High Level Games
High Level Games
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Store
    • Storytellers Vault Products
    • Fantasy One-Page Adventures
    • DMs Guild Products
  • Podcasts
  • Video
  • Trusted Resources
  • Join The Team
  • About
  • Contact
    • Star Trek Adventures
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Store
    • Storytellers Vault Products
    • Fantasy One-Page Adventures
    • DMs Guild Products
  • Podcasts
  • Video
  • Trusted Resources
  • Join The Team
  • About
  • Contact
    • Star Trek Adventures

Welcome to the High Level Games Blog, News, and other stuff to take your games to the next level!

Best Selling RPGs - Available Now @ DriveThruRPG.com

4 Things I've Learned About Comic Book And Table-Top RPG Fans

29/4/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
After my highly controversial post last week, as to the Walking Dead and zombie gaming, I’ve been putting a little thought into what unites us as fans in each genre, where the cross-over happens, and what the differences are. I’ve often mentioned that my short career at the table sits opposite to a lifetime obsession with comics, but they seem to intersect. There is a synergy for lack of a better term. I’ve sat at tables with like-minded fellows, who both roll dice and turn the pages. It becomes clear that both species can exist in the same environment. We’re brother geeks, or sister geeks, or whatever we want really. There are things that surround us, link us, and bind us together (sometimes in handcuffs). These are my things.

1)    We know how to party
There are hundreds of events and conventions that take place in North America every year concerning both hobbies. Gen Con set a new attendance record in 2015, with what they describe as “a unique attendance of 61,423” and “a turnstile attendance of 197,695.” San Diego Comic-Con in 2015 maxed out at 130,000 due to limited space. We like to get together, and when we do we make it rain; bigger conventions to the tune of 50 million dollars into local economies. Free swag is always great, but the truth is this: we buy, we drink, we eat, and we dance (poorly). We’re high rollers.

2)    We can marathon
Last night I sat down and read 72 issues of DMZ before I went to bed. This summer I have a 72-hour long weekend date with 10 intrepid heroes and the Tower of War. I’ve heard a lot of good things about obsession and I’ll sleep when I’m dead. How much do you love all-nighters? Gamers and comic readers can suffer for love. That being said, we’re also adults, parents, and professionals, but when we have the time, we go for it! No excuses, carpe diem.

3)    Our intelligence is balanced by our imaginations
As I said, some of us are adults, parents, and professionals, making us pretty quick on the whole. Some of us are just brilliant to begin with, although there are some exceptions to the rule. Regardless, there are aspects of both hobbies that promote intelligence and wisdom. For some, it could be explained by being “book smart” - but I think it’s more inline with “fluid intelligence.” This is the ability to solve problems, understand fundamentals, and detect patterns (except grammar in my case). The beauty of this is that we take “fluid intelligence” to the next level and apply it to imaginative scenarios. I’m not saying that we’re pushing any rational boundaries here, but I think that the majority of us are geared to be critical thinkers when it comes to narrative, and tactically observant to what goes on around us. 

4)    Gamers are definitely better at not being dinosaurs
Comic book store closure affects us all. Not only are these businesses usually crossover points for comics and gaming, they represent real world hubs for connections. In terms of comics, store closure is usually blamed upon growing digital content. However, in 2014 digital comics only represented what is estimated to be 11% of the market. While this number is continually going up, paper comics still dominate in terms of overall distribution. Maybe it’s the grey market, maybe not. But for the most part, the majority of comics aren’t sold online. Alternately, I’ve noticed that gaming culture seems to have a more progressive stance to online content. While the group I play with loves their hard copy books, we’ve really put on movement when buying digital content, especially with games like Dread and Fiasco. While you can find independent comics on Kickstarter, they haven’t really been able to optimize it’s potential as RPG’s have. Essentially, what I’ve noticed is that gamers are just more open to online content and usage. 

So we’re cut from the same cloth right? Yeah… maybe, but they’re not the same thing. I know it. I can never say that gaming has brought be more happiness than comic books, but I’m sure some of you can. As much as they’re similar, they arrive at different destinations, (though destinations never really mattered to me). In the end, whether you’re caught in the pages of Action Comics or deep in a session of Rifts, I’m hoping you’re staying up late for what you love, because it’s really just about having fun.  

 About Ryan: ​So I try to read about 50 comics a week, depending on my ability to pay the power bill. I try to read as much new and independent works as my tried and trusted favorites, and I’ve been doing this for years. Thus, I can roughly say that I am pretty decent at comicology, however I hold no formal degree. Luckily, degrees are no substitute for common sense and that’s how I got this gig.   

Savage Worlds: Fast, Furious, and Fun! - Available Now @ DriveThruRPG.com
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    All blog materials created and developed by the staff here at High Level Games 

    ​

    Picture
    Click here to support our community for as a little as $1.00 for exclusive content, free downloadable stuff, and even discounts on role-playing game items.

    Archives

    February 2021
    November 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016

    Categories

    All
    13th Age
    2d20
    2nd Edition
    3.5 Edition
    3Deep
    4th Edition
    5th Edition
    7th Sea
    Acquisitions Inc
    Actual Play
    AD&D
    AdventureLookUp.com
    Adventurers!
    Aether Sea
    A+ Fantasy
    After Collapse
    Alignment
    Amazing Tales
    Amazon
    Anima: Beyond Fantasy
    Anime
    Apocalypse World
    Atomic Robo
    Australian
    Award Winning
    Basic Fantasy
    Belly Of The Beast
    Big Eyes Small Mouth
    Black Lives Matter
    Black Void
    Blades In The Dark
    Blood Pangea
    Board Games
    Book Of Exalted Darkness
    BrigadeCon
    Burning Wheel RPG
    Call Of Cthulhu
    Capers RPG
    Casual Roleplaying
    Changeling: The Dreaming
    Chaosium
    Character Arcs
    Character Creation
    Chris Spivey
    Cinematic RP
    Classics
    Comic-books
    Conventions
    Corvus Belli: Infinity
    Crawl
    Creators
    Critical Role
    Cthulhutech
    D100 Dungeon
    D20
    D&D
    D&D Beyond
    Deadlands
    Defenders Of Tokyo
    Degenesis
    Detako Saga
    Discord
    DMsGuild.com
    Dnd
    Dndbeyond
    Doctor-who
    Double-cross
    Dread
    Dresden-files
    DriveThruRPG.com
    Dr. Who
    Dungeon Crawl Classics
    Dungeons
    Dungeons And Dragons
    Dungeon Slayers
    Dungeon World
    Dystopia Rising
    Encounters
    Era: The Consortium
    Era: The Empowered
    Esper Genesis
    Evil Hat
    Exalted
    Faith RPG
    Fandom
    Fantasy-age
    Fantasy-flight
    Fantasy Grounds
    FATE
    Fate Accelerated Edition
    Fate Core
    Fate Rpg
    Fate-rpg
    Final Fantasy
    Forgotten Realms
    Fragged Empire
    Free League Publishing
    Furries
    Game Design
    Game Lore
    Gencon
    Ghosts Of NPCs Past
    GMTips
    Golden-sky-stories
    GoodmanGames.com
    Grognards
    GUMSHOE
    GURPS
    GURPS Lite
    Halloween
    Harlem Unbound
    Harry-potter
    Hero Builder
    Heroes Against Darkness
    Heroes-unlimited
    HERO System
    High Level Games
    Historical Fantasy
    HLG Con 2018
    HLG Reviews
    Homebrew
    Humble Bundle
    Indie
    Interface Zero 2.0
    Interview
    Invisible Suns
    Japanese RPGs
    JRR Tolkien
    Kickstarter
    KoboldPress.com
    KULT
    L5R
    Lankhmar
    LARP
    Lasers And Feelings
    Legendlore
    Legend Of The Five Rings
    LexOccultum
    LOTR
    Low Magic
    Mage
    Mage: The Awakening
    Magic And Steel
    MAID
    Mayhem
    Mazes And Minotaurs
    Meikyuu Kingdom
    Mekton Zero
    Mental Health
    Middle Earth
    Mighty Narwhal
    Mini Six
    Modern Adventures RPG
    Modiphius
    Monarchies Of Mau
    Monsterhearts
    Monte Cook Games
    Morra
    Mummy: The Curse
    Mutants And Masterminds
    Mythender
    Narrative Games
    Nechronica
    Night's Black Agents
    Novel
    NPC
    Numenara
    Odyssey Of The Dragonlords
    One Shot
    Online Gaming
    Orun
    OSCRIC
    Osr
    OVA
    Palladium
    Pathfinder
    Pathfinder 2.0
    PbtA
    PDQ
    Pire: The Masquerade 5th Edition
    Play By Post
    Player Tips
    Podcast
    Powered By Apocalypse
    Power Outage RPG
    Preview
    Promethean: The Created
    Pugmire
    Pulp
    Puzzles
    Questlings
    Ravenloft
    Ravnica
    Red Markets: A Game Of Economic Horror
    Research
    Review
    Review Article
    Rifts
    Risus
    Role Play
    Roll20
    Romance Of The Perilous Land
    Ryuutama
    Satanic Panic
    Savage Rifts
    Savage Tokusatsu
    Savage Worlds
    Seeds Of Wars
    Setting
    Settings
    Settlement Building
    Shadowrun
    SIGMATA
    Snowhaven
    Social Combat
    Social Systems
    Solo Play
    Standard Roleplay System
    Star Trek Adventures
    Star Wars
    Storytellers Vault
    Suited RPG
    Summerland
    Supplements
    System Design
    Table Top
    Tabletop Simulator
    Tales From The Loop
    Tales Of Equestria
    Talislanta
    Tariffs
    Teenagers From Outerspace
    Ten Candles
    Tenra Bansho Zero
    The Dark Eye
    The End Of The World RPG
    The Great Long Dark
    The One Ring
    The Very Important Task
    Titan Effect
    To The Temple Of Doom
    Trial Of Cthulhu
    Trinity Continuum
    TSR Marvel Super Heroes
    Ttrpg
    Twitch
    USTR
    Va
    Valiant Rpg
    Vampire: The Masquerade
    Video Games
    Villian
    Volo
    Vs Ghosts
    Warhammer
    Warhammer 40K
    Werewolf: The Apocalypse
    Westbound RPG
    Wild West
    World Building
    World Of Darkness
    Writing Tips
    Year Zero
    Zweihander

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly