The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games - Michael J. Tresca [8]
The Protestant work ethic of toil resulting in great rewards is evident throughout American culture. It informs many reactions to socialism, which, some charge, rewards the lazy who didn’t “earn” their keep. Leveling up, gaining power and experience points provide a very clear path to power in fantasy gaming, rewarding hard work. This ethic is turned on its ear in online roleplaying games where heroes adventure around the clock and it’s possible to “farm” one’s way to power by repeatedly killing creatures that are of no threat to the player’s character.
The Players
In 2000 Wizards of the Coast conducted one of the largest polls of roleplayers, sending a postcard survey to more than 65,000 respondents in more than 20,000 households of people ages 12 to 35. A follow-up survey was then completed by about 1,000 respondents from the “screener.” In that study Ryan Dancey, then brand manager of Dungeons & Dragons, discovered that six percent of the U.S. population played tabletop role-playing games (about 5.5 million people) and three percent played monthly (about 2.25 million people) (2000).
Role-playing gamers come from diverse backgrounds, but they have enough in common with each other to be grouped into a few distinct categories. As defined by Fine (1983:49), gamers can be grouped into the following categories: military history/wargaming, knowledge of fantasy literature, knowledge of real-world mythology, knowledge of general history/social sciences, knowledge of real-world physical science, and live action role-playing groups like the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA Webfolk 2010). Interest in any one of these seven categories increases the likelihood a person will be interested in role-playing.
Military history/wargaming now has a distinct fantasy bent thanks to Games Workshop’s Warhammer miniatures game. This category can be further divided into military history buffs and wargamers. In the Wizards of the Coast survey, 17 percent of this population played tabletop role-playing games as well as miniature wargames monthly.
Dungeons & Dragons has strayed far from its original wargaming roots. In the late ’70s, Dungeons & Dragons was still struggling to separate itself from wargaming culture, where it originated, and thus many players came to role-playing from wargaming. Before the advent of Dungeons & Dragons, wargaming was usually a military simulation of a real-life historical event, which attracted military buffs. Given that Fine’s Shared Fantasy was published in 1983, it’s likely that military history buffs no longer see the appeal of roleplaying as much as they once did.
Knowledge of fantasy literature is best exemplified by the surge in popularity of the Lord of the Rings series. The Lord of the Rings movies brought fantasy into the mainstream and had a powerful influence on both role-playing games and fantasy conventions. Decipher published licensed role-playing and collectible card games that took place in Middle-earth. The female population attending genre conventions surged during the release of the three Rings movies. Knowledge of fantasy literature can also encompass horror and science fiction. Many elements from author H.P. Lovecraft’s work are also a part of Dungeons & Dragons (Jacobs 2004).
Interest in mythology and alternative religions can certainly pique one’s interest in gaming. Alternative religions that are connected to mythology, like Asatru and Wicca, help establish a common language that is used in gaming. A wide variety of mythologies has been presented throughout each edition of Dungeons & Dragons.
Knowledge of general history and social sciences is probably most appealing for prospective game masters, who have better insight and more control over how detailed fantasy worlds work. They can use history as a template or actually reconstruct historical events with their own twist, such as Cthulhu Dark Ages or Victorian Age Vampire.
Knowledge of real-world physical science is more relevant to science fiction role-playing games.