Death of RPGs
January 26, 2012 1 Comment
Via http://pawnderings.blogspot.com/ I found this article by an “industry insider” concerning the impending death and transformation of Tabletop Role Playing Games (TPRGs):
http://www.enworld.org/forum/news/315800-4-hours-w-rsd-escapist-bonus-column.html
I read this quickly and the first of twelve pages of comments that followed, and found a throwaway line in the article that the commenters seem to have missed, but to me is the real nut-shot:
“And instead of receiving the benefits of an acquisition engine generating new players every year, young kids got diverted into MMOs at an age earlier than any suitable TRPG offering, likely establishing a play pattern they’ll keep through to adulthood.”
It seems to me that TRPGs, played in-person, will wither as the practice of playing in-person with other people for sustained periods withers. In my more misanthropic moments, I think that we are raising a generation of kids broken to technology and the physical isolation it enables – a generation socially awkward at best, or one of shut-ins at worst.
Sigh. Bah. Kids these days….
About brtrain
brtrain 
I am the strongest supporter of tabletop gaming. My own son has Autism Spectrum Disorder but he has decent social skills like all my kids because they play games face to face. Even the grandparents have become gamers. They not only play with the grandiose but become popular when in the hospital because they bring newer games that people enjoy together.
Coop games are the newest hit with the family. Forcing (in a good way) the kids to work together has a great social advantage that is lost on many others.
TTRPGs won’t die…but they will become more niche. What we really need are more parental GMs to run games for their kids. Star Wars Saga may be maligned by many but many kids would play if challenged with the right imagination. Other games like Mouse Guardmcan certainly teach goodness but all require a GM with a strong imagination.
We have several families we introduced family gaming to and the usual response it overwhelmingly positive as the kids give up the Xbox for a good game against their parents or siblings. Technology may be a lure, but a family together is a good trap!