposition), so I did a random sampling of ten names and got the average age of the group to be 43. We are some old dudes in this group. Just wondering what could be done to promote the game to a younger audience... |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2012 13:00:58 GMT -5
i noticed that too a while back. i think its cool but as thefantasytrip.org site says "without beginners our hobby will die" i think the most effective way to promote to a younger audience would be to hack into the World of Warcraft servers  barring that, i had those ideas about smartphone/tablet apps. i'm thinking the most effective thing we could do is google search and comment. what do i mean? example: google "solo rpg". i get a page of hits that mostly reside in other forums where people are asking if any solo rpgs exist. go into these forums and make a post/reply with links about LAW. some other suggested terms: programmed adventure solo adventure classless rpg skill based rpg old school rpg fantasy wargamming rpg (although LAW isn't really 'wargamming' there are some similar aspects. instead of tiles, we use 'battle maps' and we control 'squads' of characters.) barbarian prince (or any of those other microgames, although this may just attract more of us 'old farts' ) also, and please forgive me...i too cringe at this suggestion...perhaps a facebook page for DCG (if one doesn't already exist)...but, again, at least initially, this would tend to attract other gamers our own age (assuming most of our facebook friends are going to be of similar age) |
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Post by darkscar on Jul 16, 2012 8:37:54 GMT -5
Good ideas, ewookie. I'll spread the word. I lament the passing of all my local gaming shops. Now they go by one name: Barnes and Noble, or I would spread the word at FLGS, as well.
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Post by mister frau blucher on Jul 16, 2012 10:09:27 GMT -5
Great suggestions, guys, and thanks for spreading the word about us.
Evidently, we do have a Facebook page, george tells me. I am not a member of facebook so I have no idea. We have given games to high schools that have a gaming club, also. Not just as a cynical ploy to stealthily convert gamers, but schools that actively support gaming clubs deserve support. We can't afford to give to every high school club (DCG is still a money-losing venture) but we try where we can.
Darkscar - yeah, it is sad to see gamestores go. One of the problems with our local shops is that they are not that friendly. Even if they were, though, I don't see how they can compete with online prices. We would love to be in brick and mortar stores, and we are in a few, but they need serious volume to stay afloat.
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Post by darkscar on Jul 16, 2012 11:44:38 GMT -5
One of the problems with our local shops is that they are not that friendly. Well, now my curiosity is peeked or piqued, or whatever that word is I'm looking for. How are they not friendly? I'm sure we all have our own tales here, from young folks behind the counter whose idea of customer service is to ring up your order, to being totally ignored while in the store. |
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Post by mister frau blucher on Jul 16, 2012 14:04:35 GMT -5
Well, the more distant one isn't so bad, but it is staffed with people who are unfamiliar with RPG's in general, more the Card stuff. That is OK, but different from my interests and they aren't really inclined to expand. If they are profitable in their niche, good for them.
The hobby store closer to me has one staff memeber, the owner, and he is simply rude to a lot of his customers. Not just the you-are-lucky-to-be-in-my-presence, but he is condescending toward some of the purchases i have made from him (he was mocking of an old TFT screen I found in his used section) and he is politically belligerent toward his customers as well, totally unprovoked. He is someone who burns with partisan animosity toward those he thinks are different from him. I said in the READ THIS post that we all steer away from politics, so I am not going to get into specifics, but the bottom line is that you shouldn't cram your beliefs down the throats of others and insult them when they do not dance to your tune. In addition, it is one of those classic game stores where they stare at females who walk through the door. But he evidently has a lot of hangers-on, and I guess they keep him in business. He also sells comics and rents movies, so that has to help as well.
I actualy tried a few years ago running a couple of events at his store, both LAW and Advanced Squad Leader, and gave him a few games for free, to sell or do whatever he saw fit. So I tried to work with him, but it was definitely an uphill battle.
I really wish we had a true FLGS I could get behind!
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Post by gigglestick on Jul 16, 2012 15:17:19 GMT -5
I think that getting to the FLGS helps a lot. Many of them will allow demo games. We did a couple at the biggest store in Syracuse a few years ago and I ran one (and played in another) at a store in Auburn NY back in early 2011.
Many areas will have a local online game group too, or a Meetup group (YMMV) and both of those are good places to get younger players.
I've often used LAW games as a "trainer" for new GMs. With the simple to run plots and pre-written encounters and results, it gives players who want to try to GM a chance to do so without a lot of risk or confusion. And as they go, they can embellish and expand the pre-written adventures.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2012 16:22:19 GMT -5
hey! pardon my ignorance...what does FLGS stand for?....F? Local Game Store?....
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Post by mister frau blucher on Jul 16, 2012 16:33:10 GMT -5
hey! pardon my ignorance...what does FLGS stand for?....F? Local Game Store?.... Usually it stands for Friendly Local Game Store. In the case of the one I described above, the F stands for something else! |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2012 18:52:06 GMT -5
hey! pardon my ignorance...what does FLGS stand for?....F? Local Game Store?.... Usually it stands for Friendly Local Game Store. In the case of the one I described above, the F stands for something else! LOL |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2012 22:16:24 GMT -5
Sounds interesting ewookie, but I wonder wouldn't it be better to allow someone with Herbalist to forage for the herbs? Survival allows you to forage for food, as the rules state, but maybe someone with the Herbalist skill would be better at finding and identifying the herbs, since they specialize in them, whereas Survival is concerned with a broader information base. We try to give each skill a tangible benefit in and of itself, as defined in the Skills section of our massive rules tome; but just about every skill comes into play in an adventure as well, so there are several benefits to having a particular skill. i've come to a point in the adventure i'm writing where i see your point. i agree with you 100% for programmed adventures. i have to admit, when i was formulating this survival / herbalist synergy...i was thinking about it in the context of a barbarian prince conversion (that isn't programmed but random). |
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