Whilst it looks like Zombies are coming into fashion, there's a strong argument that Vampires have been enjoying a period of broad cross genre appeal.
The thing is, a lot of these offerings are thematically or mythologically close to White Wolf's Vampire: The Requiem (or Vampire: The Masquerade, for those mid-school gamers out there). I would say that True Blood cleaves the closest, and it wouldn't surprise me if Charlaine Harris had played a little in the past.
So, why is everybody playing D&D?
OK, not everybody is playing D&D. My mum isn't, but she doesn't play anything.
I pitched a Vampire game to my old gaming group a year or so ago, and was met with indifference at best, derision at worst, and not derision of the game, but derision of the whole vampire genre and the people who appreciate it.
Times have changed. Here's the stereotype of somebody who likes vampire games and fiction:
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| Freaks and losers |
Here's what the reality is more likely to be:
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| A broadly representational cross section of America |
Whilst i'm not itching to run or play Vampire, I wouldn't turn it down if the opportunity presented itself.
I hear you. I recently posted something very similar. How in the hell has Twilight NOT resulted in an upswing of Requiem players?
ReplyDeleteI suspect that the RPG Publishing industry isn't that good at marketing itself outside of the hobby.
ReplyDeleteThey're stuck in an incestuous spiral where only those into the hobby are aware of a product, and only the hard core fans buy it.
I remember when I bought IceWind Dale for my PC. It had a full PDF of Alternity on the CD-ROM, which was awesome.
That's what should be happening - cross pollination, not separate pool stagnation.