Do Your Tastes Change?
Stormonu
Legend
My gaming style has certainly changes, as has my tastes. Overall, I have always preferred to run games moreso than be a player, but I have gone from starting pretty much as a hack'n'slasher to a moderately deep roleplayer, though I've found it fun to slide along that scale and along other axises, often conciously using different RPGs to tune the sort of style I want to be involved with.
My old 1E/basic games tended to be quite loose with the rules, for example, while my 2E game tended to be a little grittier and by 3E it was fun, but definitely swamped in rules lawyering. Doesn't much feel like I've lightened up with Pathfinder in that regard. Pre-4E D&D is my go-to game for when I want a heavily detailed system, generally with an equal mix of (gritty) RP & rules.
And then I've had instances like my old Vampire game, where the character sheets were just sort of there for reference, and just about everything else was role-played out. Mechanics were virtually non-existent.
More recently, there's my L5R game and Deadlands game that's a mix of moderate rule use and a good bit of RP.
And finally there's the 4E game I'm playing with my son that's a hack'n'slash game with a fair amount of mechanics with light(-hearted) RP.
My old 1E/basic games tended to be quite loose with the rules, for example, while my 2E game tended to be a little grittier and by 3E it was fun, but definitely swamped in rules lawyering. Doesn't much feel like I've lightened up with Pathfinder in that regard. Pre-4E D&D is my go-to game for when I want a heavily detailed system, generally with an equal mix of (gritty) RP & rules.
And then I've had instances like my old Vampire game, where the character sheets were just sort of there for reference, and just about everything else was role-played out. Mechanics were virtually non-existent.
More recently, there's my L5R game and Deadlands game that's a mix of moderate rule use and a good bit of RP.
And finally there's the 4E game I'm playing with my son that's a hack'n'slash game with a fair amount of mechanics with light(-hearted) RP.
Hungry Like The Wolf
First Post
Growing up, I was always really into DnD's brand of heroic high fantasy but now-a-days I'm more into darker lower-fantasy, so 4E's PoL and Dark Sun have really hit the spot in terms of taste.
It's also spread over into other rpg's. When I first played Hero system, it was very 90's marvel but now I like to play darker Watchmen style games, usually revolving around teen heroes.
It's very strange though, as my quality of life has improved, the quality of life for my characters and their worlds has been debased.
It's also spread over into other rpg's. When I first played Hero system, it was very 90's marvel but now I like to play darker Watchmen style games, usually revolving around teen heroes.
It's very strange though, as my quality of life has improved, the quality of life for my characters and their worlds has been debased.
I think the thread title and the questions in the OP are not the same, so I'll answer both.
Yes, my tastes do change, both in the short and long term. In the short term, I sometimes get a bit burned out on a given system, or get really excited about playing a game (based on word of mouth about the game, a book or movie with a similar feel, or the like). In the long term, my tastes have changed, although the core is still basically the same. When I was younger, I had a lot more time and enjoyed fiddling around with rules systems, world background, and the like. Now, I am busier, and prefer to make only minor changes to rules, and to spend more time focusing on things that show up in play, and prefer to avoid detailed background that will not affect play (detailed background that the players can discover or that informs NPC actions and plots are still important, of course).
I like a wide variety in my games. I enjoy playing different game systems and finding their strengths and weaknesses. I also like to play with a system that strongly supports the kind of game I plan to run. As far as genre, I generally prefer heroic fantasy, space opera, urban occult, and street level or slightly higher superhero games, although I am open to games outside of those genres. I have been playing and running a lot of 4e lately, and I've been jonesing to play or run something different for awhile, and I'm excited to be playing in a Wild Talents game starting up soon.
Yes, my tastes do change, both in the short and long term. In the short term, I sometimes get a bit burned out on a given system, or get really excited about playing a game (based on word of mouth about the game, a book or movie with a similar feel, or the like). In the long term, my tastes have changed, although the core is still basically the same. When I was younger, I had a lot more time and enjoyed fiddling around with rules systems, world background, and the like. Now, I am busier, and prefer to make only minor changes to rules, and to spend more time focusing on things that show up in play, and prefer to avoid detailed background that will not affect play (detailed background that the players can discover or that informs NPC actions and plots are still important, of course).
I like a wide variety in my games. I enjoy playing different game systems and finding their strengths and weaknesses. I also like to play with a system that strongly supports the kind of game I plan to run. As far as genre, I generally prefer heroic fantasy, space opera, urban occult, and street level or slightly higher superhero games, although I am open to games outside of those genres. I have been playing and running a lot of 4e lately, and I've been jonesing to play or run something different for awhile, and I'm excited to be playing in a Wild Talents game starting up soon.
Yes, my tastes ahve changed, but they have become more solidified
When I first began playing around age 13, I wanted lots of combat and didn't mind silly things like fart dragons or Xanth like puns.
By age fifteen, I had come to dislike "silly campaigns" (Toon being the exception), but still wanted heavy combat and care about how combat effective the character was.
By age eighteen or nineteen, I cared a lot about setting, cultures, verisimilitude exploring the setting and interacting with NPCs and the creation of "story" (and still do). Combat became less important and having an interesting character was more important than combat effectiveness. THis was also the time that I became interested in Champions and Rolemaster for control over the building of character and the detail of the system. System unification and mechanics also became more important. However, I still played and ran some D&D despite it's patchwork nature.
By age 23, I had come to despise "hack and slash" games and playing with people, who place a heavy emphasis on power gaming or butt kicking. I also came to dislike D&D's class/level structure with prescribed abiities per level (as opposed to Rolemaster's approach).
Today, I stilll won't play in silly campaigns, hack and slash games, or with pepole who place a heavy empahsis on powergaming or butt kicking. I play with people, who care about character (rather than being upber optimized), setting, creating story (rather than winning) and don't mind if combat takes a back seat.
At the same time, Rolemaster and Hero are not my ideal systems. My two favorite games at the moment are Mutants and Masterminds 2e and Savage Worlds. My other top three favorite games are:
a. True20
b. core D&D 3e with the inclusion of class variants, several of the optional rules presented in the DMG, Unearthed Arcana and some third party products
c. d20Modern with a few house rules, third party fx systems and some other third party products.
When I first began playing around age 13, I wanted lots of combat and didn't mind silly things like fart dragons or Xanth like puns.
By age fifteen, I had come to dislike "silly campaigns" (Toon being the exception), but still wanted heavy combat and care about how combat effective the character was.
By age eighteen or nineteen, I cared a lot about setting, cultures, verisimilitude exploring the setting and interacting with NPCs and the creation of "story" (and still do). Combat became less important and having an interesting character was more important than combat effectiveness. THis was also the time that I became interested in Champions and Rolemaster for control over the building of character and the detail of the system. System unification and mechanics also became more important. However, I still played and ran some D&D despite it's patchwork nature.
By age 23, I had come to despise "hack and slash" games and playing with people, who place a heavy emphasis on power gaming or butt kicking. I also came to dislike D&D's class/level structure with prescribed abiities per level (as opposed to Rolemaster's approach).
Today, I stilll won't play in silly campaigns, hack and slash games, or with pepole who place a heavy empahsis on powergaming or butt kicking. I play with people, who care about character (rather than being upber optimized), setting, creating story (rather than winning) and don't mind if combat takes a back seat.
At the same time, Rolemaster and Hero are not my ideal systems. My two favorite games at the moment are Mutants and Masterminds 2e and Savage Worlds. My other top three favorite games are:
a. True20
b. core D&D 3e with the inclusion of class variants, several of the optional rules presented in the DMG, Unearthed Arcana and some third party products
c. d20Modern with a few house rules, third party fx systems and some other third party products.
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Zhaleskra
Adventurer
One reason I liked getting multiple games despite the drain on my wallet was "does system Y do Z better than system X?" Also getting an idea of the usual gamer dream of creating my own system: what would I steal from where and what would I drop completely?
Although I am getting tired of clunky systems, there are certain kinds of play where I feel clunky mechanics actually fit the feel. For example, I don't think HERO is good for Pulp novel emulation: it makes too much sense.
Now I buy less, and my tastes do change as I am exposed to more systems, and it tends to be a slow process.
Although I am getting tired of clunky systems, there are certain kinds of play where I feel clunky mechanics actually fit the feel. For example, I don't think HERO is good for Pulp novel emulation: it makes too much sense.
Now I buy less, and my tastes do change as I am exposed to more systems, and it tends to be a slow process.
My tastes have changed considerably since I started gaming 15 years ago.
At the beginning I played many games, some of them homebrewed, but mostly focused on fighting. I liked complicated systems, houseruled a lot when I ran games and generally tried to have a rule for everything.
Later my prefered style moved to darker themes and immersive RP, to the point where I refused to play more hack&slashy games. I used to bend rules or ignore them completely and I was sure that what I did was the only "correct" way of playing.
In last years, my tastes widened. I also became more aware of what I seek in RPGs. I played quite a lot of indie games and came to like systems written with clear goal in mind, where mechanics support what the story is about instead of getting in the way. I play both games with mechanics hiding in the background and games with strong systems that drive the play (though I rather avoid crunchy, rules-heavy games with a lot of fiddly bits). I also returned to modifying games, guite often by keeping a setting and replacing the whole system behind it to one I feel fits better. The awareness of game structure and design allowed me too separate my preferences from judging how well a game is written - there are good games I have no interest in playing and poorly written games that I like enough to work on making them playable.
At the beginning I played many games, some of them homebrewed, but mostly focused on fighting. I liked complicated systems, houseruled a lot when I ran games and generally tried to have a rule for everything.
Later my prefered style moved to darker themes and immersive RP, to the point where I refused to play more hack&slashy games. I used to bend rules or ignore them completely and I was sure that what I did was the only "correct" way of playing.
In last years, my tastes widened. I also became more aware of what I seek in RPGs. I played quite a lot of indie games and came to like systems written with clear goal in mind, where mechanics support what the story is about instead of getting in the way. I play both games with mechanics hiding in the background and games with strong systems that drive the play (though I rather avoid crunchy, rules-heavy games with a lot of fiddly bits). I also returned to modifying games, guite often by keeping a setting and replacing the whole system behind it to one I feel fits better. The awareness of game structure and design allowed me too separate my preferences from judging how well a game is written - there are good games I have no interest in playing and poorly written games that I like enough to work on making them playable.
El Mahdi
Muad'Dib of the Anauroch
I didn't start playing until my mid 20's, so I think my tastes were mostly set by that time. My tastes have refined since then, but not so much changed. The style of games I prefer now are more focused than when I first started playing, but are still things I liked as a 25 year old.
