posted by ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
benlehman at 07:20pm on 28/09/2004
benlehman at 07:20pm on 28/09/2004*ahem*
I have quite a following in Britain.
GEEKS GO MAINSTREAM
For thirty years since they were first invented by Gary Gygax, role-playing games have remained a niche hobby, its practitioners often catalogued as 'geeks' simply for partaking in the activity. Despite influencing the mainstream media in many ways, role-playing games themselves have never met with an audience significant enough to make them a financial or popular success.
This has all changed in recent weeks with the instant sell-out of the new and innovative role-playing game 'Into the Bar', by Ben Lehman. The game is lauded for its simple mechanics and the sheer oppenness of its system, but the push into mainstream nonetheless came as a surprise. "I knew I was onto something", Ben Lehman says, "but I really didn't think it would be that huge !" The secret to success ? Lehman's game is both a role-playing game, and a drinking game.
Britain taken by storm
Despite being developed in America, the game's success started in Britain. Its reputation spread via word of mouth, and soon enough, Pub owners started purchasing massive amounts of copies of the rules to give away to their customers. Lehman had to contract with a British agent to answer demand. Said agent, James Wallis, had recently quit the roleplaying business when he discovered 'Into the Bar'. "In all my years as a game publisher, I always believed that there was a great potential for RPGs to go mainstream. Someone just needed to find the key, and that someone was Ben Lehman". 'Into the Bar' is now into it's fifth printing in the UK, with over a million copies sold.
Of course, Pub owners aren't pushing the game out of the kindness of their hearts : they have a vested interest in its success. Like every unexpected hit, it has spawned a slew of marketing spin-offs, and there are various collector editions including the infamous 'Into the Bar - Newkie Brown Edition'. Some addicted players make sure they acquire every special edition of the game, in order to fit their gaming evenings to their beverage of choice. There are rumours that the alcohol giant Seagram made an offer to Ben Lehman to purchase the game off him, but Lehman himself does not wish to discuss the subject.
Revolution in Gaming
This new concept hasn't just spawned interest in the brewing milieu, however, and game designers and manufacturers everywhere are carefully studying the game to try and push the concept forward. Phil Masters, a celebrated British game designer, is already talking of a new design he is working on, codenamed 'Sloshed'. "The mechanic of 'Into the Bar', appealing though it is, is ultimately limited", he says. "Whatever you drink, as long as it's alcoholic, has the exact same in-game effect, and that's just not realistic. There's a lot more alcohol in a shot of vodka than in your average ale, and if alcohol fuels the system, that should be rewarded in the game."
Masters believes he will find a distribution deal for his game, inspired by 'Into the Bar' but very different. "It's not copying, you know. The gaming community has always been very open-sourced. You take a concept from one game and use it differently in your own. You wouldn't believe how many games use a d20 these days..."
In the meantime, 'Into the Bar' has started to spread in America. A distibution deal with several micro-breweries on the East Coast was the first step, but discussions are now ongoing with Budweiser for a much wider deal. The press and TV have very much publicised the game, and an advert with P. Diddy, Madonna and Britney Spears is rumoured to be about to hit the airwaves.
Angry Chick
The game has also been endorsed by many rock stars, including Punk Princess Avril Lavigne. "It's just... rocking, you know", she declared. But the amalgam of role-playing games, alcohol and rock n' roll has sparked the re-emergence of another angry Chick, namely Jack Chick, an Internet Evangelist who has been denouncing role-playing games as the instrument of the Devil for many years. It is impossible to transcribe in words the rantings of Rev. Chick, but his marketing director, Ray Vinloony, held a press conference yesterday in Sacramento.
"Our young ones are in grave danger", he said. "Until now, they had to fend off catholics, alcohol, rock and roll and role-playing games separately, with only Jesus by their side. Now, with the release of this filthy game, they will be severely tempted and weakened. It is time our Glorious President realised that freedom and democracy are not the proper tools to fight against such filth !" The rest of the intervention was lost in frothing noises.
What next ?
Ben Lehman is now a billionaire, when only a couple of months ago he ate potato peels and slept in a rug on the floor of one of his role-playing mates. "You know what ? I just dunno what to do with all that money. I might buy Wizards of the Coast (publishers of the celebrated and controversial role-playinig game Dungeons and Dragons), or maybe just move to Hawaï and retire. I just don't know."
Will he continue to design games ? "Maybe, but you know, it takes a lot out of you, game design, and 'Into the Bar' was a project more taxing than most. I'm not sure I've got enough fuel to carry on like this..." In the meantime, Lehman sits by his sparking new swimming pool and sips Pina Coladas, gaming with his buddies...
Okay, so it's actually from The RPG.net Forums. I still thought it was cool.
I have quite a following in Britain.
GEEKS GO MAINSTREAM
For thirty years since they were first invented by Gary Gygax, role-playing games have remained a niche hobby, its practitioners often catalogued as 'geeks' simply for partaking in the activity. Despite influencing the mainstream media in many ways, role-playing games themselves have never met with an audience significant enough to make them a financial or popular success.
This has all changed in recent weeks with the instant sell-out of the new and innovative role-playing game 'Into the Bar', by Ben Lehman. The game is lauded for its simple mechanics and the sheer oppenness of its system, but the push into mainstream nonetheless came as a surprise. "I knew I was onto something", Ben Lehman says, "but I really didn't think it would be that huge !" The secret to success ? Lehman's game is both a role-playing game, and a drinking game.
Britain taken by storm
Despite being developed in America, the game's success started in Britain. Its reputation spread via word of mouth, and soon enough, Pub owners started purchasing massive amounts of copies of the rules to give away to their customers. Lehman had to contract with a British agent to answer demand. Said agent, James Wallis, had recently quit the roleplaying business when he discovered 'Into the Bar'. "In all my years as a game publisher, I always believed that there was a great potential for RPGs to go mainstream. Someone just needed to find the key, and that someone was Ben Lehman". 'Into the Bar' is now into it's fifth printing in the UK, with over a million copies sold.
Of course, Pub owners aren't pushing the game out of the kindness of their hearts : they have a vested interest in its success. Like every unexpected hit, it has spawned a slew of marketing spin-offs, and there are various collector editions including the infamous 'Into the Bar - Newkie Brown Edition'. Some addicted players make sure they acquire every special edition of the game, in order to fit their gaming evenings to their beverage of choice. There are rumours that the alcohol giant Seagram made an offer to Ben Lehman to purchase the game off him, but Lehman himself does not wish to discuss the subject.
Revolution in Gaming
This new concept hasn't just spawned interest in the brewing milieu, however, and game designers and manufacturers everywhere are carefully studying the game to try and push the concept forward. Phil Masters, a celebrated British game designer, is already talking of a new design he is working on, codenamed 'Sloshed'. "The mechanic of 'Into the Bar', appealing though it is, is ultimately limited", he says. "Whatever you drink, as long as it's alcoholic, has the exact same in-game effect, and that's just not realistic. There's a lot more alcohol in a shot of vodka than in your average ale, and if alcohol fuels the system, that should be rewarded in the game."
Masters believes he will find a distribution deal for his game, inspired by 'Into the Bar' but very different. "It's not copying, you know. The gaming community has always been very open-sourced. You take a concept from one game and use it differently in your own. You wouldn't believe how many games use a d20 these days..."
In the meantime, 'Into the Bar' has started to spread in America. A distibution deal with several micro-breweries on the East Coast was the first step, but discussions are now ongoing with Budweiser for a much wider deal. The press and TV have very much publicised the game, and an advert with P. Diddy, Madonna and Britney Spears is rumoured to be about to hit the airwaves.
Angry Chick
The game has also been endorsed by many rock stars, including Punk Princess Avril Lavigne. "It's just... rocking, you know", she declared. But the amalgam of role-playing games, alcohol and rock n' roll has sparked the re-emergence of another angry Chick, namely Jack Chick, an Internet Evangelist who has been denouncing role-playing games as the instrument of the Devil for many years. It is impossible to transcribe in words the rantings of Rev. Chick, but his marketing director, Ray Vinloony, held a press conference yesterday in Sacramento.
"Our young ones are in grave danger", he said. "Until now, they had to fend off catholics, alcohol, rock and roll and role-playing games separately, with only Jesus by their side. Now, with the release of this filthy game, they will be severely tempted and weakened. It is time our Glorious President realised that freedom and democracy are not the proper tools to fight against such filth !" The rest of the intervention was lost in frothing noises.
What next ?
Ben Lehman is now a billionaire, when only a couple of months ago he ate potato peels and slept in a rug on the floor of one of his role-playing mates. "You know what ? I just dunno what to do with all that money. I might buy Wizards of the Coast (publishers of the celebrated and controversial role-playinig game Dungeons and Dragons), or maybe just move to Hawaï and retire. I just don't know."
Will he continue to design games ? "Maybe, but you know, it takes a lot out of you, game design, and 'Into the Bar' was a project more taxing than most. I'm not sure I've got enough fuel to carry on like this..." In the meantime, Lehman sits by his sparking new swimming pool and sips Pina Coladas, gaming with his buddies...
Okay, so it's actually from The RPG.net Forums. I still thought it was cool.