RPGS: Back to the 70s?

After the of doom and gloom of last months Out of the Box, Ken Hite speculates on the likely future of the RPG hobby

One silver lining of the sclerotic distribution system is that more and more fans are apparently coming out to shows to buy products; likewise, the community-building powers of the Internet help drive convention attendance as friends who know each other only from forums or LiveJournal plan meetups at shows. I'm not sure what kind of hobby we'll have in another ten years -- hundreds of boutique "indie" games and a strong network of local conventions anchored by regular D&D tournaments? That sounds oddly familiar -- maybe we're heading back to the 1970s. But hopefully, with better hair.

Interesting that a lot of the new 'indie' games seem geared towards one-shots, typical of convention gaming, rather that the extended campaigns of yore.

Well, my booking for Stabcon at the end of June has just been confirmed, and the realisation that it's only two months away means I need to start thinking whether or not I'm going to run anything. I've got one Fudge Kalyr game I ran several Gypsycons ago, and I'm also tempted to dig up "El Tigre and the Pyramid of Destruction", which makes a great convention game. Alternatively there's the Ümläüt Call of Cthulhu game I've had lurking sqamously in my head for the last few months.

I'm not sure about the DnD tournaments, though. After Gypsycon, I've come to the conclusion that DnD isn't for me any more.

Update: Ken has posted a lengthy followup on his livejournal, closing with this quote:

The "better hair" thing is just the triumph of hope over experience.

If the age profile of Stabcon is anything to go by, Ken subscribes to the "Less is More" philosophy :)