Re: GenCon Demo Scenario
 

The demo shows that GURPS allows for zombies that aren't, demonstrating the system's flexibility. How is this bad?

Re: GenCon Demo Scenario
 

I see zombies in everything from Resident Evil to Game of Thrones that are counter to that "tradition."

Re: GenCon Demo Scenario
 

Yeah. I think what counts as a Zombie, especially after a big game like Left 4 Dead has many different types, I'd rather go for different types of Zombies so I can show players GURPS strengths. The last thing I want is somebody walking away saying 'I can already do all of that in X'

Re: GenCon Demo Scenario
 

To clarify a bit on what we did and didn't use in the stock demo:

• There were no ranged attacks, it was strictly a melee combat.
• Players' and Monsters' options were to: Move, or Move up to one hex and attack.
• The zombies originally had shields, Ben and I opted to remove them because if they could block *and* dodge, the demo became long, and sometimes frustrating for the players.

I know this sounds super-minimal to an experienced player, but this gives us 5 - 10 minutes to teach the following to a group of 1 - 4 people, who may have zero tabletop RPG experience:

• What the game is, and help them pick a character
• Hex movement and facing
• Attack rolls
• Active defense rolls
• Damage, Hit Points, and Damage Reduction
• Basic combat tactics

...and finish the fight, as well.

In addition, it has to be a fun experience, not just a rules explanation, and leave them wanting to play more, and seeing why they should choose this system over the other few dozen RPGs (at least) that are also vying for their time in the same hall.

As Doug pointed out, things that led to questions were used to point out the depth of the system, if the players weren't overwhelmed by all the new info already.

You might also be quite surprised how short a couple minutes of talking can be when trying to explain something, especially interactively, to someone.

Ultimately, a demo has different goals than sitting down to play a game, and especially in a large convention environment, you are vying for a very few minutes of someone's attention when there are a ton of other things doing so as well (other game, their kids, lunch, when the next scheduled event is, etc.).

Also, credit where credit is due: Ben and I didn't create the demo, we ran it. The DFRPG authors put it together for us.

Re: GenCon Demo Scenario
 

I was at GenCon...I walked by the DFRPG booth quite a few times. Heck, at one point I was there and I got to see Steve Jackson...and that was awesome!

But not once did I play the DFRPG demo. Maybe I should have...but I didn't. Why not? Because there were always long lines of people brand new to GURPS and I didn't want to take up time at the table with my old-hand self, when really that demo was for new folks. And from everything I hear, it was really good for them.

Now, the only reason why maybe I should have done the demo was so that I could reproduce it myself for other newbies. But live and learn. I did the Ogre demo instead and that was awesome for me...because I'd never played Ogre before....even though I own the massive Kickstarter edition.