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Lucius Drake · 09-16-2004, 06:49 PM

The problem that I am seeing is that the fans just are not pushing In Nomine. Or if they are, I have yet to hear their voices (other than the few that I actually know).

I'm trying to think of ways to expand upon the existing fan-base, to raise enough interest so as to make it commercially viable to produce the In Nomine products that would round out the line (see the thread regarding what the fans want to be written).

From a relatively objective perspective, In Nomine is an excellent system. Boiled down to its simplest (ala Occam's Razor), the system is easy to learn, and easier to use. The default setting is the modern world (look no further than today's headlines for inspiration). The PCs are beings that almost every culture is familiar with in some way. There is nothing that states that In Nomine must be irreverent, or blasphemous... although the line "satanized for your protection" is not winning any converts from the religious front!

Having said that, I don't think that removing that line would necessarily help either. After all, the kinds of people who would be offended by that quote are not likely to be the people who play RPGs at all, much less one that has a religious premise. Roleplaying being so closely related to Satanism across the board, apparently *rolls eyes*

From my perspective, I think that the one of the best ways to push In Nomine is to target people who don't play RPGs often, or at all. Hook them with atmosphere and fiction, rather than mechanics. This relates to why I don't think that an In Nomine Lite alone will win many players to the game. It would have to be packaged with some kind of text that would interest people in the game, something that would cause them to think "gee, this has really neat, clear mechanic for how to do all this cool stuff".

Blow them away with descriptions of what one can do within IN, then show them how easy it is to do it. Show people the cinematic, super-powered action against a background of theology & philosophy.

I can see it now: "A rich tapestry of light and darkness, punctuated [yes the mixed metaphor is necessary for a review :P] by moments of incredible depth and beauty" :)

Maybe a B-grade feature film should be made. Something with action galore, and a deep background to appeal to the fan crowd. Build a fan-base like Star Wars did!

Seriously though, I push In Nomine as a fan-culture, rather than just a game.

Hmmm... what about a book of short stories? I know that there are plenty of talented In Nomine fan fiction writers out there...

Okay, I think I've rambled on long enough. Long enough, I think, to throw out some wild ideas that might spark something, somewhere, and I hope that other people have as many crazy ideas as I do.

They don't have to be practical, that's not the point of brainstorming (well, the best I can claim is "brainlightraining", but you know what I mean).

09-16-2004, 06:49 PM	#5
Lucius Drake Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Auckland, New Zealand	Re: In Nomine: Marketing The problem that I am seeing is that the fans just are not pushing In Nomine. Or if they are, I have yet to hear their voices (other than the few that I actually know). I'm trying to think of ways to expand upon the existing fan-base, to raise enough interest so as to make it commercially viable to produce the In Nomine products that would round out the line (see the thread regarding what the fans want to be written). From a relatively objective perspective, In Nomine is an excellent system. Boiled down to its simplest (ala Occam's Razor), the system is easy to learn, and easier to use. The default setting is the modern world (look no further than today's headlines for inspiration). The PCs are beings that almost every culture is familiar with in some way. There is nothing that states that In Nomine must be irreverent, or blasphemous... although the line "satanized for your protection" is not winning any converts from the religious front! Having said that, I don't think that removing that line would necessarily help either. After all, the kinds of people who would be offended by that quote are not likely to be the people who play RPGs at all, much less one that has a religious premise. Roleplaying being so closely related to Satanism across the board, apparently rolls eyes From my perspective, I think that the one of the best ways to push In Nomine is to target people who don't play RPGs often, or at all. Hook them with atmosphere and fiction, rather than mechanics. This relates to why I don't think that an In Nomine Lite alone will win many players to the game. It would have to be packaged with some kind of text that would interest people in the game, something that would cause them to think "gee, this has really neat, clear mechanic for how to do all this cool stuff". Blow them away with descriptions of what one can do within IN, then show them how easy it is to do it. Show people the cinematic, super-powered action against a background of theology & philosophy. I can see it now: "A rich tapestry of light and darkness, punctuated [yes the mixed metaphor is necessary for a review :P] by moments of incredible depth and beauty" :) Maybe a B-grade feature film should be made. Something with action galore, and a deep background to appeal to the fan crowd. Build a fan-base like Star Wars did! Seriously though, I push In Nomine as a fan-culture, rather than just a game. Hmmm... what about a book of short stories? I know that there are plenty of talented In Nomine fan fiction writers out there... Okay, I think I've rambled on long enough. Long enough, I think, to throw out some wild ideas that might spark something, somewhere, and I hope that other people have as many crazy ideas as I do. They don't have to be practical, that's not the point of brainstorming (well, the best I can claim is "brainlightraining", but you know what I mean). __________________ "Dr. Jackson will see you now."