Introductions to role-playing games: are they ever useful?
andrei:
I think everyone who got into tabletop role-playing started off by playing computer RPGs, then went into the genre via D&D, Warhammer or perhaps the White Wolf books due the popularity of the computer games based on them. I would therefore expect nearly everyone to have a good idea of what RPGs are when stumbling on an indie RPG book. Is it therefore worth including a section entitled "What is role-playing?" in your books for the sake of new players, and if it is, how comprehensive should it be?
I personally think it's worth including both an introduction for players new to RPGs and a description of the 'special features' of one's own RPG. I've always been wondering whether I could do without the former to save space, though.
pawsplay:
My view is that if you ever think your RPG will ever set foot in the mass market, you need one. PDFs on Drivethru? Not so much. But Lulu, POD, Paizo.com, are places where non-role-players might encounter your product. I remember a few years back, someone showed up on the Star Wars d20 forum on Wizards, completely puzzled by what he had found, but fascinated. Shadowrun originally didn't have a new players section; they had to write one for the new edition when it unexpectedly became a hit.
Rather than thinking of it as a wasted column or page, I would prefer to think of the introduction to RPGs as an art form, like the haiku, or the invocation to the Muses. It's also a chance to sell your own philosophy on the hows and whats of RPGs in an applied context.
JoyWriter:
You don't need to introduce people to role playing games, you just need to introduce them to your game! Defining an rpg is actually not needed at all, just define what it means to sit down and play your game and you won't have to worry about generalisations etc.
Personally, and this is only me, I'd rather show people what rpgs can be by having them learn this game, then learn about other games like it.
Dreamscape:
For hard copy on a shelf, the back cover blurb is the best place to introduce non-gamers to the concept. Pawsplay's 'haiku' approach would be best there.
Moreno R.:
Quote from: JoyWriter on January 23, 2012, 05:43:45 PM
You don't need to introduce people to role playing games, you just need to introduce them to your game! Defining an rpg is actually not needed at all, just define what it means to sit down and play your game and you won't have to worry about generalisations etc.
Personally, and this is only me, I'd rather show people what rpgs can be by having them learn this game, then learn about other games like it.
It's not only you. I find the "introduction to roleplaying" in rpg usually banal and limited, and worse than useless: they are confusing. Why explain what is a poor-defined category of games.. and then explain that your game is particular for this or that reason?
I don't see any boardgame trying to explain "what is a boardgame", nor any computer game trying to explain "what is a computer game".
I think it's relic of the times of the "one true way", when people thought that all rpgs were really the same game, changing only setting and the way to roll dice. But now we know better.
All that wasted space would be better used to explain the rules of that specific game.
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