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 Conventions

One of the reasons I attend gaming conventions and socialize in the gaming community is to keep up on the latest trends in RPG development. Right now, there is a host of game designers and would-be game designers out there. Almost anyone who has spent any time at all playing RPG's has developed what they call House Rules for their game.

House Rules for Games!

This had it's start in page or two of Game Master (GM) issued rulings which affected the rules as written for the game. See, all RPG games have formally standardized rules, usually issued as a Game Master's Guide, and the players have formal rules as well, commonly known as Player Handbooks or Character Creation Supplements. There are also other supplements unique to each game, supplements concerning regions within each game. These are known as Campaign Settings. There are also Editions, which are the rules of the game updated with addendum and improved rules. Addendum is just another word for corrections to obvious errors made in the rules, when the game was originally created. Addendum new rules game designers include in their games to fix mistakes and misprints.

New Editions are also modified for improved play, although their is much debate within the gaming community at each new Edition release whether the new rules in fact improve the game or not. In addition there is also just plain old fashioned supplements which provide new optional rules to be included with the game. Just like cards, the rules as written, vary by region, culture, and by the people that play the game. At it's most basic this is commonly known as House Rules, which are the rules just one Game Master or group of players adopt to reflect the style or manner in which they choose to

 play the game. 

In the tradition of variant card games breaking the rules in an RPG is also seen socially, as cheating. This is also known as giving an unfair advantage to one player. This is not a desirable situation as no one wants to play a game where one, or more players start with an advantage that will allow the player to accumulate more rewards and/or awards for play. To keep it simple, whomever breaks the rules, and their allies, of course, in the game, should not benefit if a rule is accidentally broken, nor should the other players lose status or standing on that account. The penalty for accidental infraction should be reasonable, to the extent that the incident creates no possible benefit for the person responsible for the rules infraction. 

However, I digress. Let's take a look at five trends in RPG gaming for 2008

There is a definite trend towards games with fewer rules or rules light gaming...

Perhaps it's a combination of the multi-volume editions of core rules, or maybe that players want to complete a game in a reasonable amount of time, In 2008 we have seen an increase in the number of publishers, even large companies, releasing rules light games designed for fast play.

There is a definite trend towards modular gaming...

Some call it the WoW model after the popular World of Warcraft game, but the smaller games have a more modular style wherein game components that comprise features, benefits, style, and rewards, are designed to be optionally included or removed as the players desire. Not only that, designers are developing toolkits for players and game masters alike, that will allow them to add new features, benefits, styles, and rewards on the fly as the game is underway. World of Warcraft, in building a subscriber base in excess of ten million customers has amply demonstrated that there is a vibrant market for modular RPG games.

There's a definite trend towards games that feature high quality content, artwork, and imagery.

The advances of computer aided illustration and design, and in desktop publishing has created an updated standard for roleplaying games. The best game manufacturers large and small consistently create games with high quality content, and even a game with poor content seems to be getting some extra sales if it features superb art, and concise illustrations.

Digital Card Games are increasing in popularity.
You never have to worry about having a card lost, damaged or stolen if it is safely stored on an online server somewhere. Not only that, if it is your game company, it's a good way to control and verify who has your gaming cards, especially the rare or valuable ones. You can also be sure to continually charge the people on an ongoing basis to ensure a steadier revenue stream for your game design. All the major players are making big moves in this arena, say Wizards, Sony, and Disney. This trend will continue now that the card carrying generation is maturing into the income bracket that enables them to afford a decent computer and online connection, and the disposable income to play on a continual basis. Peter Adkison has taken notice and successfully funded just such a company with his Bella Sara line. My seven year old noticed this before I did.

Massively Multi-player online RPG games are hitting a plateau...

There is heavy competition for MMO players, worldwide. The sheer expense of making an MMO game, then keeping it running, almost automatically guarantee no chance for the small MMO publisher. Add to that the highly diverse machines you have to design the game for these days, and the result is chaos, literally. Xbox will continue to do well as they have the infrastructure to support an extended stay in this arena. Nintendo, and Playstation as well. This could change of course, if new players are recruited into the fold, however I expect slower growth, with fewer titles released, especially after the projected sales for 2008 games is not reached. There is also some new problems revealing themselves in the conceptual models of online RPG's in that the social contracts required for play are significantly different than with traditional tabletop games.

GameDaddy's Predictions for 2009

The smaller faster games will continue to see an increase in market share of sales. Easy, Fun. That's what games are supposed to be about. Haven't seen many trading card or roleplaying games for sports. The perception in the sports industry is that tabletop and computer games are irrelevant and actually detract from the sports themselves. There is a large ready and available market waiting for someone that can lock a deal with a major sports franchise, and gain the IP to make the game. I don't think we'll see the new generation of RPG companies just yet, but it's on the horizon now. Finally, I think you'll see new games being released in foreign languages to new foriegn markets. This trend has been building over the last five years or so, and if you haven't already locked a few foreign language deals for your game, now is a good time to start.