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NYT on Warhammer
Spoooon wrote in to mention a New York Times story on Warhammer, old skool table-top wargaming favorite. (registration required) From the article: "In a culture dominated by virtual diversions and mass marketing, Warhammer has acquired an ardent following by being tactile and mysterious, using no advertising at all. Games Workshop, the British company that makes it, has licensed two video-game versions, but it is usually played with three-dimensional figures by opponents who face each other across a real-life table." In related news, registration for GenCon Indy 2005 opened on Monday. Best four days of gaming, and all that.
Is commonly known as Geek's Workshop in my local area. ;)
If ignorance is bliss, knock the smile off my face.
Realizing that it takes 6 hours to play a game, countless hours to paint armies and make terrain, etc. then only kids who haven't discovered the opposite sex will ever have time to play. Which is quite something considering how well this game must help stunt that discovery...
I played mostly 40k (2nd edition) and the new editions both look exciting, but I'm not going to hang out with a bunch of home-schooled 14 year olds, even if I had the time.
Games workshop is in a tough position, with their demographic so narrow. If I was in their position, I wouldn't know of a quick fix to expand market share
It's a shame Warhammer Online never got finished. The screenshots etc they released looked very close to my image of the world.
It's 19:11:42. Do You Know Where Your Meat Body Is?
"But for these toy army generals, craftsmanship matters as much as tactics, and it is this aspect that most distinguishes Warhammer from fantasy games like Dungeons and Dragons."
Maybe I'm showing my age, but back when I played D&D (and that would be AD&D, youngsters) we spent a lot of time custom painting lead figures for our 3D tabletop model of the game. I still have a bag of plastic sea creatures and dinosaurs and other yard sale beasties as well that could serve as creatures we didn't have leads for in a pinch, but PCs were always lead and painstakingly painted.
It's hard to beat a physical representation of the game for settling disputes ("I wasn't near that chest--my character was on the other side of the room spiking that door, remember?") and visualizing what's going on.
It is amazing how a company can build a following for something that seems so silly to a lot of people. I mean really for me at least (I no longer game, but I used to game a little bit, Rifts mostly and a bit of D&D) gaming was more of a social pastime than a competitive activity. However when I got involved my friends had already spent copious amounts of money on the games. These things have come to represent part of who people are today in this world. Any activity that connects people can provide someone with much needed identity. This must be how the warhammer people have made so much money. Find a market where you can get into someone's life and stay. Those are the best customers.
Ah, yet another example of the fine standards of journalism employed by the modern press.
Tactile? Mysterious? No advertising???
Just because GW never ran a television commercial doesn't mean they havn't spent the last 20 years advertising out the wazoo. I'll give the author the benefit of the doubt and assume he meant 'no advertising that I've ever seen'.
I've seen the way GW operates, both at a retail and corporate level. They're one of the scummiest companies in the gaming industry. If the reporter had dug into that a bit more he may have had a decent story. Instead he gave them a nice fluff piece that almost qualifies as advertising by itself.
I've followed Warhammer for the better part of 10 years now, and have tested or played nearly every game they(Games Workshop) have created. Blood Bowl, Talisman, Fantasy and 40k, Gorkamorka, Gothic .. the list is pretty large.
The article, I feel, does a remarkable job discussing aspects of the tabletop wargamming industry that makes it so enticing. If you like chess, chances are these productions will probably not fail to interest you. Seems like every week, even after so long, I learn something else, am surprised by the ingenuity of my opponents, think of better strategies to annihilate my adversary. I honestly do not believe you can ever master the game.
But I think that, for the most part, this exists for all highly tactical games. Warhammer is unique however in that along side their decent rules (which change every few years to keep things fresh and interesting), they have a fantastic creative direction. Their monthly publication White Dwarf is filled not just with rules and battle reports, painting primers and strategies; but with a hefty helping of fluff, fiction, heroes, betrayal, victory and all the things that make a good story.
Many players, myself included, choose armies often times as a telling of themselves. The never say die dwarves, the emperors finest space marines, the wildly hillarious skaven (all of their war machines are nearly as risky for the skaven as they are for the opponent), the haughty high elves.
Their lead is simply the best in the industry. It's highly stylized, out of proportion. Orcs wielding high tech weapons in one hand and "Choppas" (mechanical axes) in the other. They have massive vehicles like the Steam Tank and the Land Raider. The game is simply oozing with flavor.
While I've generally no problem with their no advertising mentality, GW has classicly been a bear to deal with if you are a shop owner. If you sell GW merchandise, they want you to buy everything in 6 blister groupings, they want you to meet a certain dollar ammount per week, so a lot of shops turn to groups like Alliance who buys and bulk and acts as a middle man for small stores that don't put through enough sales to keep up with GWs demands.
The only other real complaint is that the cost of entry is high. I've had years to collect, have 6 different armies and would estimate my collection well over $4,000 in value. That is not to mention the time expenditure to paint, base and secure all my models. It makes it very hard for a new player to enter the market, so hunting for new blood is a bit of a chore. They have tried more and more however to become the drug pusher (The first one is always free) and that's helped get interest from those that can afford it but would be hesitant otherwise.
I stole this
For those who might be wondering, "Gosh, what could GW have done that was so bad?" consider the following:
GW has set up a system whereby hobby-level shops (Mom-n-Pop type independently owned stores) can obtain virtually anything GW makes for 50% retail. That gives the stores a 100% markup, which is good for small stores. So far, so good.
However, when sales in any geographic region reach a certain saturation level, GW moves in, installing a Games Workshop store, undercutting the retail stores they supplied to by about 25%. If Warhammer was the primary source of income for the local Mom-n-Pop stores (which it probably was, if sales reached the saturation level), the Mom-n-Pop stores die. The local Warhammer market dries up, and the GW store moves out.
Add to that the fact that, in competitions, the paint job on your army counts more towards winning the tournament than winning a battle, and it's obvious why many are leery of the whole thing.
Myself, I don't trust any game you need a tape measure to play.
Happiness is relative, Based upon the way we live.
GW publishes a magazine, White Dwarf, which is pretty much one giant ad for their stuff.
White Dwarf (along with Wizard's/TSR's Dragon magazine) during their earlier years, did actualy focus on other games outside their respective domains, since they were originaly gaming magazines, and not specific game magazines.
For instance, our local Blood Bowl league commish showed me an old issue of WD he thought I would be interested in. Sure, it had Warhammer and other GW related articles in there (including some house rules for Blood Bowl 2nd Ed), but he wanted me to read it for the old Paranoia adventure published in that issue as well. I introduced the new Paranoia edition to the group about a month earlier, and he thought it might be a good idea to convert that adventure to the newest ruleset.
But yes, today, White Dwarf and Dragon are just heavily focused on their parent company's flagship games, but since the game industry wasn't in the shape that it is today, it promoted gaming in general rather than their own games.
Ask any Talisman fan (essentially anyone who's played it) what they think of Games Workshop and be prepared for some "colorful metaphors."
Not only has the product been discontinued, they refuse to let anyone else acquire it to keep it going.
Yeah, I get all warm and fuzzy just thinking about it too.
Don't just game, Dungeoneer
I have been playing GW games for close to 15 years. While 40k does still appeal mainly to teens, the fantasy game Warhammer has more appeal to older folks. Most of my opponents are above 20, with a good 30-40% above 30 (like me!).
Most of the people in my age range do appreciate the hobby side of the game alot more, with painted armies being our pride and joy. It's mostly teens that run around with unpainted (scoff and point) armies.
I am going to a tournament in just a few weeks where the entry fee is $89. This tournament will have 100+ 40k players and 80 warhammer players. There are other tournaments around the country where close to 200 players show up. And fly in from other states... don't tell me that 16 year olds have enough money to fly around the country to these events. Or their parents permission to hang out in another state without them.
I've been painting miniatures since I was in 2nd grade, but I never managed to actually play any wargames simply because of the cost and money involved. I honestly don't think I'll have the time until I retire.
y .com
If you have any interest in any non-warhammer wargaming take a look at some of these sites:
www.nirya.be/snv/ttm/
www.wargamesfoundr
www.wargamesjournal.com
And no, its not cheap. If you don't have at least $1000 to spend it will be difficult to play anything beyond a skirmish level.
WTH? Letsee... Most of the ppl I play Warhammer with are over 25, Married, well employed, and are some of the mote Sportsmanlike people I know. The community is very receptive to new players, and if you think for a second that there are no girls involved... Half of all major painting competitions are won by females! I know a number of guys whose girlfriends love to paint, and they love to play.
What game like this dosen't need at least a rules revision every few years? You do realize that in the almost 30 year lifespan there have been 6 revisions? 6!!! Not to mention new armies, histories and lore - thats half the game, the story!
GW is losing significant audience from your 12-16 year old demographic because of movies, videogames, and TV. Of course, there gaining much on the other end of the spectrum - people like me who like to take weekends away from the screen and do something with our own hands.
I may not be a professional artist, but my armies allow me to express myself. Blue goblins? Panicky dwarves (long story...)? If you want it - you can paint it however you need to.
I shudder to think of what would happen if the Tabletop gaming industry collapsed as a whole. Adventures like Dawn of War are fun, but the core of the Hobby is interaction.
Physics is nothing like religion. If it was, we'd have an easier time trying to raise money!
I thought that article was fairly informative and objective. Most of the articles one reads about this type of activity tends to regard the participants as weird dorks who are socially inept, or it condemns such activities as being bad for children.
It was refreshing to read an article that treats it like a normal hobby.
Exactly. Some of us spend their time running Linux in a room full of sweaty sodo drinking, middle aged, balding viring fat asses.
Debian developers, I'm looking in your direction.
I played Warhammer for several years and a number of their other games (Dungeon Quest, Warhammer Quest, Talisman (multiple editions), Space Hulk) for even longer. Like any company Games Workshop (GW) is a bit of mixed bag, but it was the attitude that irritated me the most.
I think GW's attitude is best summarized by how their in-house magazine (White Dwarf) describes the hobby. It's not the "wargaming hobby" or perhaps the "gaming hobby". No, it's "the Games Workshop hobby". Feh. Tabletop gaming is a small market. Wargaming (which is most of what GW does these days) is a subset of that. The hobby as a whole has had a rough decade. What the hobby needs is unity, to grow the hobby as a whole, to not be selfish pricks about it. Sure, I wouldn't expect GW to advertise for other products, but to try and control the language to deny the broader hobby is wrong.
Beyond that, it's a series of minor missteps that irritated me. Sure, release new editions of your games every few years. Release new models to go with them. But to declare that models from previous editions are not allowed in tournaments is bogus. Demanding that the models be genuine Citadel miniatures (Citadel being Games Workshop) is awfully selfish. Building a miniature army is expensive. Expecting customers to exclusively use your product and to buy (and paint!) an entire new army every few years is the wrong attitude. This is the sort of thing that turns many people off to wargaming as a whole.
Search 2010 Gen Con events
And have no clue what it's like now, however, I'm quite surprised advances in computer game technology haven't cut into their market. I'd have thought things like the Total War engine, Combat Mission games etc would have crippled the tabletop gaming scene.
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I myself use to play Warhammer for all it's worth a pretty good turn base army game. The rules if not were GW's meddling with the recent Chaos infusion would have been fair. But my real gripe is the price of said miniatures. Have you seen the prices of their models? A Capt. Shrike of the Raven Gaurd mini would net around $15.00! I don't know about you guys but as student that's still has plenty of weight to make a big dent on my wallet. For me? the reason why I quit the game was it's ballooning prices of their miniatures. I just want to be a casual player but the price per little plastic green men is simply not worth it.
http://www.iWebmasters.com -your offshore staff leasing services!
This year we'll also see a second edition of the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying Game by Green Ronin and Black Industries.
Do not be alarmed. This is only a test.
I used to live above a GW store. Sometimes they'd play all night and the smell of pot smoke would waft up... While their orcs took hits I guess they would too.
I'm pretty geeky but I've never seen geekier people in my life. Hardcore, d20 balls sort of guys (all guys of course).