WISH 59 asks the simple question:
"Name three games you might use to get someone who has never roleplayed before into roleplaying."
LintKing: Actually, the more I think about this, the more I think there's really only one answer: "Whatever game they're going to be interested in."
MaBarry: Nightlife, BESM, and...hmmm.
LintKing: If I was really worried the person I was trying to bring into it might be `skittish', I can think of some I might stay away from, but... generally speaking, I don't think the specific game matters too much.
Out of several permutations of groups I've been in, I've generally been the most interested in the rules, and therefore have been the one who, if we are introducing somebody new (to Gaming or to a particular system), I've been the one to help walk them through character creation. That I can think of offhand, I've helped other people build characters in AD&D (of course), Amber, GURPS, Earthdawn, several of the Storyteller set, BESM...well, there's a good half-dozen, anyway. I'm missing a couple, but the thing is, it's pretty much the same for any of them. They have to have at least SOME idea what they're there for: "It's your basic fantasy world. Like those movies about the short guys with that ring," say. Usually that's already taken care of, unless you actually ambushed somebody, popped a bag over their head, and dragged them into your livingroom. (Admittedly, I HAVE known gaming groups that desperate.)
After that, it's just, "So, what do you want to be?" OK, sometimes you have to throw in things like, "If you want to use magic, it's going to take another hour to put together," but that's only if that's going to be a problem. Once in a great while, I've had to tell someone the system can't handle that, and tweak it into something the system CAN do, but...it all comes back to, "What do you want to be?" If they need help after that, you start breaking down options, most of which have *nothing* to do with the particular game you're using. "Do you want to be tough? Sneaky? Good at weapons, or magic, or have weird gadgets, or..?"
Once they know who they are and where they are, the more experienced players can help them deal with the system as and when it comes up, and they can learn it at their liesure...
With that said, there are a couple that may be better than others. Earthdawn I like because, while it has a very rich world with a lot to learn, it also has a beginning plot setup that perfectly explains somebody having no idea what the world is really like. It's hard to beat, "You and your entire home town have been trapped underground for generations. You know the following: Orcs are savages, elves are jerks, dwarves will cut your throat for a goldpiece, trolls are brutes, windlings are cute, and t'skrang is the sound a Village Elder makes when they sneeze. Oh, and look out for Horrors - you're not sure what they are, but they're why you've all been trapped in a cave for so long."
That's actually about all a beginning PC in Earthdawn needs to know. Yes, that's PC, not just "player", which is why it works so well. They step out of the kaer, look around, and immediately learn, "It's not as pretty out here as the history books say it used to be." Everything else they can learn as they go. "Orcs are actually OK when you get to know them." "Huh...elves really ARE jerks." "T'skwhat?"
And of course, "Oh, so THAT'S a Hor--"
It IS a game, admittedly, in which I would highly recommend not running a mage until you have a better idea what you're doing.
Let's see...there's Teenagers From Outer Space, which we've actually given to an actual, genuine teenybopper and had her be, at least, amused by. (Her friend was more interested, but that's really who we were aiming at anyway.) It's just easy to identify with. If the person you're working on hasn't been a teenager yet, then you may be better off downshifting to TOON, but otherwise, TFOS has a common ground that can easily be explained even to people gamers usually don't talk to. ("Okay, remember when you were the school quarterback? You can actually be a quarterback capable of growing to fifty feet tall, knocking the opposing team off the field with one swipe of his arm, and just dropping the ball in the endzone. You could also be the head cheerleader. No? Suit yourself...")
Nothing else is actually jumping out at me as strongly better than the rest. Meera mentioned that Kobolds Ate My Baby has come up, though, and I would want to disagree with that. We tried that with some new players, and they had an OK time, but...well, if nothing else, I think it does the game a disservice. They laughed occasionally. The three of us who'd been gaming for years were laughing almost constantly. Granted, it's a nice simple system with an awfully simple premise, but it's built on too many in-jokes. Heck, the basic idea of it is hilarious to us, but mostly just `weird' to anybody who hasn't cleared an entire dungeon level of a rampant Kobold infestation at least ONCE.
MaBarry: I'll expand on something the LintKing said: it's not just what they're interested in, but what the GM has a facility with and enthusiasm for...because that makes the difference to me.
The more I play of Big Eyes, Small Mouth, the more I appreciate my comment of "Amber, 2nd Edition." It's not what they were going for, but it suits my purposes fairly well... except that, well, you can't really build Amber characters in it. [laughing]
On the other hand, it rides that line between simple and complex enough that my six year old sister could just about read and decide what she wanted for her character, but my ten year old sister could customize hers more specifically. The actual "dice-rolling" aspect is simple enough to make combat and skill tests quickly, leaving us time to work on the real "hook" of roleplaying: the, erm, role playing.
Nightlife gets a vote not just because it's my favourite game, but because the system, again, is simple, logical, and quick to learn. It also is extremely adaptable to all sorts of different versions of monsters. You want to play Anita Blake-style vampires? No problem: the edges and flaws are quickly developed. You want to play immortals? Sure. You want to fight gang-warfare style? We've got rules. You want to play an alternate Shadowrun-style cyberlycanthrope? Well...I'd have to work a few things up, but yeah, I can do it. A system that says, "Yes!" so often, and can be tweaked from a heavy-philosophy-oriented scenario to an over-the-top bloodfest has opportunity.
I am on record for saying that Kobolds Ate My Baby is good for beginners, and I will continue with that assertation, although while I note the whole parody aspect is lost on newbies, there are still ways to get the theme across, and well, it's always fun to listen to people Bark Like a Kobold.