History of Community Evolution

[Affectuum]

Hello, everyone!
This post is not directly related to GURPS.

I'm participating in a GMing School for novices in RPGs. And one of our home tasks was to make a brief look at RPG community evolution. I should warn. We are asked not about RPGs development, it's all about you and your close friends, comic shops, people playing via VTT by Skype or something similar.

• How has it all began? How did you start playing?
• How did it change throught time you've been playing?
• How everyone else in your near surrouding did change through time?
• What does RPG community evolution means for you? Degrading?
• Is your community (group) evolving or degrading through time? Do you know about others? What do you think about Internet RPG commnuity?

Very full and accuarate answers required as possible. Thank you for participating.
In comments I can answer all the questions.

[Varyon]

This is probably more appropriate for Roleplaying in General, and you'll probably get a better sample size there anyway.

[Affectuum]

Originally Posted by Varyon

This is probably more appropriate for Roleplaying in General, and you'll probably get a better sample size there anyway.

Thank you.

Could moderators or administrator move this thread there? Thank you in advance.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Affectuum

How has it all began? How did you start playing?

I found out about RPGs at my first science-fiction convention in August 1979. I started playing them in October 1979 when I went to university.

How did it change through time you've been playing?

I've lived in several places since university. I've managed to join or create groups everywhere that I've lived for more than a few months, and to stay in contact with people from some of them after leaving the area - I am still in contact with some people from my university group.

How everyone else in your near surrouding did change through time?

I'm not sure what you mean here. Most of the people whom I have played RPGs with (probably over 100 in total, across many groups and 35 years) eventually gave them up, but the people who still do them in their forties or older seem likely to carry on.

What does RPG community evolution means for you? Degrading?

What does "degrading" mean here? There are fewer roleplayers now than there have been at various points in the last 35 years, apparently because other interests, such as World of Warcraft, provide them with similar entertainment for less effort. I avoid such games, because my brief experience with Second Life made it seem extremely addictive.

Is your community (group) evolving or degrading through time? Do you know about others? What do you think about Internet RPG community?

Are you asking about a particular group, or a larger community? In the group I play with most often, everyone is also a member of at least one other group, several of them of more than one. "Internet RPG" is a very wide term. There are the virtual table-top groups, the IRC and VOIP groups, PbP groups, and probably more. You need to learn enough about these to be able to ask specific questions.

[Affectuum]

Originally Posted by johndallman

What does "degrading" mean here?

Actually, I was asking you about it. If you can answer a question about evolution, so, as I was thinking, you can give an answer on question: "What degrading means to you?"

Originally Posted by johndallman

Are you asking about a particular group, or a larger community?

If you can provide some helpful information about all of them, that would be great. But I was asking about your group, about know groups by you, and about whole Internet community you're visiting.
Are said groups evolving, or degrading?

[Nymdok]

Originally Posted by Affectuum

Hello, everyone!
This post is not directly related to GURPS.

I'm participating in a GMing School for novices in RPGs. And one of our home tasks was to make a brief look at RPG community evolution. I should warn. We are asked not about RPGs development, it's all about you and your close friends, comic shops, people playing via VTT by Skype or something similar.

• How has it all began? How did you start playing?
• How did it change throught time you've been playing?
• How everyone else in your near surrouding did change through time?
• What does RPG community evolution means for you? Degrading?
• Is your community (group) evolving or degrading through time? Do you know about others? What do you think about Internet RPG commnuity?

Very full and accuarate answers required as possible. Thank you for participating.
In comments I can answer all the questions.

I started playing because I was introduced to it by a friend.

The community:

• has aged, Id say largely due to the fact that most young kids can and will play computer rpgs in lieu of standard pen and paper games.
• has diversified. Lots of people playing lots of different rules systems. When I was younger, it seemed that TSR was pretty much the only game in town. Keep in mind at that time they did Boot Hill, Gamma World, Top Secret, Star Frontiers AND D&D. Pretty solid grip on all genres.
• now propagates vertically in time. Its been my experience from the people that I game with that alot of the younger gamers today learned from older gamers, often in their family, as opposed to the horizontal propagation of one kid to another that happened in my youth.

Everyone else changed in my group by getting older and/or moving away. See RPGs really need time and due to the small number of players, take some stability. As we got older and had jobs and families of our own to raise, carving out a big slice of time on the weekend got tougher. Add to that fact that children are at the mercy of their parents destiny, and you loose some players just because thier parents divorced, dad got a better job on another side of town or someother such reason. When our kids became old enough that either they required less immediate supervision or simply wanted to join in, there was a nice swell in activity. As they finished college, and often times spun off into their own groups, we lost alot of players. After that, its time to start taking care of our parents and time tends to get short again.


Im not sure what you mean by degrading in this context, but I think you mean to ask if I think the community is eroding away. I dont think thats likely to happen. There will always be people for whom 'playing pretend' will always have its own value and purpose. There will always be people who prefer their imaginations and the collaborations of those imaginations with their friends to whatever Holywood or the Book stores churn out. I often wonder if RPGs are for most a setpoint in temporal culture that many people visit only at a certain age. Consider it like 'the floor is lava', that bizzare 'Ms Mary Mack' rhyme that 2nd grade girls still sing to this day or even the 'diarrhea song' that we sang as 3rd grade kids. There is a point in our lives where we all do those things or something similar. There maybe a 'ripe' time to begin RPGs sometime between 13 and 24 when we're preparing ourselves for the big mantle of adulthood and escaping into a world that we can easily control and vent out a few power fantasies has a comforting appeal.


My group has always had highs and lows. Right now Im in a low. But there have been times in the last 5 years where 8 chairs around a table wasnt enough to accommodate everyone in the game. Most of those were young kids, late teens, who now have gone on and game with their own groups and have their own cycles, so even though Im out of players, THEY aren't. The hobby goes on. Sometimes without me.


I'm not qualified to speak on the entirety of the RPG community on the internet. There are still the grognards of the internet that believe it is a place that is 'for nerds, by nerds' and that shares a certain aspect with the RPG community. Strangely enough, most of the things that were considered 'nerdy' then have been rebranded as 'geeky' and have gone largely mainstream. Consider comic books (gone mainstream through movies of all things), RPGs (gone mainstream through Computer/Console gaming), the internet in general (gone mainstrem largely through Social Media). Based on what I've seen though, there are alot of Digital Tabletops out there, that implies that even though there may not be a demand per se, there is an interest. There are players on this forum who testify to the usefulness of Skype gaming. As long as people want to tell a story and want to enlist the help of thier friends, the hobby will find environments to thrive in. This is similar to the Play by Post on the old BBS's I used to hit on my C64.


Any of that useful?


Nymdok

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Affectuum

Actually, I was asking you about it. If you can answer a question about evolution, so, as I was thinking, you can give an answer on question: "What degrading means to you?"

If you can provide some helpful information about all of them, that would be great. But I was asking about your group, about know groups by you, and about whole Internet community you're visiting.
Are said groups evolving, or degrading?

Ah, we have a language problem. English isn't your first language, is it?

I think in terms of the scientific meaning of "evolution", which is, approximately, any inheritable change in response to environmental change. It's still "evolution" even if it's a change to a simpler or less capable form. There used to be a concept of "evolution" towards "higher" life forms, and "devolution" away from "higher" to "lower" life forms, but that assumes an external definition of higher and lower, which tends to be a problem in practice.

The relationship of "degrading" to "evolving" is thoroughly undefined. I'm afraid you have walked into a place where people sometimes question precisely what words mean; it tends to go with playing games that have complex rules.

Things I could imagine you might mean by "degrading" include:

• The players in a group are getting older and less interesting.
• The players in a group are being replaced by new players who are less interesting.
• The group is less well organised, and hence meets and plays less.
• The group is playing different games which are less interesting.
• The group is undergoing internal friction, which makes it less enjoyable.
• The group is loosing or gaining members, moving it away from an optimal size.

So if you just mean "getting worse" by "degrading", then say so, but if you mean something more precise, please explain.

[Affectuum]

Originally Posted by Nymdok

Any of that useful?

Yes, it is! Thank you!

Originally Posted by johndallman

English isn't your first language, is it?

You're correct. It's not my first language.

Originally Posted by johndallman

So if you just mean "getting worse" by "degrading", then say so, but if you mean something more precise, please explain.

I could say so, but the trick was to collect some sujestions about "RPG community getting better" and "RPG community getting worse". What does it mean to everyone in particular? So I could collect those sujestions and make some analysis. Thank you for your concern!

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Affectuum

I could say so, but the trick was to collect some sujestions about "RPG community getting better" and "RPG community getting worse".

Then you should have said that; evolving doesn't mean "getting better".

[derendel]

How has it all began? How did you start playing?

With a box set of Basic D&D in the early 90s. I had to teach myself with the help of the well written starter. I then jumped to AD&D 2nd edition a month later, running it for my brother and his friends through the early 90s.

How did it change throughout time you've been playing?

Generally it only got better. Late in High School I managed to find another group. College led to an overabundance of gaming and gamers and greatly expanded the number of different games I was familiar with. After college and post moving back home due to the turn of the century recession, I rediscovered my home group, found new players and new systems.

Grad school led my first long off period - six months. Then I formed a new group with the freshmen there plus a short abortive game with some of my fellow grads.

Back into the world in 2008, I made the jump to online gaming, recruiting the best players from the past decade into a group still going strong. 6 months later I had a local group made up of coworkers going as well.

In 2011, I moved again this time closer to one of my players and now wife. I think it took me a year to get a local group together (a pair actually).

Then in 2013 I moved again and formed two new local groups.

So I move a lot and find a lot of gamers.

How everyone else in your near surrouding did change through time?

People get busy and do less gaming and then they come back. They move, find new gaming groups with time and rejoin the fold. I can't think of anyone I've gamed with after college who still isn't doing it or hoping to.

I play with a nice mix of ages. I generally swear off college kids as I like continuous games and summer vacation messes with that too much. Plus I like a modicum of maturity (not that age means so much there).

What does RPG community evolution means for you? Degrading?

In my opinion it continues to grow. If I ever settled down (I really want to, but it depends on my wife at this point) I hope to help build a nice large community of gamers around me.

Is your community (group) evolving or degrading through time? Do you know about others? What do you think about Internet RPG commnuity?

As I said it continues to grow. I've played with people just out of college 9or in it) in the past year and I think they are just as good if not better than the people I played with in college. I notice newer players don't settle for crap games as much as older gamers which is a good thing.

My online group is going strong after 6 years with no signs of ending (I've had requests to join but 4 is my limit online). Even with my son being born, I think I might have all three game nights going again in a couple months.

The only group I know of having trouble is my old group back home, which due to school scheduling conflicts is on a 6 month hiatus. The GM is keeping himself busy however running several Dungeon World games at the library for local teens.

The future is bright.