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FEATURES
What
Is the Role of Board Games in Today's Computer World?
By
DT Strain, Playus Maximus
How
Computer Games and Board Games are Affecting One Another
It’s
no secret that, compared to the rest of the toy/game market,
computer and console games as an industry are giant in terms of
gross revenues. In many cases, computer games cost more per unit
and some require monthly fees. With that sort of revenue comes a
superior marketing engine that puts their products in the public
eye. At the same time, you have a great number of people who are
unaware of the types of adventure, fantasy, and sci-fi settings
available through board games (when they think "board
game" they think of things like Monopoly®, Trivial Pursuit®,
and the like). And to top it off, you have a fascination with
computer games and the graphics they present because they are
still somewhat new in the mainstream public’s eye.
But,
alas, the board game market still stands. From July to December
of 2002 compared to the same period in 2001, while the
traditional (non-computer) toy & game markets as a whole
fell 2.8% in revenue, traditional games and puzzles grew by
19.1%. In 1999, board game sales rose 21% while computer games
rose only 12.5%1. Of course, computer games are in no
danger of being overtaken by board games in terms of revenue,
but one can clearly see that the computer game isn’t going to
"kill the board game" either.
Why
isn’t this happening? In the author’s view it is something
akin to the relationship of television to radio, or perhaps what
the internet/television relationship is becoming. Everyone
thought radio would go extinct when television came out, but
instead the two adapted to one another and found their
respective niches. We see many instances of this between
computer and board games, such as cross marketing & concept
efforts and in the evolution of the form and structure of both.2
In
reference to this cross marketing and concept collaboration,
Mike Webb at Alliance Game Distributors says, "I think that
for some time the board game market has served as a fertile
ground for ideas and IP for the computer game market." Mike
goes on to explain,
"...there
are many computer game manufacturers that watch the board game
market for ideas to mine and refine. At the same time we are
beginning to see a reverse migration of computer games to well
received board games. In the past there were some attempts at
converting a computer based property to a paper based
property, but with the high component quality and visual
appeal of many of today's boardgames, that transition is being
made successfully... The production costs, component quality,
and breadth of appeal of boardgames has reached a point where
there are successful bits-to-chits transitions, even as the
traditional boardgame to electronic game migration continues.3"
But
this mutual adaptation would not be possible if computer games
could simply crush board games. The reason this isn’t
happening is because board games still offer things that
computer games can’t...
The
Strengths of Board Games
About
one third of PC gamers are saying that multi-player ability is
extremely or very important to them. You’d think this meant
online play right? However, only about 18% of PC gamers say that
an online or internet component is important to them.
Furthermore, according to 2003 sales of computer games, the best
selling segment was strategy (27.1%), outselling even twitch
shooters4.
So
it appears that computer gamers are still hungry for
face-to-face interaction and strategy – two areas that board
games especially excel at providing. This may be one reason why
board games are retaining their niche in the face of the
computer game goliath.
Interviewed
by About.com, Rio Grande Games owner Jay Tummelson said,
"[Our board] games are short, usually less than an hour and
rarely longer than 90 minutes. They have short rules, but
strategies that are difficult to master. Thus, they have very
high replayability… [board games] give [children &
families] social time together - away from video/PC games and
the TV. They have fun playing the game and talk about what is
going on in their, often very separate, lives."5
With
the Playus Maximus board game, Smugglers
of the Galaxy, for example, the designers went out of their
way to create gaming situations that would encourage direct
social interaction, such as bidding, direct trading, and even
posting and collection of bounties directly between players
(rather than just with the non player encounters).
Computers
will always be preferable for highly accurate game simulations
where mathematics would be prohibitive by hand, with animated
graphics, and where twitch or hand/eye reaction play is central.
Such games are becoming more central to our entertainment than
even television or film.
But
at the same time, there is something about being able to look
the other players in the eye as you negotiate, collaborate or
compete in a realm that exists physically in your immediate
environment. That social nature that board games feed is deeply
entrenched in our instincts and it’s something that is
"virtually" incapable of being substituted for by
computers.
The
Future of Board Games
At
Playus Maximus, we believe in focusing on what board games do
best in our design philosophy. That means simple, elegant games
that are easy to learn, but challenging to master. At the same
time, we seek to bring the excitement of imaginative and well
illustrated story-driven game-play familiar to computer games
into board games.
We
believe that crossovers will happen in greater frequencies, but
avid board game players are still a rather exclusive crowd. The
industry as a whole still has a lot of work to do in educating
the public about the options for them, their friends, and their
families - to get them seeing beyond merely the party-game and
awaken them to all the diversity and thrill that is possible in
tabletop gaming. Crossovers will help this but it is up to game
manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to continue to try
and get the word out to the mainstream. We at Playus Maximus
believe it can be done, and that good games are the central
starting point to that effort.
DT
Strain is game designer & artist for Playus Maximus.
Ask your local game shop about Smugglers of the Galaxy or order
online!
Discuss
This Article In The Playus Maximus Forums
Footnotes
& Credits
1. Toy Industry Association, Inc. www.toy-tia.org
2. Crossovers where popular board games appear and computer
games and the reverse are now becoming more common. More
importantly, shifts in the play and structure of board games are
allowing more dynamic and story-driven gameplay, following a
computer game-like pattern.
3. Playus Maximus corresponded with Mike Webb over email.
Alliance is a major game distributor in North America and
beyond. www.alliance-games.com
4. The Entertainment Software Association www.theesa.com
5. About.com http://boardgames.about.com/library/weekly/aa012300a.htm
Rio Grande Games www.riograndegames.com
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