[Design] Character Generation: Detail vs Opportunity Cost

[Kyle Schuant]

From: David Cake 
There is plenty of room for both. Just as the world has room 
for both Avril Lavigne and jazz. 

KS: this is certainly true. However, I just want to strangle at birth the idea that if something's popular, it's no good, or is at least beneath the regard of greater beings such as ourselves. That's nonsense. Nonetheless, it's a nonsense that pops up from time to time, most notably in "The Window" rpg introduction.

DC: And it may even be a universal rule 
of aesthetics that the things that have the most depth and long term 
appeal are usually (though not always) not the most approachable to a 
beginner.

KS: it may be a rule, but I strongly doubt it. There are plenty of D&D campaigns which have gone for a decade in a group. It seems unlikely that "Dogs in the Vineyard" will produce such decade-spanning campaigns. Also, I don't think you can say that any rpg has more long term appeal generally than D&D, since it's been around in one form or another for over thirty years. Take a look at John Kim's Bigass List of RPGs sometime - he's got 1,073 games there at the moment, and lists separately over 500 free rpgs. And of course he's not covered everything, missing out d4-d4 for example;) At a guess I'd say that foreign language rpgs, combined with a few cheap pdf games, make up another 500 rpgs not listed by Kim. That's over 2,000 rpgs out there, published in one format or another. Probably at least 500 of them are still available.
    How many of them have produced decade-long campaigns? If a decade-long campaign is not a sign of "long term appeal" then I don't know what is. Unless, like Ron Edwards and Mike Earls, you suppose that most roleplayers are having a miserable time during most game sessions. To which I say, "maybe in YOUR game groups, fellahs.":)

    Curufea's quite right when he says marketing counts for a lot. Obviously, D&D's WotC can advertise more than some cheap pdf. But Curufea is wrong when he imagines that marketing + development are some fixed sum, and that to strengthen one you must neglect the other. Effort is not a limited resource, in general. 

DC: And there is a difference to appealing 
to players new to RPGs, and players looking for a new game. 

KS: Absolutely. My approach in d4-d4 was to assume that most people are introduced to games by current gamers, in a sort of apprenticeship system; but that the shorter the apprenticeship, the more likely they were to stay in the trade. 
    Also, new gamers are less fussy about rules and setting than current gamers, or bitter ex-gamers:)

Cheers,
Kyle
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