The 2024 Great Wargaming Survey offered two questions related to wargaming inspiration. One question asked about a gamer’s primary source for inspiration. The second question focused on media and its influence. This post takes a look at the latter question by examining which media provides the biggest draw of inspiration.
Today's question asked,
Through which medium do you get your inspiration?
Top Media Sources
Respondents could select up to three choices of media influencers. Results were aggregated to the top responses. Final counts are shown in Figure 1.
 |
| Figure 1 |
 |
| Figure 2 |
 |
| Figure 3 |
Media Source by Age Group
As each analysis rolls out from my keyboard, a consistent theme suggests that a respondent's age really does matter in how the hobby is experienced. Does age play a role in choice of preferred media apply here too?
When examining the results as a percentage of Age Group by Media Source, books and magazines (whether digital or print) are favored by the 51-and-over groups. For the 40-and-under age groups, they prefer to either watch or listen to their media content. Interesting that the 31-40 age group is the most likely to prefer audio books with audio books capturing over 35% of this group's media content. See Figure 4 for details.
As each analysis rolls out from my keyboard, a consistent theme suggests that a respondent's age really does matter in how the hobby is experienced. Does age play a role in choice of preferred media apply here too?
When examining the results as a percentage of Age Group by Media Source, books and magazines (whether digital or print) are favored by the 51-and-over groups. For the 40-and-under age groups, they prefer to either watch or listen to their media content. Interesting that the 31-40 age group is the most likely to prefer audio books with audio books capturing over 35% of this group's media content. See Figure 4 for details.
 |
| Figure 4 |
 |
| Figure 5 |
Do these media source and age group tendencies hold for my preferences? Close but not quite. My top 3 media sources for wargaming inspiration are,
- A Blog
- Printed book or magazine
- Digital book or magazine
I derive much more inspiration from blogs than the aggregated survey statistics suggest. Perhaps my perspective is biased since blogging is my main form of broadcasting my hobby activities?
How about you?
What are your Top 3 media sources for wargaming inspiration and do these results mirror your age cohort?
Interesting insights there Jon:). I'm not surprised that Youtube and Vlogs have come out much higher than before, given the surge in Vlogs compared to Blogs, with some Bloggers I used to follow now seemingly only on Youtube, which is a shame IMHO.
ReplyDeleteA film or documentary probably is my third source, but a distant one at that. The written word is by far and away the most powerful for me.
Personally the few Blogs I follow are by far and away my main source of inspiration, which often in turn leads to buying a book, my other main source. Magazines: well I honestly don't know when I last bought one! It would be interesting to see the split between the two, but doubt it would be worth the effort or even vaguely useful stats wise.
While I do not watch online videos, I am not surprised to see this form topple print out of the top spot. Magazines are hit and miss for me. I subscribe to only two (one print and one digital) and really read no others.
DeleteI think podcasts and videos are probably the way many people access information these days. Certainly watching our local dog walkers or parents taking kids to school, they seem to be permanently glued to their phones screens:(! Then people commuting all seem to have ear phones in too. Not for me, but I know plenty of others who find it useful on the daily commute.
DeleteWhile I hesitate to make a generalization on the current state, my gut tells me that many are letting life pass before them without ever looking up from their phone to take notice.
DeleteMy top three would be the same as yours Jon, blogging being number one, printed book.mag number two and digital number three, don't do vlogs but can see why they are popular.
ReplyDeleteDonnie, it will be interesting to see if others who report here will have a similar Top 3.
DeleteInteresting indeed. I definitely have seen the transition to video sources. I am traveling a lot more now, and often pull down youtube downloads of areas I am interested in for my flights. There are a wide array of channels dedicated to niche portions of history. I have also noticed how much harder it is to find the traditional online resources we relied on from 1995-2015. Whether this is from people moving to other platforms or the search engines de-emphasizing unmonetized content I cannot say for certain.
ReplyDeleteI do know that I feel like it is harder overall to find good inspirational sources as this 'diaspora' continues across Facebook, Instragram, Reddit, Discord and other platforms that require distinct online identities to participate. I miss the ability to simply lurk anonymously.
I think Blogs are currently equivalent to magazines a few years ago. There is still a lot of content going up, but accessing it is getting harder. I don't see as many new faces coming up as the 'boom-times' of the 2010's.
Jake! Have not heard from you in a long time. You must remain very busy with your two jobs.
DeleteInteresting observation about the quality of info available vis search engines. I wonder if algorithms are making the good stuff less readily available due to sponsored content driving results in their direction. That would be a shame.
If blogs are today's magazines and content creators are leaving the platform, will blogs disappear as well? I hope not but the writing may be already on the wall.
I managed to do Spring break along the Rhine solely on Miles and Points, so yes work keeps me occupied. With all the travel I have just noticed how much harder it is to keep up on my hobby with all these different platforms. It feels like how streaming services have essentially managed to bring back cable...
DeleteWell, replying here is a first step and making your own blog post is a second. As you say, "baby steps."
DeleteYou know I can’t remember what my answer was, so that clearly places me in the age category that likes to read 😆!
ReplyDeleteThinking about it now, I struggle to answer where I get inspiration from the most. Reading books (but not magazines nowadays) would be up there. Reading blogs too. I don’t listen to audio books, and ‘digital reading’ beyond blogs, tends to be for searching for background material (eg orbats and maps), so that comes after the inspiration. As for other digital content, I listen to a lot of podcasts (mil.hist, gen hist, as well as non-related content) and watch all manner of random videos on YouTube. That leaves film and TV which provided the bulk of my original inspiration (after fairy tales!). I.E. that provides the initial spark. In conclusion, film & TV is probably my number one source of inspiration, followed by books.
Chris/Nundanket
Thanks for your feedback, Chris! I do not watch enough TV or film to derive much inspiration from anything!
DeleteI can't remember how I answered this Jon, but I have literally never listened to a podcast or audio book, although my wife uses the latter a lot!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy reading blogs and blogging, but whether they are a source of inspiration for new projects....to be honest, I doubt that.
Watching a film on a streaming service or on YouTube might inspire me, but normally an existing interest determines my watching, rather than the other way round, I think. Likewise with my reading choices.
So what does inspire new periods or projects 🤔
I think, mainly, what other members of my small gaming group are doing ( or interested in playing next)plus constant vicarious scanning of manufacturers websites to see what is available ie the butterfly syndrome we all know so well!
I have literally just discovered 8 hours ago that the 3d printer I have been using for ww2 Russians, also does GNW Swedish troops AND Napoleonic Portuguese...they look great and that has got me thinking I can add to/finish off those collections with some of these newly discovered figures!! 😀😃
Good response, Keith! With you taking much of your wargaming inspiration from your local wargaming collective, you may find good company in the other survey question on this topic. That is, what inspires you the most.
DeleteI’d have to say you tube is probably my main inspiration. My interest in the Indian Mutiny was sparked by one guy showing off a couple of Empress Miniatures on his channel and that was it… Military and history magazine / books over here are very slanted towards WW1 & 2 so if that’s not your bag then you’re stuffed. The only other source I could pinpoint is again via the internet but it’s new ranges put out by manufacturers, ie sellers rather than entertainers. My entire 10mm AWI collection was sparked by simply looking at Pendraken’s website.
ReplyDeleteI reckon one of the problems I have with watching YouTube is that I cannot multitask while doing so. Listening to an audio of something while painting is much easier to do. Visiting a manufacturer's website can be a hazard to maintaining project focus.
DeleteYour top three mirror mine Jonathan. I will often only stumble across videos and other media once my interest has initially been piqued by blog postings or pictures in glossy rule books. Blogs remain the primary source of inspiration for me.
ReplyDeleteLawrence, do you suppose being in a similar age cohort naturally leads us to gravitate toward our common Top 3?
DeleteI think that has everything to do with it Jonathan. I remember when maintaining a blog felt as though it were cutting edge.
DeleteBlogging may not be cutting edge but it still serves a useful purpose.
DeleteInteresting. Probably blogs, books, online forums for me (in that order). I don't watch hobby videos, even though I made a few (badly!) myself. I much prefer the written word and the odd photo; it allows you to go at your own pace and, to a degree, control what you take in.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Aaron
Actually, you'd probably class online forums as a division of social media, so make that my third!
DeleteThanks, Aaron! Online fora offer a lot too!
DeleteJonathan,
ReplyDelete1) Printed book in combination with (3)
2) Illustration or picture, either historical art or photos of nicely painted wargames figures
3) My imagination
To explain further; (1) and (2) are the catalyst so to speak for what goes on in my mind, that all then gets translated into what's produced figure and gamewise.
Sometimes the idea comes first and the others follow. I'm afraid YouTube doesn't feature - I cannot even watch a whole episode of someone painting figures or playing a game without getting annoyed and bored!
Neil
Thanks, Neil! I think we ought to save (3) for the other question in the survey mentioned. That is what inspires you. For many of us, I bet imagination is high in the rankings.
DeleteInteresting Jonathan, I think a combo of books, blogs and video but depending on what I'm looking for.
ReplyDeleteFor historical refights, nothing beats good books (e.g. Nafziger), combined with search of wargaming blogs to see how other gamers might have tackled the affair - as these blogs are often very helpful and inspirational. And there is something solid and timeless about a good blog post like a chapter from a book in a library, that gets lost in groups/forums.
And for painting guides/inspiration, blogs and searches of groups like on facebook and historical reference sites is also very useful.
But I also do a bit of fantasy/scifi gaming and for that video and audio podcasts are king, e.g. tactical analysis of what to do with a particualr army/mission in those sort of settings. Very often I'm painting while listening to these sort of podcasts even though I'm usually painting Napoleonics.
Thanks, Mark! I appreciate your insights on where you gain inspiration.
DeletePersonally, I've been getting inspiration from "drive-by" sources - mainly stuff on YouTube, or what pops up on internet searches. This is a shift from books and other printed media - which I find either outdated or hard to obtain. That said, I do like good illustrated books for references.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dean!
DeleteI gather inspiration from reading books. The interest in gaming a period is likely already there, but a good book really sells me on it. 😀
ReplyDeleteThanks, Stew. Reading is a pleasure and inspiring but I rarely seem to read as much as would like. Too much gaming!
DeleteAn interesting survey Jon. A really well done clip on Youtube can be inspirational. There are a lot of very poor ones- the camera wobbling, the focus unclear. As long as we are playing- and being inspired- I guess it doesn't matter where it comes from!
ReplyDeleteYou are exactly right, John! Keep on gaming!
DeleteInteresting results. I still get most of my inspiration from Blogs, it's my preferred method. After that there is no particular order, once it was the printed magazine, but now I only pick one up if it has something that catches my eye
ReplyDeleteI am with you, Neil!
DeleteVery interesting. I would probably mirror your choices for source inspiration, though. I do throw a bit of video in that.
ReplyDeleteI don’t do FaceBook at all, so can’t comment on that, though I am aware of the migration to to it.
For video, I think you just have to be very selective in what you go for, may be a few favourites. It is a potential time sink as just spending time watching video can become a behavioural habit. I do get annoyed at the amount of video that Google throw at me that is quite clearly just click-bait. Combined with tendency and ease of monetising of video, which I think encourages Vloggers to over post, resulting content that is not always useful to me.
Screen time / paint time … there is probably a practical conflict there for many of us. The question might be, which overall is the most productive! :-)
Norm, No FB or other social media for me either although I do frequently monitor the Society of Ancients’ forum. Does that count as social media? On balance, I prefer “doing” to “watching” for productivity’s sake.
DeleteNo … I think I would have to resist thinking of SoS forum as social media ….. even though it is :-)
DeleteAre all the cool kids looking at it (no) I think that may be the better litmus test :-)
Are all of the cool kids looking at it? Depends upon who you ask!
DeleteA very interesting topic Jonathan and your usual informative analysis.
ReplyDeleteI can't remember how I answered this. My last bit of inspiration (for Napoleonic's) was prompted by a blog mentioning Neil Thomas's rules, but as you know my hobby topics can be quite random so no one probably wants to take responsibility for my weird stuff 😂
I do watch some you tube but not much wargaming content other than Big Lee. I find video to be so slow compared to reading that I just get bored and switch it off, and to be frank, not everyone is a great story teller.
Very little reading now days other than blogs. I shall try and remember for any new projects where the inspiration comes from. I do know many of the projects I want to complete are things that I have wanted to do from years ago.
I think generations have different way of consuming media that is based on what was new and exciting when they grew up. The difference now is that these seem to come and go very quickly. Books were supplanted or added to by Wargaming magazines, Facebook came along and killed these but now most kids (well mine anyway) don't use Facebook at all except for messaging, Youtube has come along, blogs have come along but don't seem to be able to make money for the tech companies so will at some point be turned off. The speed of change is what is most disorientating for us old folk 😁
I guess we are a niche hobby and just have to accept what is available.
Excellent feedback, Ben! We certainly are a niche hobby but a loyal one, I think. There is a question in the survey about hobby loyalty that backs this notion up.
DeleteIf age is an excuse to restate the question, which are the three most influential in new gaming?
ReplyDeleteMost influential age groups?
DeleteOh, I do like that question better. It did take me a night and a day to get an answer to your original question and I will try to answer that first. I did struggle to make sure the most recent decisions were covered as the panoply of sources for inspiration have changed over time. Post covid I would say Printed books were still prime in convincing me to a new project. The depth of information from a book helps me decide to put the amount of effort needed for a project. The recent 1941 project is beholden to several books on the subject. I guess the combination of information (text) and illustration ( maps and photos ) are still needed. Blogs are recently a good fit. This is a painless way of letting others collect and share what I don't know. Being almost print, many people put in quality work and enthusiasm for the good of the reader. Last is the magazine for the next big thing to love or ignore.
DeleteI don't know the lack of movies or videos suggest that I don't spend way too much time watching, but they tend to reinforce likes and projects being pursued already.
As for most influential age groups, I don't know.
Thanks for sharing your top media inspirations, Joe! While preferences may change over time, mine tend to remain (mostly) static.
DeleteInteresting analysis Jonathan. I would say that most of my inspiration, that actually ends up in concrete wargaming projects, usually arises out of interests I already have or from what I taught to examination level at school. Occasionally, finding an old rule set might pique my interest.
ReplyDeleteAs for further sources of inspiration, I moved away from magazines a long time ago. I suppose, I use blogs like magazines now. There is varied content when I want it, but I can also find material to feed my specific interest. Whilst I listen to podcasts while painting, that is more for entertainment. Mostly, my first instinctive source tends to be books. I have enough history texts to give me overview and context, and a bibliography to broaden and deepen my understanding to work out if the "inspiration" is a passing phase of excitement (lust if you like) or something more enduring (love).
Richard, knowing you, your most reasoned answer is no surprise to me. My early projects began from existing interests but my interests continue to expand. I rarely meet a period I do not find interesting. Sometimes, that is a problem.
DeleteThe media that inspires me would be:
ReplyDelete1) Books, printed
2) Social media, such as discussion groups
3) And that's about it
I find very little in blogs/magazines that make we want to start something new. They're great for following up sources for figures and so on once you know where you're going.
I get a lot of inspiration from going to places on holiday.
One facet of blogs and blogging that I find inspirational is the sense of community and camaraderie developed over time. Oh, you are not alone in returning from holiday with a new project in mind!
DeleteJonathan - like you I tend to listen to podcasts and the like whilst paint. that tends to scotch anything like YouTube or videos. In terms of inspiration that does tend to be books but also (possibly off message here) holidays (!) For example Crete, near Maleme airfield; East Coast US of A and going to Antietam; Mrs F is even suggesting we go to Waterloo this year (no prompting from me!). I appreciate this isn't media as such. Quite where new figure lines fall.../ A
ReplyDeleteThanks, Andrew! I agree that battlefield walks are inspirational but that is another topic. Antietam is the most beautiful battlefield. I would enjoy a trip to Crete!
DeleteAssuming online fora count as ”social media”, I figure my top three are
ReplyDelete1. Digital books and magazines (mostly books)
2. Print books and magazines (mostly magazines)
3. Social media (mostly online fora)
I used to read a lot of blogs, and still read some, but for whatever reason rarely wargaming ones. I stopped listening to audiobooks when I learnt to read, and have never been a big fan of video of any kind.
Thanks, Andreas! I place the SoA forum into the social media bucket as well.
DeleteI can't remember what I picked, but I'm pretty sure blogs and youtube were in there with printed books/magazines and digital books/magazines fighting for third depending what I was reading at the time.
ReplyDeleteChristopher
Thanks for the feedback!
DeleteIt’s an interesting subject, Jon, and good to see the breakdown. …feels like an age since I filled in my survey, but as I’m an oldie it’d be no surprise that hardcopy books and mags are in my top choices, as are blogs and fb. However, being a ‘standard issue wargaming butterfly’ it also depends how the mood takes me. Now and again a burst of youtubing will become desirable. (The Joy of Wargaming does a grand job). It was a tough question to answer, and to quantify - today’s fave inspiration may not be the same as next week’s. Cheers!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Martin! You are not alone in considering yourself a Wargaming butterfly. Today’s favorites may not last until tomorrow, for sure! We will check back after the next survey and see if your preferences have changed.
DeleteAs a chap with a profound hearing loss I don't bother with podcasts nor Vlogs/YouTube, the latter mainly because subtitles/cc where available are rife with ums, arhhs, youknows, and such. They also lack punctuation and deciphering them is both a chore and distraction. So, my main inspiration is firstly friends and their blogs, then my reading- books & magazines, lastly but perhaps most importantly my long experience and imagination.
ReplyDeleteThanks, David! Friends are not media. Friends fall into the next question relating to non-media type inspiration. There, you will see friends as influencers although adding friends and their blogs certainly falls into the media category. I agree that friends and their blogs offer great inspiration to me too.
DeleteFriends' blogs are most assuredly media in my view. I think you may have misconstrued my meaning there. No matter, we can agree to differ amicably.
DeleteI was counting friends and friends’ blogs as two separate entities. One as media ands one as not. If you are lumping them as one, we have no disagreement. You will see friends as influencers listed in a follow-up
DeletePrinted media, blogs, and social media work for me. The caveat with sodial media is that I only follow Reddit, especially hobby subreddits. Reddit has a poor reputation at best, but most of the subreddits I read are drama free.
ReplyDeleteYoutube is quite hit-or-miss for me. I use it as background noise (music typically) if I am puttering away at the desk. Podcasts don't work well for me, which might seem counter-intuitive to my use of YT.
Thanks for sharing your top picks, Greg!
DeleteBooks, real magazines, blogs and some forums I think, appropriate to my age I guess?
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Age appropriate, indeed!
DeleteBeing of 'mature' years, for me it's the printed media - the 'Jenga pile' of books ( as Neil P. so aptly calls it ), and printed magazines, some going back to the 1980s! I guess this fits the age profile you found.
ReplyDeleteAnd more recently, blogs - in fact, discovering wargaming blogs a few years ago (I think Henry Hyde had a 'blogs of the month' feature in his magazine) was the biggest factor in my coming back to the hobby!
David, great to see that blogs were instrumental in your return to wargaming! I like to think that our remote games got you back into regular gaming too.
DeleteInteresting stuff Jon and a lot of discussion. Obviously I do follow blogs, I really don’t follow stuff on Utube although use it a lot for digging into history or battle details. Books are a second source especially for maps and campaigns. Like many I’m sure I find myself using the internet more and more for ease.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your feedback, Matt! Your internet sleuthing has brought together some great AWI battle to refight.
Delete