>[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>> One thing that is going to help drive sales of 3E products is the myriad of
new
>> 3E computer rpgs coming out. I expect to see a lot of sales to people trying
to
>> get more insight for Icewind Dale, Pool of Radiance II, NeverWinter Nights,
>> etc...
>>
>I disagree. I think that computer RPGs are either neutral or hamrful to
>P&P games, at least from the perspective of bringing in new players.
>Anyone used to the simplicity and spoon-feeding of a computer game will
>be bored and/or frustrated at a P&P game -- having to calculate AC and
>to-hit rolls, keep track of equipment manually, etc. Further, having
>been conditioned by CRPGs to be only able to pick from a limited set of
>options at any juncture, they will be unlikely to understand that in a
>true RPG, you can attempt ANY action, and let the GM rule on whether or
>not you succeed. They are also used to simply 'seeing' what is there,
>and do not know how to ask for details beyond the initial description of
>an area or how to 'improvise' a setting into existence in cooperation
>with the GM. (For example, a GM might simply say, "You enter a small
>inn". The player will then say, "I sit down at the bar and ask the
>bartender to give me a beer, and then look around at the crowd." Note
>the player was never explicitly told there was a chair, a bartender, or
>a crowd -- he simply filled in the details mentally. Computer gamers,
>used to detailed graphics, are unlikely to make this leap.)
>Lastly, if they come from online games like Ultima Online, they'll think
>the point is to kill the other players, since monsters are "dull".
>They'll make the Black Hands look like the best of friends.
I never said that the crpgs would help bring in a huge amount of new players, I
said that the crpgs will drive sales of the 3E books. When the gold box games
came out years ago, peole came in and bought books because they wanted more
information on the system being used. The same thing happened to a certain
extent with Baldur's Gate. With NeverWinter Nights, you are going to need the
books if you expect to do a half way decent job of running a server.
You are confusing "bringing in new gamers", with "bringing in new customers".
They are not always the same thing.
John
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