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Old school/new school definitions -- meaningless?
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<blockquote data-quote="Quasqueton" data-source="post: 2987861" data-attributes="member: 3854"><p>Is the current expression “old school style” directed at some currently published adventure modules a disservice to those same adventure modules, and to all contemporary adventure modules?</p><p></p><p>There are some companies claiming their current line of adventure modules are designed/written in an “old school style” (though they may use different marketing terminology). And there are some individual adventures published in Dungeon magazine lauded as being “old school design”. And some folks are claiming that some of the great classic modules are great because of their “old school design”.</p><p></p><p>There are some great older adventure modules. But there are also some terrible older adventure modules. Being “old school” is not a guarantee of quality.</p><p></p><p>And what, exactly, is “old school style”? Do all old/classic adventure modules have the “old school style”? Both <em>Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh</em> and <em>White Plume Mountain</em> are old/classic adventure modules, but they are vastly different in design style and play style. Is one “old school style” and the other not? How about <em>Dragons of Despair</em> and <em>The Keep on the Borderlands</em>? Both are old/classic adventure modules, but they are vastly different in design style and play style.</p><p></p><p>What if a long-time Player’s “old school” experience included the <em>Saltmarsh</em> series, the <em>Sentinel/Gauntlet</em> series, <em>All That Glitters</em>, <em>Beyond the Crystal Cave</em>.</p><p></p><p>Compare this to another Player’s “old school” experience included <em>In Search of the Unknown</em>, <em>Palace of the Silver Princess</em>, <em>Hidden Shrine of Tomoachan</em>, <em>Ghost Tower of Inverness</em>, <em>Mordenkainen’s Fantastic Adventure</em>, and <em>Tomb of Horrors</em>.</p><p></p><p>And another Player’s “old school” experienced the full run of the <em>Dragonlance</em> series.</p><p></p><p>The above three Players played the “old school” / classic adventures, but they have vastly different experiences with the “old school” days of D&D. If they liked their personal experiences in the old days, would they enjoy a contemporary adventure module with the marketing label of “old school style”?</p><p></p><p>There are some great adventure modules written and published in this day. If <em>Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh</em> was published today, would/could it get the label “old school style”? How about <em>Dragons of Despair</em>? <em>In Search of the Unknown</em>?</p><p></p><p>Does labeling an adventure module with an “old school style” label help it sell more? Has it become the “New and Improved” tag of contemporary adventure modules? [And is this really ironic?]</p><p></p><p>Does labeling a good adventure module with “old school style” do a disservice to contemporary adventure modules and writers?</p><p></p><p>If an author, today, writes a really good adventure, something [unintentionally] comparable to <em>The Keep on the Borderlands</em>, should it get, does it need the label of “old school style”?</p><p></p><p>If an author, today, writes a really good adventure, something [unintentionally] comparable to <em>The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh</em>, should it get, does it need the label of “old school style”? </p><p></p><p>Would the label for either be accurate/appropriate?</p><p></p><p>Every time I’ve read someone’s description of “old school style”, the description only describes maybe a third of the actual old/classic adventures, including some real stinkers. The definition seems to disinclude some real good old/classic adventures. So why is “old school style” some kind of positive buzzword? Does it suggest that the style wouldn’t exist today if it were not emulated?</p><p></p><p>Is there a “new school style”? What would the definition be? Are there old/classic adventure modules that would be considered “new school style”? Does this mean that there really isn’t a “school style” at all? That adventure modules are just either good or bad regardless of the year they were published and the general style they were written in?</p><p></p><p>Quasqueton</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Quasqueton, post: 2987861, member: 3854"] Is the current expression “old school style” directed at some currently published adventure modules a disservice to those same adventure modules, and to all contemporary adventure modules? There are some companies claiming their current line of adventure modules are designed/written in an “old school style” (though they may use different marketing terminology). And there are some individual adventures published in Dungeon magazine lauded as being “old school design”. And some folks are claiming that some of the great classic modules are great because of their “old school design”. There are some great older adventure modules. But there are also some terrible older adventure modules. Being “old school” is not a guarantee of quality. And what, exactly, is “old school style”? Do all old/classic adventure modules have the “old school style”? Both [i]Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh[/i] and [i]White Plume Mountain[/i] are old/classic adventure modules, but they are vastly different in design style and play style. Is one “old school style” and the other not? How about [i]Dragons of Despair[/i] and [i]The Keep on the Borderlands[/i]? Both are old/classic adventure modules, but they are vastly different in design style and play style. What if a long-time Player’s “old school” experience included the [i]Saltmarsh[/i] series, the [i]Sentinel/Gauntlet[/i] series, [i]All That Glitters[/i], [i]Beyond the Crystal Cave[/i]. Compare this to another Player’s “old school” experience included [i]In Search of the Unknown[/i], [i]Palace of the Silver Princess[/i], [i]Hidden Shrine of Tomoachan[/i], [i]Ghost Tower of Inverness[/i], [i]Mordenkainen’s Fantastic Adventure[/i], and [i]Tomb of Horrors[/i]. And another Player’s “old school” experienced the full run of the [i]Dragonlance[/i] series. The above three Players played the “old school” / classic adventures, but they have vastly different experiences with the “old school” days of D&D. If they liked their personal experiences in the old days, would they enjoy a contemporary adventure module with the marketing label of “old school style”? There are some great adventure modules written and published in this day. If [i]Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh[/i] was published today, would/could it get the label “old school style”? How about [i]Dragons of Despair[/i]? [i]In Search of the Unknown[/i]? Does labeling an adventure module with an “old school style” label help it sell more? Has it become the “New and Improved” tag of contemporary adventure modules? [And is this really ironic?] Does labeling a good adventure module with “old school style” do a disservice to contemporary adventure modules and writers? If an author, today, writes a really good adventure, something [unintentionally] comparable to [i]The Keep on the Borderlands[/i], should it get, does it need the label of “old school style”? If an author, today, writes a really good adventure, something [unintentionally] comparable to [i]The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh[/i], should it get, does it need the label of “old school style”? Would the label for either be accurate/appropriate? Every time I’ve read someone’s description of “old school style”, the description only describes maybe a third of the actual old/classic adventures, including some real stinkers. The definition seems to disinclude some real good old/classic adventures. So why is “old school style” some kind of positive buzzword? Does it suggest that the style wouldn’t exist today if it were not emulated? Is there a “new school style”? What would the definition be? Are there old/classic adventure modules that would be considered “new school style”? Does this mean that there really isn’t a “school style” at all? That adventure modules are just either good or bad regardless of the year they were published and the general style they were written in? Quasqueton [/QUOTE]
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