Gencon was fun - got to meet some cool people and hang out at some fun parties. But all in all it was a little sad. I’ve never been a roleplayer, and while I do enjoy the occasional euro board game or tabletop miniature battle game - I’ve always been primarily a videogamer. But even from my semi-outsider position it’s sad to see such a unique, bizarre and fantastic industry fading. In no way are tabletop games going to disappear but it’s a little like radio drama once television became available; radio shows still exist (hooray NPR!), but it’s marginalized compared to television. Tabletop games = radio. Videogames = TV.
Tabletop products offer a very different experience than video games – the personal interaction, the face to face experience, the increased requirement for mental engagement to juggle the rules and make calculations, and the fact that these games are events that need multiple people to commit to the same schedule and meet at the same place and time. It’s all part of the fun… but most people would rather play a videogame and just talk to each other from the comfort of their respective living rooms. Personally, I enjoy both. But despite my best efforts I can only get a game of Warhammer or Arkham Horror together every couple weeks, while any time I want I can jump on Guild Wars or pop onto Halo 3 and wreak some havoc… want to guess where most of my entertainment dollars go?
While there seem to be more companies than ever (thanks to the internet) offering some really fun products, they’re all catering to the same shrinking niche market. And there are some major companies (who I’ll decline to name here) that release so many products in so many similar genres and forms that they essentially cannibalize their own consumer base. There have been some half-hearted efforts to grow the hobby, but nothing really successful, and nothing that capitalizes on the the traits that make tabletop gaming unique from videogaming. The ‘graying of the industry’ is a big problem, the base is getting older and there aren’t enough fresh recruits to replace them – it’s a sad situation.
I’m going to Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) this weekend. I’ve never been before and I’m looking forward to seeing a convention that has such a broad focus – tabletop games, video games, comic books… all geek culture essentially. It should be fun, and it will be interesting attending Gencon and PAX back to back, should make for some illuminating comparisons.
Oh, here are a couple ballpoint pen scribbles from my little 5″ moleskine sketchbook. Too much work as always so no real time to explore my own ideas. These took maybe 5-10 minutes per spread, which seems to be all the time I can tear away from paying gigs lately.
