>
> >
> > > FWIW Greg wanted the Glorantha: Intro to appeal to 16+ year
olds.
> > >
> > > My reaction? "So more sex and violence then?"
>
> 'Sex and violence' doesn't automatically imply Penthouse pets in
lycra
> chainmail. Plenty of sex and violence in eg 'The Iliad', 'The
Cattle Raid of
> Cooley', various Norse sagas, "The Mahabharata', the Bible etc.
However,
> I'll certainly agree that the average 16-year old thinks a legend
is Michael
> Jordan, and that barbarian=Conan.
>
But does the average 16 gamer, or person apt to become a gamer, think
that way? In my experience gamers come in two varieties--those who
once they get a taste are hooked, and those who will do it because
their friends are doing it, but could just as easily be playing
basketball or videogames. The latter group probably appreciate
cheesecake and plentiful blood and guts, but in my experience that
kind doesn't spend a lot of time (and almost no money) on the rule
books. They mostly say "OK, tell me how to play this." Granted,
during a slow patch they may leaf through the book and look at the
pictures and will be glad to see the babe in the skin tight leather
who has received cosmetic sorcery.....but I still think those types
are a very secondary market. The ones who buy as many books as they
can afford are the natural gamers. They may well care about the art,
but they are more apt to care whether it is well drawn and makes
sense as anything else. In short, I think that the people who
actually buy the books may not be adverse to cheesecake, but they
will prefer believable cheesecake.
Granted, this is all based on my experiences with one group of
friends whom I gamed with when I was that young. Well, even
younger. Sure, we all wanted our characters to be as tough and kickass
as possible, and you were apt to be mocked if your character
couldn't keep up, but I remember fairly extensive debates about
realism, game consistency, anachronisms, and so on at ages far
younger than 16.
In other words, don't sell kids short. You weren't any less bright
when you were 16 than you are now, why assume that the current crop
of gamers are any dumber than you were?
--Bryan