For Steve, Ben, etc. A Board for Each Genre

[KA.]

Okay, this is admittedly a pretty small nit to pick, but I think DOJ should start creating a new board heading before, or as, each Genre book comes out.

For example, there should be a "Ninja Hero" heading, right along with Champions, Star Hero, and Fantasy Hero.

I have always been mostly a Champions player. When I got started that was the name of the game, literally.
So, I am not making this suggestion because I have become a Ninja Hero fan and now feel "left out", but because I believe it would be good for the company, overall.

Ever since the game I knew as Champions, turned into The Hero System, the emphasis has been on the ability to simulate any genre, with several "major" genres (Superhero, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, etc.) being supported with their own sourcebook.

From that standpoint, and to reinforce the idea that The Hero System is not just "Champions with some rules tacked on for other genres", we must accept the idea that people could come into the Hero fold by purchasing any of the genre books (and Fred, of course).

When someone has come to Hero by purchasing "Ninja Hero", or, in the future "Pulp Hero", "Western Hero", etc., they should feel like a full-fledged member of the community, not a "stepchild".

They should be able to find the area of the boards that pertains to their favorite genre right there with Champions, Fantasy Hero, etc.

I just think it would make them feel that "their" genre was just as supported as the others.

One more suggestion: An argument against what I have suggested could be that you don't want the main Discussion board cluttered with too many categories. That could be helped by expanding the "Other Software and Online Resources" into "Software and Online Resources" and putting in sub-headings, if possible, for Hero Designer, Hero Sphere, Digital Hero, and "Others".

Just my opinion, feel free to ignore it.

KA

[KA.]

Whoops, looks like a small error in the subject line on my part.
When I said "For Steve, Ben, etc." I was hoping that one of them would read it and give an opinion.

I did not mean that I wasn't interested in anyone else's opinion (especially if you strongly agree or disagree).

Not begging for replies or anything, I just noticed that a fair number of people had looked at this, but no one had said anything.

Didn't mean to put anyone off from posting.

KA

[Derek Hiemforth]

I like the idea; it seems logical and consistent. Any genre big enough to get a Genre Book is big enough to get a message board.

[Bartman]

Well I wasn't going to post to this, but since you've twisted my arm...

I disagree completely. The only time I would add more boards is if there are at least a half dozen or so active topics on a subject a day. The last thing we need is a bunch of boards that no one posts to.

Just my 2¢ of course.

[KA.]

Originally posted by Bartman
Well I wasn't going to post to this, but since you've twisted my arm...

I disagree completely. The only time I would add more boards is if there are at least a half dozen or so active topics on a subject a day. The last thing we need is a bunch of boards that no one posts to.

Just my 2¢ of course.

Fair enough.

I don't want a bunch of 'dead' boards either.
But I don't think we are going to exactly be 'overwhelmed' with genre books, so we are probably only looking at one or two added boards a year.

And usually, at least around the time when a genre book comes out, there are a flurry of posts about the genre, at least in the short term.

Plus you never know how many posts go to "Other Genres", "General Roleplaying", "5th Ed. Questions", "Hero System", etc., that would have gone to the appropriate genre board if it existed. So you can't really measure how many posts there would be, until you make the board.

KA

(By the way, Bartman, I feel like I just begged someone to play catch with me, and then burned a 100 mph fastball at them.
Didn't mean to rant at you, I just think this could be a good thing for Hero.)

[Steve Long]

Right now, the only other genre-related board I'd expect to add would be a Dark Champions board, when that line gets started.

I don't see the other genres as attracting enough attention to get beyond an "Other Genres" general category. If there were good reason to do so, I'd tell Ben to set up a message board for another genre, but I have yet to see any evidence that would be a good idea. No need to clutter up the boards with a lot of micro-categorization.

[Bartman]

Hey it is all good KA. Nothing wrong with an honest expression of opinions. And I certainly don't feel the need for everyone to agree with me.

But you brought up the question about how many posts would we get on a particular Genre. So I just looked the threads from Hero System and Other Genres because these seemed like the most likely places for UMA or NH questions to go currently. In the past month there have been 4 potentially related threads in Hero System.

Need help with a Martial Arts Maneuver
Giving a shot at making Goku.
New Product Available -- UMA/NH Character Pack
How do I make Martial Arts Maneuvers?

and 6 in Other Genres

Street Fighter II HERO
Ultimate NINJA HERO resource!!!
Ninja Hero/Asian Bestiary
The Supersized Thugs
Casual Ninja Coolness?
No MA Board?
Ki and Kamehameha Wave

Now I have probably missed some, but the general trend seems clear. There is less than 1 new thread per day regarding Martial Arts/Ninja Hero. Is that enough to justify a new board? I say no. In fact I would like to see the number of boards reduced by a couple.

And on preview I see that Steve has already addressed this so I'll leave it at that.

[KA.]

Originally posted by Steve Long
Right now, the only other genre-related board I'd expect to add would be a Dark Champions board, when that line gets started.

I don't see the other genres as attracting enough attention to get beyond an "Other Genres" general category. If there were good reason to do so, I'd tell Ben to set up a message board for another genre, but I have yet to see any evidence that would be a good idea. No need to clutter up the boards with a lot of micro-categorization.

Good Enough.

I'm happy to be part of a gaming community where the top brass even reads suggestions. I sure don't expect you to follow all of them.

However, I may start keeping an informal count when the genre books come out. (I know you guys have more important things to do.)

If I notice what looks like enough posts to justify a new "genre" category, I will let you guys know.
(And if I don't, I will, of course, keep quiet about the whole thing, the way I always do when I make a big deal about something and then find out I'm wrong. )

KA

[Derek Hiemforth]

Originally posted by Steve Long
I don't see the other genres as attracting enough attention to get beyond an "Other Genres" general category.

I don't mean to be pointlessly contrary, but...

I think to a large extent that having their own dedicated areas would help encourage attention. Star Hero didn't get anywhere near as much traffic on the old boards as it does now that the 5th Edition genre book for it has been released. It's true that Ninja Hero isn't generating a lot of traffic in the "Other Genres" section compared to what Champions, Fantasy Hero, and Star Hero get in their dedicated sections. But I think its traffic would increase if it had its own "spotlight" area where it could shine. (Possibly resulting in a few extra sales, hint, hint. )

[Blue]

The benefit of having splintered boards is that you can more easily focus on the topic you want to focus on.

The harm of splintering them is that there's more administration on the "This thread is in the wrong board" end of things.

Example: My Champions character is a Martial Artist and I need to figure out how to simulate a KI effect where he can throw normal arrows without using a bow.

This could be in CHAMPIONS, it could be in a new MA board, or it could be in some kind of MAGIC EFFECTS board, and questions about arrows might best be answered in the FANTASY HERO board because that's where they're most likely to be used.

Okay, weak example, but I think you get the idea. More boards means more places to look for answers, and in this case, that's kind of bad.