Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Questions for Gary
ColonelHardisson said:
Actually, I don't want you to do a qualitative comparison between games. I'm not a raving d20 fanboy (well, not that way, at least) that sees no value in anything printed prior to the turn of the millennium (or close to it). I played AD&D 1t edition for well over a decade. I'm actually interested in what you feel the spirit of older editions was. It doesn't have to entail anything about other games. One could surmise a certain mood or feel for the game based upon the fiction you gave as recommended reading in the DMG. However, older editions/versions of the game seemed to have a different feel from the later AD&D. Can you articulate what that was?
Being close to the matter, it is difficult to write with clear objectivity. About all I can say is the enthusiasm and the love of the game were possibly conveyed to the reader by the style in which I wrote the material. Also, some of the rules and mechanics that were included in the original, removed later on, were actually critical to the "feel" and the "spirit" of the whole work.
That's about all I can relate, Colonel.
This isn't a grilling - Sorry if it seemed like that (I'm certainly no trial lawyer or journalist, and don't mean to come off that way). I'm asking for some artistic commentary from you. Like when Steven Spielberg is interviewed and he tells about what symbolism was used in a film he's made, or why he made particular artistic choices. OK, so maybe not that involved, but along those lines. Does that make sense? It doesn't have to be about the game overall; I'd be interested in, for example, knowing what directly influenced the "Giants" series, or the "Drow" series.
Okay, and I understand. I really don't want to get into long essays on my creative choices either, as I am not all that enthralled with such an approach to what I consider a craft at best
Most of the influences on my creative work were acquired from childhood on--my father's bedtime stories about wizards with magic rings, cloaks of invisibiulity, my mother fairy tales and adventure stories reading to me. I read Bradbury's "The Veldt" in 1948, in BLUEBOOK Magazine, IIRC. That was about the same time I found a copy of Burrough's CAVE GIRL and Howard's CONAN novel. While I read Poe and a lot of military history, from 1950 on I was a devoted SF and fantasy fan, read a book or pulpo zine or two a day. (Back then my reading speed was about 600 words a minute.)
So, to answer directly, the majority of what I used to create back in 1970 and onwards from there was material inculcated and gained over some two or three decades prior. Of course I haven't ceased reading and being inspired. For examplem, one has to love "luggage" in the "Diskworld" books
the main inspiration for the adventure material was the D&D game itself, ny love for Dming and playing it.
And that's a fact. The reason I now write mainly using theLA game as a base is because of that very thing. I really am enthused by that system, as I find it brings back the same sort of feel I had back in those early days.
Hope that serves, amogo,
Gary
