nexus Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 The article linked below discussing Superhero gaming and the reason why the author feels it lacks popularity. First, I didn't think it was suffering from one .I was under impression Superheroes was one of the more popular genres. Second to fantasy of course but not ar the bottom. Second, I don't really agree with the premise. Yes, superhero games CAN be one fight scene after the other but so can any other genre. I haven't seen much deep character development in a dungeon crawl and I once played in a Vampire game where every session began with "Roll init" about 5 minutes in. IMO, it's up the players and what they want. http://www.icv2.com/articles/talkback/12041.html discuss? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest steamteck Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 Re: Superhero gaming suffering a lack of popularity? Sounds like someone who has his axe to grind and ignores information counter to to me. He completely misses the real points seems to me. However the article seems to about comics not gaming unless your linked missed its mark somehow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tech Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 Re: Superhero gaming suffering a lack of popularity? I skimmed it so I didn't bother reading all of it. His superficial premise is that since comics are weak, the superhero genre is also weak. On what basis does he say that it's weak? I guess his opinion also means that the hero movies such as Superman, Spiderman, etc have had a weak following... which is false. I wouldn't get too bent out of shape with his opinion, as that's all it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJackBrass Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 Re: Superhero gaming suffering a lack of popularity? The RPGnet thread about this article caught my attention, but I decided not to leap straight in and disagree with the poster. The article does refer to comics rather than games and has some reasonable points to make in places, but as far as supers gaming goes one might well argue that we've never had it so good. The only thing missing are the big comics licences, which aren't necessary when it comes to a healthy section of the gaming community. Not only are there several popular "traditional" superhero RPGs doing quite nicely and a number of others ticking over, there are at least three or four "Indie" or "story-game" systems on the market. Although their sales will be relatively low they suggest a strong interest in the genre. With the quality and number of superhero films increasing (and looking particularly promising this year, although really 2008 is going to be Indiana Jones and Everything Else ) I think it's a genre with plenty of interest and life in it right now. The comics themselves? They might be going through a slightly wobbly patch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pawsplay Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 Re: Superhero gaming suffering a lack of popularity? My personal feeling is that the comic book themselves are suffering from really bland writing. I haven't read any comics regularly for 2-3 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spence Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Re: Superhero gaming suffering a lack of popularity? Hmmm... the link must have somehow shifted. The article never even mentions RPG's, it is just babble about comics and the "emotional lives of their characters". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexus Posted February 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Re: Superhero gaming suffering a lack of popularity? Sounds like someone who has his axe to grind and ignores information counter to to me. He completely misses the real points seems to me. However the article seems to about comics not gaming unless your linked missed its mark somehow. Sorry, I screwed the pooch on that one. . The article was mentioned in another thread that supposed that the inherent limits in the comic book genre was the reasons for their supposed lack of popularity. I meant to link to that thread as well but... brain fart. Here's the thread in question http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=378330 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Re: Superhero gaming suffering a lack of popularity? I never notice. I do know that most of my game group doesn't like Superhero games, but the ones that do are my favorite to game with; the ones that don't like playing characters who screw over the party for their own benefit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrestlinggeek Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Re: Superhero gaming suffering a lack of popularity? I've never run into the problem that many in that thread complain about of superhero PCs not being able to change the world. Has anyone else? I mean, when I'm starting a game, I ask my players what sub-genre they want to play. I ask them what they want to accomplish with their characters in-game. If they want to significantly change the world, I'll gear my game that way. If they want to fight off cosmic menaces, I'll gear it that way. And if they want to discover lost mysteries and the Secret History of The World, I'll start researching urban legends, old pulp stories, and conspiracy theories:). There are large diffrences between Rising Stars, JLA, and Planetary, but I classify them all as types of superhero stories, and enjoy them all as what they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spence Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Re: Superhero gaming suffering a lack of popularity? I've never run into the problem that many in that thread complain about of superhero PCs not being able to change the world. Has anyone else? Not really. For me Supers games tend to let the PC's affect the world more in than most, not less. But to be honest, the amount that a group of PC's can "affect the world" has very little to do with genre, and everything to do with how the players/GM play/run their games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Re: Superhero gaming suffering a lack of popularity? Right. I mean how does "Black Ops Team X-Treme" effect positive global change? In comparison to say...Plant Guy? Everyone has the right to their opinions though, I gotta remember that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexus Posted February 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Re: Superhero gaming suffering a lack of popularity? I still don't see the basic premise of the thread regarding Superhero rpgs. They're less popular than say, Fantasy but there are several genres that are much less represented. Fantasy is "king", IMO because it started the whole thing, D and D is ubiquitous. Champions has been around decades, there's always been several superhero rpgs on the market both traditional and as mentioned upthread more "Indie" storytelling type games. But if nothing else these two thread illustrate the different trends in opinion between the Hero Forums and rpg.net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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