Friday, December 7, 2012

Wargaming Social Networks

One of the biggest problems facing any wargamer, or any niche hobby enthusiast, is the difficulty in finding an opponent. This is one of GW's greatest strengths since their games is well known around the world compared to small companies such as DP9. That great strength however is just as limited in many aspects, as being known and played around the world makes no difference if there is no known stores or clubs in your region. The players at that point is left to hunt down people through sheer luck that play the same game as themselves.

One of the things that my years within this hobby has shown me is that wargamers, and the companies who make the game in which the gamers play, don't really push for a truly social networking ability. You get ways to play *some* wargames over the internet using various programs such as Vassal, but even that means you need to find opponents willing to play with you. Of course this problem can be easier or harder to see depending on your region. A Warhammer player in London is going to be able to network easier with fellow gamers due to GWs innate influence in that region, whereas on the Pacific coast of the US, GW stores aren't commonly seen and all gaming takes place in either clubs or indie stores.

I am not immune to this either, as I have mentioned many times before that since Knightfall Games closed their doors, my gaming time and opponents has also been severely cut down on. If it wasn't for my only single nearby opponent, that happens to be my wife, I would not get a single game in. Knightfall Games wasn't the only store to close their doors either, as Rivals closed their doors a few months later, effectively dropping most gaming support in this area. Rainy Day Games is still alive, but the gaming scene isn't as heavy there when compared to the Magic and Pokemon players.

On the flip side of everything, going back to my London example. In London it might be easier to find an opponent for a GW based game to play, but what if you don't want to play a GW game? Suddenly it becomes a bit more difficult and you are in the same predicament as the person on the Pacific coast of the US. GW's games are only a support while focused on GW games, once you start exploring other options of the hobby, you find an uphill battle.

For most things, the internet hasn't really changed the wargaming hobby overall. From the way I see it, that is because of numerous issues that separates the hobby from other hobbies. I'll use a comparison between myself and someone I know. One of my co-workers does a wine tasting blog, but from the blog they get samples (A few companies game companies do this), they have speakers come onto their videos (fewer game companies do this unless you are a big network such as BeastsofWar), and even offer temp positions if interested during harvest season (no game company does this to my knowledge). That is just from the company side of things, once you get into the actual wine side of things it becomes even more different. Wine tasting always seems to be a social gathering, far more than one or two extra people around a table, but a full on evening spent talking about the wines.

You look at wargamers though, and suddenly the social aspect vanishes. Even at a club or a store, people separate into their games, and once the game is over people go their own ways usually. Rarely do you see gamers sit down and talk about the hobby as a whole. Problem becomes more exasperated by the rampant fanboyism found within the gaming culture, which makes speaking about other systems a frustrating ordeal with the wrong crowd how may not have played any other system, or absolutely loves/hates one company or another.

As gamers, we need to be more social, need to be able to get out and show off our hobby, and most importantly we need to support each others preferred systems even if we don't play them. Just because someone prefers GW to Mantic or Anima Tactics to WarmaHordes shouldn't become impassable barriers for lines of communication between gamers.

2 comments:

  1. Heya Sunfyre.

    London is actually quite an interesting place to try and game. Admittedly we're talking 8 to 10 years ago now, but I did used to frequent the gaming scene in London. I actually found that many of the clubs round by where I was actively avoided GW stuff, and were mainly focused on historicals. However, I did find there were those keen on playing in particular Mk I Warmachine and Confrontation. However, there were plenty of GW's to walk into where you could just start a game.

    As you know I'm like you, I think there does genuinely need to be far more work put into promotng the hobby. Not just by companies (although they are the biggest culprits) but us gamers too. I have a number of ideas as to how I and maybe a select band of dedicated gamers might address this problem, but it's not going to be easy to get it off the ground. I am hopeful though that I'll be able to do something that might help.

    Also perhaps this is a UK/USA difference, but I can't shut gamers up at clubs talking about hobby. Some night I end up talking with 6 to 10 people about games and stuff and don't get a single game in!!! :P

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  2. You know, when I wrote that blog, I didn't think of gaming clubs since there is no well known clubs in the area. Most of the gaming in the region takes place in homes or at the few indie stores that remain. Back before I moved here, the gaming community in Las Vegas seemed to form clubs more frequently.

    As for gamers talking, I know they talk, but how often I get a quality converstion is rare. Usually the gamer is often limited in conversation to their current army, current game, or the price hikes from their current company. The gamer community seems to be either fragmented for numerous reasons.

    To go back to my wine tasting example, my co-worker doesn't just talk about whatever bottle he happens to be drinking. He talks about how the weather in various regions, how companies go about saving their vineyards, and even offer to work for the vineyards. This is on top of him hosting a blog that has guests nearly one a month. That isn't even a large amount of effort within his circle.

    Going back to wargaming communities, that type of effort tends to be reserved for large sites like BeastsofWar. Most everyday gamers simply don't care that much of the hobby as a whole. Very fragmented community for a niche hobby such as ours is.

    As for something to try and build a bit more community, I have a couple ideas. The first is to build a page that highlights local gamers through small interviews. That way people can find other gamers that have similar interests. Biggest problem is getting other gamers on board with getting lines of communication built up. The other option is trying out the new Google+ Communities and try for a global community through that.

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