Derek Hiemforth Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 Thoughts on the news from the herogames.com front page? I haven't followed comics closely for years, so I'm not personally familiar with it, but an all-in-one young supers game with crossover appeal for adults and kids sounds cool... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 Re: Ps238 Thoughts on the news from the herogames.com front page? I haven't followed comics closely for years' date=' so I'm not personally familiar with it, but an all-in-one teen supers game with crossover appeal for adults and kids sounds cool...[/quote'] Definitely. You can check out the strip here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredrik_nilsson Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 Re: Ps238 The comic isn't that easy to get in Sweden, but from what I've read this looks really interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TygerLily Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 Re: Ps238 I'm not a comic book/strip followers, so I have never heard of this comic book series, but I love the idea of an RPG geared toward children and young adults. Our 9 year old daughter was expressing interest in RPG after we allowed her to create a few characters and play City of Hero with our supervision. So, we got the Teen Champions book, and started a campaign where the characters are all pre-teen to teenagers. We haven't had a lot of sessions, unfortunately, because another family who is joining us have been unavailable since Aug. But the girls (ours and a 10 yr old in the other family) seem to enjoy the game a lot. In fact, if you're interested, I was doing a blog/forum discussion of the challenges and learning curve of teaching children an RPG at Dice 'n' Diapers website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Neilson Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 Re: Ps238 PS 238, for those that don't follow it, has some of its material posted online starting at http://nodwick.humor.gamespy.com/ps238/comics/index.php?date=2001-11-29 The premise is a secret school where children with superpowers are educated, both to permit training in the use of their abilities and to keep the non-Supers safe. Imagine a Grade 3 class, for example, of superpowered children. It's a very entertaining book, IMO. Gamers may be more familiar with Aaron's Nodwick character, who appeared in Dragon and his own comic for several years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchellS Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 Re: Ps238 I'm not a comic book/strip followers' date=' so I have never heard of this comic book series, but I love the idea of an RPG geared toward children and young adults.[/quote'] I'm looking forward to the sourcebook but I'm the opposite about wanting it geared to younger players. I can honestly say that most of the gamers I know are over 25 [over 38 actually] and I don't see a lot of "kids" when I go to conventions. Still I'm glad to see that Hero has a recognizable license and anyone who knows me on the boards can verify that I've pushed for the Champions Sidekick idea, so hopefully this will work out for them and we can see more books in this vein. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 Re: Ps238 From the description of the source material and book, this sounds like an excellent choice to test the viability of a concept that's often been discussed here: an "introductory" HERO book containing both the basic rules and a genre/setting to start playing in right away. Lucha Libre HERO is also doing this, but IMHO PS238 will be a better touchstone as it's likely to have a broader appeal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 Re: Ps238 I'm looking forward to the sourcebook but I'm the opposite about wanting it geared to younger players. I can honestly say that most of the gamers I know are over 25 [over 38 actually] and I don't see a lot of "kids" when I go to conventions. Still I'm glad to see that Hero has a recognizable license and anyone who knows me on the boards can verify that I've pushed for the Champions Sidekick idea' date=' so hopefully this will work out for them and we can see more books in this vein.[/quote'] Well, I'm not sure how many gamer parents would take their children to a game convention. They're generally not the most kid-friendly venues. But I have heard assertions from more and more veteran gamers that they're bringing their children into the hobby. Over on RPGnet I've also noticed increasingly frequent requests for advice on "child appropriate" games. How many times have we debated the need to bring new, younger gamers into HERO to sustain and expand its fan base? Anyway, a well-done "youth" RPG with an interesting premise typically appeals to a wider age range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Goodwin Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 Re: Ps238 Well, I'm not sure how many gamer parents would take their children to a game convention. They're generally not the most kid-friendly venues. But I have heard assertions from more and more veteran gamers that they're bringing their children into the hobby. Over on RPGnet I've also noticed increasingly frequent requests for advice on "child appropriate" games. How many times have we debated the need to bring new, younger gamers into HERO to sustain and expand its fan base? I've seen quite a few kids at the game and SF conventions I've been to in the last few years. Our population is getting older and spawning. The majority of kids I see there are at least better behaved, and probably smarter, than the average kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TygerLily Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 Re: Ps238 Well, I'm not sure how many gamer parents would take their children to a game convention. They're generally not the most kid-friendly venues. But I have heard assertions from more and more veteran gamers that they're bringing their children into the hobby. Over on RPGnet I've also noticed increasingly frequent requests for advice on "child appropriate" games. How many times have we debated the need to bring new, younger gamers into HERO to sustain and expand its fan base? Anyway, a well-done "youth" RPG with an interesting premise typically appeals to a wider age range. Ok, I have to add another plug for Dice 'n' Diapers (That's "and" not "in") website. The website is gear just for Gamer Parents. As we get older, start having kids, our gaming style changes, our time to devote to games changes, and then we have the challenge of introducing our children to the games. The website tries to cover all those areas. Being involved with the Gen Con Forums has shown me just how many parents want to bring their children to gaming conventions but they need children activities they can do with them. Origins last year had a wonderful Kids Room for the kids to play games, read books, etc. Not sure how Gen Con's was, because we are local and school had started so our kids wasn't at Gen Con and thus needing children activities. Another thig I have noticed is more people are realizing that gaming isn't a hobby limited to high school and college. At least, from my impression, it was ok for teenage boys/girls to play an RPG and even into college, but once they got married, got a job, and had kids, people seemed to think they needed to "grow out of it". Granted it's harder to schedule a 4-6 hr gaming session when kids have bedtimes and your spouse wants time, and you have to be at work in the morning, but it doesn't mean your hobby is a childish activity to be "grown out of". Gaming fathers, and mothers, have figured out that gaming teaches the children a lot of valuable lessons for life, so they are not only encouraging adults to keep up the hobby but to introduce their children to it as well. I don't want this post to go forever, but just think of the problem solving, logic, and cause and effects lessons that comes from playing RPGs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 Re: Ps238 I'm very excited to hear this news of a PS238 book,and I think it will do a couple of things that Hero fans have been asking for. 1) Provide a self-contained introductory game to the Hero System that will bring in new players who might be intimidated by the Fifth Edition main book and all the supplemental genre/support books. 2) License a comic book that is moderately well-known and popular without requiring the expense to Hero that going to Marvel/DC/Image would require. I plan to buy it as soon as it becomes available, so write fast! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPMiller Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 Re: Ps238 I'll give a plug for Faery's Tale from Firefly Games as a very kid friendly, but also adult playable system/setting. It was nominated for an Ennie this year and if you haven't picked it up to at least look at you should. Don't be mislead by the title either. It isn't just a game for little girls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost-angel Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 Re: Ps238 I'm looking forward to the sourcebook but I'm the opposite about wanting it geared to younger players. I can honestly say that most of the gamers I know are over 25 [over 38 actually] and I don't see a lot of "kids" when I go to conventions. Still I'm glad to see that Hero has a recognizable license and anyone who knows me on the boards can verify that I've pushed for the Champions Sidekick idea' date=' so hopefully this will work out for them and we can see more books in this vein.[/quote'] That sounds like untapped market to me. Maybe we don't see enough kids because we don't gear enough RPGs towards them. Many industry leaders in any sector become successful by finding that new market ... look at the Wii, first game system to appeal to Kids and Retirees. Obviously Nintendo wasn't aiming at the "usual market" and they're kickin' @$$. I applaud Hero for finding an opportunity to go "And kids can play too" with something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casualplayer Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 Re: Ps238 I don't get the impression that PS238 HERO is a game for kids; it's a game about kids, super-powered kids. PS238 is like Xavier's Elementary School, but the comic isn't targetted primarily to kids and I doubt the game will be. Doesn't mean your nine year old won't enjoy playing it though, because there is a lot of kewl things in the world to enjoy. When I was nine though, I roleplayed an adult. Now that I'm an adult I occasionally like to roleplay a child or a youth. One thing is that people won't be able to do is gripe about the art. Aaron Williams is awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 Re: Ps238 I'm not very familiar with the series, but this sounds like a win win for both sides and I hope it works out well for them all. I will be looking more into PS238 after all the glowing stuff printed here. Sounds fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchellS Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 Re: Ps238 That sounds like untapped market to me. Maybe we don't see enough kids because we don't gear enough RPGs towards them. Many industry leaders in any sector become successful by finding that new market ... look at the Wii, first game system to appeal to Kids and Retirees. Obviously Nintendo wasn't aiming at the "usual market" and they're kickin' @$$. I applaud Hero for finding an opportunity to go "And kids can play too" with something. I think you have side-stepped my point. Those of us with children are teaching our kids to game; and we don't need a special book for that. My 7 year old was playing Champions when he was 5. Since the vast majority of buyers of the book aren't going to be children writing down to the real buyers serves no real purpose. As for the Wii/PS3 issue, I have a feeling the initial price disparity of $250 versus $600 had far more to do with the sales then anything. I can't get my kids to touch our Wii but they're on the Playstation almost every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Liberty Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 Re: Ps238 To the Game Room! For Justice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Liberty Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 Re: Ps238 Having said that, I have to say this is great news and I look forward to the book. I recently discovered PS238 and have been thinking about playing/GMing that kind of game. Actually, I don't think I am up to GMing such a game, it has been too many years. I would just end up GMing a game for short adult supers. I wanna play Captain Clarinet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost-angel Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 Re: Ps238 As for the Wii/PS3 issue' date=' I have a feeling the initial price disparity of $250 versus $600 had far more to do with the sales then anything. I can't get my kids to touch our Wii but they're on the Playstation almost every day.[/quote'] I can't much say anything about your first para - I've a feeling it's mostly true. On this one I can say with some confidence that the Wii has broken the 20/80 split and become appealing to all ages while the Playstation is still pretty much stuck in the 30-and-under crowd. It's been widely reported it has done such and widely touted as having done something no other game system has: sold itself to kids, teends, adults and retirees alike. That, and quite frankly I think your track record for pointing out market trends is so far off the mark and full of non-facts I have a (probably bad) tendency to discount anything you say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchellS Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 Re: Ps238 That' date=' and quite frankly I think your track record for pointing out market trends is so far off the mark and full of non-facts I have a (probably bad) tendency to discount anything you say. [/quote'] Let's see... I was asking for Champions Sidekick 2 years before anyone else was. I asked Hero Games to give sample pdfs of their books, which should included the table of content, well over a year before they finally started doing exactly that. I told Hero Games that offering free proof-reading pdfs to Digital Hero subscribers was bad for sales and said they should stop doing that well over a year before they finally did stop giving them away. I would say it's Hero Games who's reacting slowly to the market, not I. When you attack someone's knowledge why don't you point out some proof of your statements rather then making false blanket remarks like that to discredit someone who isn't a fanboy of the system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost-angel Posted October 13, 2007 Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 Re: Ps238 Let's see... I was asking for Champions Sidekick 2 years before anyone else was. I asked Hero Games to give sample pdfs of their books, which should included the table of content, well over a year before they finally started doing exactly that. I told Hero Games that offering free proof-reading pdfs to Digital Hero subscribers was bad for sales and said they should stop doing that well over a year before they finally did stop giving them away. I would say it's Hero Games who's reacting slowly to the market, not I. When you attack someone's knowledge why don't you point out some proof of your statements rather then making false blanket remarks like that to discredit someone who isn't a fanboy of the system? Posted Edited away. MitchellS placed on Ignore List (breaks his heart I'm sure). I just don't like you. I have never liked your attitude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault Posted October 13, 2007 Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 Re: Ps238 What's vaguely disturbing is that if it is going to be Sidekick-based, we will effectively have yet another more-or-less official Champions setting. That's "vaguely disturbing" in a good way, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchellS Posted October 13, 2007 Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 Re: Ps238 Posted Edited away. MitchellS placed on Ignore List (breaks his heart I'm sure). I just don't like you. I have never liked your attitude. I don't like you either but I don't go around making blanket, unsubstantiated, statements about you just in a vain attempt to discredit your posts. I suppose that's the difference between us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sketchpad Posted October 13, 2007 Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 Re: Ps238 Let's take it easy gang and be happy for Hero and Aaron If you want to discuss trends and such, I'd recommend bringing it to PMs or a different area Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thag13 Posted October 13, 2007 Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 Re: Ps238 As a mod, I am also gonna stop any WII Vs PS3 discussion in this thread right now. If we need another console vs console discussion, Please move it to NGD or at least general roleplaying. Thank you for your time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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