Is 4e bringing new players to the game?

[GnomeWorks]

There are lots of folks - myself included - who don't like 4e.

When it comes down to it, though, that doesn't matter. Regardless of whether we like 4e or not, the vast majority of folks around here are gamers, and it is unlikely that a single edition of a single game could be so horrid that it would repulse a person to the extent of forsaking the hobby forever.

So the folks who don't like 4e are still part of the gamer population, is essentially what I'm saying. It's a loss for 4e, sure, but it's not a loss for the hobby in general.

But what about the other side: bringing in new players? Putting aside my personal reservations about the game, is it working to bring new folks into the hobby? And I'm not talking like kids of gamers (who were probably going to get introduced to gaming regardless of edition or even game), or people who didn't play D&D prior to 4e but otherwise gamed (in a tabletop RPG sense); I mean people who have never sat down at a table before and played an RPG.

Is 4e bringing new players to the game? Is it specifically because of 4e design goals, or is it just bringing in the people who would've gotten into D&D anyway, regardless of edition? Is it managing to bring in people who have no previous contact with tabletop RPGs, or is it mostly folks who are being invited into existing groups? Even if a new player doesn't stick around long, is it at least generating enough non-gamer interest so that those who will stick around get the chance to do so?

 

[Fallen Seraph]

It is nothing concrete but I noticed a surge of posters on the WoTC forums who joined in January and Feburary asking stuff about 4e. This sounds to me like people getting 4e at Christmas, so there is at least some.

 

[GnomeWorks]

I have no expectation of anything beyond anecdotal evidence, but that's fine. It's not like I'm trying to conduct a scientific study here.

That scenario - folks getting the game as a gift - strikes me as something probably system-independent? So it's not something that 4e is/has done to help bring in new gamers.

Though finding their way to the WotC boards... is that a product of putting the website in the books (did they do that? I can't recall, but it seems like something that would make sense), or is that a product of younger kids just knowing their way around the internet?

 

[DaveMage]

I know of a couple of people for whom 4E was their first foray into RPGs, so probably it's bringing in a few.

Probably the best thing to do would be to ask at conventions.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

While somewhat system-independent, the wish to get the edition as a gift has to come from somewhere. So probably some knowledge of the game/wish to play.

As for being on the site I bet a combo. It is pretty easy to search for D&D and find the site. But there is also a page at the end of the books about D&D Insider with a website address.

 

[Bodhiwolff]

I wrote up a couple of my experiences regarding 4E, the differences which drew me back to D&D, and the boardgame-style presentation adaptations we adopted to entice new players to give 4E a try. I presented my thoughts on Boardgamegeek, and here on Enworld. I told how my own home-group was made up of mostly non-RPG gamers, some of which actively *hated* traditional RPG's, and D&D in particular. I explained how we adapted certain presentation ideas, and how 4E coupled with these ideas was a big win in my player's eyes. (the game is still ongoing, months later, and everybody is having a blast)

Those two threads generate weekly responses for me, from new players, asking for my files, my thoughts, my advice, and simple "How-To" style information for running 4E for new, non-RPG gamers. These e-mails are from *new* players who all explain that they never felt comfortable enough to take the RPG leap before now.

I don't think I am stretching the truth to say that, judging from my e-mail traffic and requests for files, at about 4 players per game, that's about 100 new players that came to the game right there.

They came to the game for the same reason -- 4E, coupled with a modern boardgame-style presentation (a player mat and tokens instead of a character sheet, coupled with Power Cards, etc.) was the first RPG that was approachable for them. I am regailed with tales of "I was always curious, but this is the first time I finally bothered to take the plunge".

I am also regailed with tales of success, after-action reports and updates months later, telling me how their game is progressing. They explain how the roleplaying and storytelling aspects are creeping in, and how their game is expanding and adapting to include more traditional RPG elements.

So is 4E bringing in new players?

Absolutely, yes. It is also bringing in a new *type* of player, who is then going on to expand their gaming horizons and include the roleplaying and storytelling that old campaigners such as myself find so enjoyable.

For this type of gamer, for this type of new player, 4E (much more so than AD&D, 2E, or 3.5) is the RPG that finally made sense, was approachable, and wasn't some enigmatic, difficult-to-grasp, rules-intensive miasma that scared them off.

I'm not a fan of the Harry Potter books. I think that they are linear, and simple, and not well written from a literary perspective. But J.K. Rowling did 3 great things in my book. 1. She got kids to read. 2. She got kids to read. 3. She got kids to read.

Okay, so maybe 4E isn't the Harry Potter of modern RPGs. Maybe it isn't *quite* that popular. But in my book, it is getting new gamers to try RPG's. And that is an absolute, hands-down *win* in my book.

Edition wars be damned, in my book. 4E is getting new gamers to try it, and that is just aces.

 

[Scribble]

Though finding their way to the WotC boards... is that a product of putting the website in the books (did they do that? I can't recall, but it seems like something that would make sense), or is that a product of younger kids just knowing their way around the internet?

I think they probably did, but still even if they didn't I do think most "kids" these days do use the internet for just about everything.

My wife is only a few years younger then me, but still she was confused when a coworker asked for a definition of a word... "He was right in front of his computer... why didn't he just type define:word?" The very thought that someone might not think to use a computer right away was kind of alien to her.

In anycase, I don't really have an answer to your actual post. I don't game in a store or anything so I don't really interact with newbs that much.

 

[GnomeWorks]

Probably the best thing to do would be to ask at conventions.

That would require forethought and travel plans... asking here is a lot easier.

While somewhat system-independent, the wish to get the edition as a gift has to come from somewhere. So probably some knowledge of the game/wish to play.

Oh, right. Good call.

 

[Nikosandros]

Well, if you're just looking for anecdotes, in my 4e group we have the wife of a (long time) player who's begun to play RPGs with our group (unless WoW counts). She was somewhat reluctant to try RPGs, but she was swayed by 4e thanks to the boardgame/tactical feel of combat (she's played a lot of boardgames). After a few months of playing, it seems to me that she's also grokking the interpretation/RP part of the game.

 

[Shroomy]

In my 4e group, three of them, who are gamers (mainly Shadowrun and Exalted), were not active D&D players. They may have occassionally played older editions and had a passing familiarity with 3e (at best), but they did not consider themselves D&D players. Curiousity about 4e has brought them into the game; they're even buying sourcebooks instead of continually borrowing mine.