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Old 12-17-2017, 02:39 PM   #1
Beoferret
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Cedar Falls, Iowa
Default Winning hearts and minds to DFRPG?

Hey everyone. I've been really happy with my DF boxed set and am about to run "I Smell a Rat" with my family (wife and two kids). And I've been pretty happy to read the reviews that came in early on. But, there don't seem to have been that many. Plus, I haven't really noticed much publicity for the game overall - granted, I'm not spending a huge amount of time looking at every gaming community's website. Honestly, I was expecting a little more buzz, especially since the past month or so would have been a great time to "raise awareness" - what with that gift-giving day fast approaching and all. So, my questions for both SJG folks and everyone who enjoys the game are:
1) What have you done to introduce people to the game and to win it the attention we all probably think it deserves? What more could be done?
2) What are the best venues and means of introducing people to the game, e.g. is it better to post another review in ENworld or on RPGnet? Or is holding an introduction to the game (ala a convention-style session) at one's local gaming store, the way to go (how does one go about that anyways)?
3) How have newbies to DFRPG, especially those with no experience with GURPS, responded to it?
4) To what extent should we emphasize the connections with GURPS, when conducting outreach/marketing?

What I've done so far: posted a fairly extensive review on Amazon.com; attempted outreach to one of the Geekdad writers, who'd written about the DFRPG Kickstarter, to see if he'd be reviewing it; and showed the set to a) the workers at a local store (only the one with GURPS experience was really excited), and b) a group of friends who were only moderately interested (they were deeply wary of the GURPS connection.)
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Old 12-18-2017, 03:49 PM   #2
Dalin
 
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Location: Saint Paul, MN
Default Re: Winning hearts and minds to DFRPG?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Beoferret View Post
1) What have you done to introduce people to the game and to win it the attention we all probably think it deserves? What more could be done?
2) What are the best venues and means of introducing people to the game, e.g. is it better to post another review in ENworld or on RPGnet? Or is holding an introduction to the game (ala a convention-style session) at one's local gaming store, the way to go (how does one go about that anyways)?
3) How have newbies to DFRPG, especially those with no experience with GURPS, responded to it?
4) To what extent should we emphasize the connections with GURPS, when conducting outreach/marketing?
1) I've switched my informal family-oriented D&D games over to DFRPG. They're elementary age players, but a wide circle of school friends jump in for one-shots, and they've taken well to it. One parent contacted me about how to get a copy for the holidays, so that's something. This spring I'll be buying a couple of copies on our school activities budget to use with middle schoolers. I expect it to be a hit and will help introduce a new generation of players to SJG. Assuming it works out, we'll be repeating the activity with new students once or twice a year. (I've been teaching RPGs to middle schoolers for years, but this is the first time I've felt confident that there's an offering from SJG that can hit the sweet spot for this age-group.) There's quite a bit of adult interest from colleagues, too, so we're hoping to get a faculty game going this spring as well.
2) I don't know enough to opine.
3) The kids I've played with loved it. (As mentioned above, one of them is hoping to get a copy for a the holidays.)
4) For the school games this spring, I will definitely have a selection of GURPS books on display. Probably Characters and Campaigns plus a few support books that connect to genres that students particularly enjoy (e.g., steampunk). This is one area where PDFs suffer, alas, because they don't display as well in physical reality. Moreover, buying a set of PDFs doesn't do much since I can't legally share them with the students. Buying books, on the other hand, and lending them out is fine. I'll probably print some PDFs up, but they end up looking cheap by comparison with properly published books. I am hopeful that POD options will improve over time.
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Old 12-21-2017, 11:10 AM   #3
Son of a Submariner
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Default Re: Winning hearts and minds to DFRPG?

I can only answer question 3, as I am the newbie, to DFRPG, GURPS, and tabletop RPGs. So far, I'm loving it. I'm wishing I could get together with friends and play more often. Here's hoping that after the holidays, things pick up.
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Old 12-28-2017, 02:02 PM   #4
Ulairi
 
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Default Re: Winning hearts and minds to DFRPG?

My biggest disappointment with the release has been how poorly SJ Games has marketed the product. It’s like they don’t know how to sell RPGs as a company anymore.
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Old 01-02-2018, 02:27 PM   #5
demonsbane
 
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Default Re: Winning hearts and minds to DFRPG?

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Originally Posted by Beoferret View Post
1) What have you done to introduce people to the game and to win it the attention we all probably think it deserves? What more could be done?
I love the DFRPG and so far I've been talking about it in Google+ by means of various posts since the Kickstarter project.

Quote:
What more could be done?
To show conversions of some classic adventures.

To enable some sort of limited license (like the one of Savage Words?) for third parties to include the DFRPG along with others like Sword & Sorcery, Runequest, different D&D editions and its clones around.

I know that the Dungeon Fantasy RPG isn't a clone, but in any case many people value very highly the compatibility for various RPG systems when it's about releasing and acquiring gaming material.
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Old 01-02-2018, 11:27 PM   #6
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Default Re: Winning hearts and minds to DFRPG?

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Originally Posted by Ulairi View Post
It’s like they don’t know how to sell RPGs as a company anymore.
Did they ever?

...An answer with less snark: Marketing budgets are an issue, I'm sure. It's not like SJG has the entire weight of Hasbro behind it.
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Old 01-04-2018, 05:17 AM   #7
philreed
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Default Re: Winning hearts and minds to DFRPG?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ulairi View Post
My biggest disappointment with the release has been how poorly SJ Games has marketed the product. It’s like they don’t know how to sell RPGs as a company anymore.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kmunoz View Post
Did they ever?

...An answer with less snark: Marketing budgets are an issue, I'm sure. It's not like SJG has the entire weight of Hasbro behind it.
Our team has sunk thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours into marketing the game. Our sales feedback -- final December numbers are expected in a week or two -- will guide future decisions.
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Old 01-05-2018, 12:36 AM   #8
hal
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Buffalo, New York
Default Re: Winning hearts and minds to DFRPG?

If it helps?

I had no intention of buying DFRPG thinking with my extensive collection of GURPS products, that I’d not really benefit from it. I don’t much like high starting point characters, and am not much a fan of hack and slash style games. But bits and pieces of “improvements” such as new handling of fright checks and shield bashing made me revisit that thought. Am waiting for the box to be delivered soon. So, the fact that I’m finding various references to the game on the internet means it has some exposure. Short of advertising it on TV, and maybe retailing it TOYSRUS, I’m not certain how much better SJGAMES can improve their marketing strategy. I doubt TV commercials are cheap, and I don’t know if TOYSRUS is helpful or not. ;)
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Old 01-05-2018, 08:25 AM   #9
Kalzazz
 
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Default Re: Winning hearts and minds to DFRPG?

I have fond hopes of someday seeing it at Target
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Old 01-05-2018, 08:36 AM   #10
philreed
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Default Re: Winning hearts and minds to DFRPG?

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Originally Posted by Kalzazz View Post
I have fond hopes of someday seeing it at Target
That will not happen. The box is simply too expensive to have a high chance at success on those shelves. Something priced and sized around Munchkin or Munchkin Deluxe -- $25 to $30 -- would have a greater chance at making it onto those shelves.
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