Why Gamers Suck

Why do gamers suck?

Some things continually bug me about gamers...and I'm not talking about the fashion sense that seems stuck in 1986 ("OK, Bob....the mullet and Rush T-Shirt needs to GO."), or the all-too-often total lack of social skills ("No, I don't want to hear about your character, or the killer rabbit scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail again."), or even the hygenic difficulties (although spend any time in a convention hall elevator with a half dozen hardcore gamers, and that might rise quite a bit on anyone's pet peeve scale). No, this time around, I'm bugged by one simple thing. Gamers are conservative creatures of habit.

They just don't easily try new things. It's really friggin' annoying, for those of us on the creative side of this industry, because it means that deep down we know that if a game isn't set in the medieval fantasy genre, or at least contains large chunks of those genre tropes, then its not going to have a large audience. (It used to be that if a game wasn't D&D, it wasn't going anywhere...but with the D20 license, publishers can attach themselves to that gaming network...but the problem of genre still exists.) In the RPG world, if it's not medieval fantasy, it's niche.

Now, certainly, some of those niche products have been successful enough to carve out success stories of their own GURPS (trying to be all things for all gamers, except perhaps those who aren't simulationists) and Vampire (which pretty much cornered the Horror niche, despite not really being a horror game) are prime examples. However, the Hasbro-esque dominance of the medieval fantasy genre bleeds over into other genres as well. Take a gander at the evidence: Which game was more successful? Cyberpunk or Shadowrun? One was an attempt to do Gibsonesque sci-fi, the other threw in Dragons and Elves. Sengoku or Legend of the Five Rings? One is a meticulously researched game of samurai-period Japan, the other throws in goblins and magic. Noticing a trend here?

Gamers suck.

There are entire genres which would make ass-kicking RPGs, but which wouldn't have a chance in hell in this industry, unless you added medieval fantasy elements to them...which they shouldn't NEED.

Examples? How about Napoleonics? Sure, they're a tried-and-true background for wargames, but what about RPGs? The Sharpe novels by Bernard Cornwell (and the accompanying TV films starring Sean Bean), as well as the Hornblower series by C.S. Forester should be evidence enough that personal stories in the Napoleonic age have just as much potential for excitement as mass battles.

How about Westerns? Deadlands is popular enough, with its undead gunfighters and spell-slinging hucksters...but what's wrong with a straight western game? Boot Hill from TSR gave it a shot...but given its roots as a skirmish-level miniatures combat game, it was lacking in characterization (they attempted to remedy this with the 3^rd edition, which used an entirely new rules system, but it was dropped onto the market with no support and not surprisingly, died a quiet death). Westerns are a popular genre (although, oddly enough, more so with Europeans than with Americans, who are apparently jaded by our own history), and deserve a popular RPG.

Espionage? The most popular film series in the world is the James Bond series. Yet, nobody has attempted a James Bond (or even a James Bond-esque) RPG since the mid-eighties. Some might say this genre has waned in interest since the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union...but it's still there, and going strong. AEG is releasing Series Archer later this year, but, based on the web materials I've seen, the game throws in Psionics...which, let's face it, are just "scientific" magic spells. WHY??? Argh. Gamers.

World War II? A popular adventure genre-look at Saving Private Ryan and Pearl Harbor. Pinnacle is releasing a D20 game set during the War To End All Wars, but with magic and monsters...Weird War Two.

Hell...just think of some of the more popular films and television shows of recent years. Any of them feature genres that would rock as an RPG: Gladiator...The Patriot...The Sopranos...NYPD Blue...the list goes on. All great genres, and not an elf, a spell or a monster to be found. However, as such, not a chance in hell that they'd find a wide audience among gamers.

Gamers suck.

Why, though? Why the over-reliance upon the tropes of medieval fantasy? Good question. Is it the market dominance of D&D that makes gamers expect and demand fantasy in their games? Or is it that expectation that helps maintain the market dominance of D&D? No matter what the answer, the result is the same: great games either don't get made, or don't sell, because they aren't "fantasy" enough. Which is too bad...eating macaroni and cheese every day can kill your taste buds for other dishes.

This week's recommendations (aside from trying a non-fantasy RPG): I'm currently reading The Guardship: Book One of The Brethren of the Coast by James L. Nelson. I'm currently listening to Quality Control by Jurassic 5.

See ya in 7.