Quote from: thedungeondelver;744843My Amiga can beat up your XT!

Oh how I miss those days, hearing PC owners brag to me about what their machines could do, then firing up my Miggy to the sound of their jaws hitting the floor...

When OD&D was published, I had already graduated from high school.

I just turned 30 last Wednesday.

I saw this poll and was like "I can finally not feel like the kid!" because most polls cut off at 19,29,39, etc... but no, I got lumped in with the late 20s .

Quote from: flyingmice;744955Oh how I miss those days, hearing PC owners brag to me about what their machines could do, then firing up my Miggy to the sound of their jaws hitting the floor...

Yeah, I remember looking at all the computer game catalogs, and wishing I had an Amiga because the graphics just blew everything else out of the water.

Quote from: Emperor Norton;744962I just turned 30 last Wednesday.

I saw this poll and was like "I can finally not feel like the kid!" because most polls cut off at 19,29,39, etc... but no, I got lumped in with the late 20s .

Same here.  I'm 40.  But I don't mind still be lumped in with the middle age crowd

In actuality, I'm 32, I just like lying on polls.

2d game art, in general, has aged better than the earlier 3d stuff; 3d always tried to be realistic, and was then outdone next year, while 2d just tended to try and look good.

So 80% of us here are between the age of 30 and 50; plus 2/3rds are or were wargamers. Not really news, it is the same demographic across most rpg sites; 13mann is releasing a new Traveller boxed set, I replied it's not the kids that are the target demographic, it is people who are playing rpg's, but not playing Traveller.

I think the age brackets should have been broken up a little differently. There are big some difference between the RPG tastes and general social concerns of a 31 year old and a 40 year old.

//Panjumanju

I think it would be interesting to ask this question every year for the next decade... I think that the gaussian curve will slowly move toward the higher age brackets as time moves on... In a decade, probably the bottom end will fall off almost altogether (like it already hasn't)... Are these the death throes of the hobby?

I'm 45 and I no longer have my TRS-80 color computer, but I do still have my VHS tape of Bubblegum Crisis that was subtitled with an Amiga.

Quote from: shuddemell;745008Are these the death throes of the hobby?

No, it will keep going as long as we do.

Quote from: shuddemell;745008I think it would be interesting to ask this question every year for the next decade... I think that the gaussian curve will slowly move toward the higher age brackets as time moves on... In a decade, probably the bottom end will fall off almost altogether (like it already hasn't)... Are these the death throes of the hobby?

Look, different tabletop game places have different demographics. This place is skewed because this board is mostly about OSR games. This is not a problem in any way, but you shouldn't be expecting a lot of young gamers showing up in polls here. Stop being Chicken Little because you mistake your immediate neighborhood for the known universe. Relax! Chill! There are plenty of kids in the greater hobby.

-clash

Quote from: shuddemell;745008I think it would be interesting to ask this question every year for the next decade... I think that the gaussian curve will slowly move toward the higher age brackets as time moves on... In a decade, probably the bottom end will fall off almost altogether (like it already hasn't)... Are these the death throes of the hobby?

I'm very surprised about the demographics on this poll to be honest. In Argentina most gamers I know are below 40, and when we do RPG events most folk is below 30, with newcomers to the hobby between 15 to 25. I'm 27 and most people I've gamed with are either around my age or younger.

Quote from: shuddemell;745008I think it would be interesting to ask this question every year for the next decade... I think that the gaussian curve will slowly move toward the higher age brackets as time moves on... In a decade, probably the bottom end will fall off almost altogether (like it already hasn't)... Are these the death throes of the hobby?

Of course not.

I swear to God, all the OMG GAMING IS DYING!!!!!!! threads and posts seem to come from a string of events:

1) The OP is feeling jaded about the hobby;

2) The OP is having trouble getting a group together;

3) The OP's favorite small-press game's publisher's gone out of business;

4) None of the players in the OP's group are younger than he or she is;

5) The OP's favorite FLGS is either having hard times or has gone under; and/or

6) World of Warcraft players outnumber tabletop players.

That ten, twenty and thirty years ago people likewise felt jaded about the hobby, some folks had a hard time getting groups to commit, a lot of groups were of like age, and small publishers and gaming stores came and went, seems to be forgotten. I concede that WoW's a relatively new phenomenon - however intimidated a lot of tabletop players are about people who call themselves roleplayers but are Not One Of Us and greatly outnumber us - but MMORPGs sure aren't; they've been around for over twenty-five years.

I've yet to understand the hand-wringing. There are more gaming products in print than there ever has been. There's penetration in the big box retailers. PDFs have brought long out-of-print golden oldies back to life. Prices for RPG products have nuked inflation and are a better bargain than they've ever been. Production values are the best ever, and even small-press publishers enjoy slick print runs and full color interiors. The Internet gives us free discussion forums with give and take for every taste, and game finding sites free us from the insular bounds of gaming stores and college clubs.  There are more ideas, more styles, more milieus, more choice than ever before.

And what the heck ... there are a lot of young people in this hobby. Since I started GMing again eleven years ago, I've had three of my old players return, contemporaries of mine. Four other players were over thirty. Twelve others were in their twenties, and my youngest current player is 19.

I guess I just don't understand the pessimism.  It never was that everyone in America played RPGs.  It's that for a few years in the 1980s, a whopping lot of people played AD&D.  Those days have been over for more than half the hobby's history, and it's time we wrap our heads around that.

No, we're never again going to have movies made about our hobby -- and a good thing, too -- and we're never again going to have national media buzz.  We're a niche hobby, just like model railroading or bird whittling or chess clubs or geocaching.  I'm fine with that, because that's a spot we can cheerfully manage for decades and centuries to come.

Glad I could generate a lot of discussion with my first post over such a simple question.

Yes, I could have broken the numbers down more, but I didn't care about data on that level . . . just a general sense.

Although its only been a short while, I did expect more in the 20s.  There's this idea in my profession that lots of young people are really connected technologically and they live and breathe it because they have a knack for it, among other things.    I believe that statement to be a gross overgeneralization.  However, I did think that most of the people here would college-aged or just after.

I'd be interested to see how many people stick with gaming even though life gets more complicated as the years go by and you really have to prioritize what's important.  At age 20, I didn't think I'd still be doing this at age 43, but I'm glad that I can make it work for a few hours once a week (plus prep time if it's my turn to run a campaign).

I imagine its tough to get a good group of like minded people that you can game with when you are settled down and older.  I'm thankful I still can and my wife can watch my young children for me after an otherwise challenging day.

I partly agree with Ravenswing.  There are plenty of young gamers out there.  Look at the diversity of products in all sorts of media.  Last time I went to a Magic the Gathering Prerelease, probably 5-6 years ago, there were plenty of young guys.  Look at the explosion of games like Dominion.  Sure theses aren't RPGs, but there's lots of crossover.

Almost 10 years ago I snagged a few more players from a board gaming group for my RPG group.  They had never role played before.  I said, what if I could run a mystery-themed game, with a touch of horror that would take place in 1920s New England.  This group of young 30 somethings was intrigued.  I did lots of mechanics behind the scenes and had them focus on character development.   Gradually brought mechanics in.  With a slow reveal, I was running a Cthulhu game for non RPGers.  Presentation is everything.  Still have 2 of these guys in the group today.