Apologies for the length, and discursionary nature of this post. It all began earlier today, with Whitey's trip to the local game store, to peruse the monthly new offerings. Here we find lovable ol' Whitey, our protagonist, and Very Tall Tom, head employee there.
WHITEY: None of these books look very good to buy, Tom. They all got good bits and pieces, sure. But nobody wants to play pieces, they want to play a game.
VERY TALL TOM: You should look at this D02 thingy. It's the latest, from the makers of Star Sistaz (TM).
WHITEY: Hasbro is poo stinky. (edited for board posting)
VERY TALL TOM: Now wait a minute, Whitey. You like the dungeons and the dragons. Last month, you turned down Obscure 'Rules Lite' System #14. Don't you want this?
WHITEY: Nope. Besides, you were on Obscure 'Rules Lite' System #11, the month before that.
VTT: This D20 fantasy/revised ed. book implies that you need it, to play the game how they say. You gotta stay current, to be playing the game truest, right?
WHITEY: See, that's their scam. They're not really selling a game anymore - they're not even peddling a book of numbers, related to a game. What they're doing, is selling an endorsement. Play how we want, using not only our mechanics, but our whole mandatory wealth by level, guaranteed cakewalk combat, trendwhoring mish-mash settings, and you are playing the just and proper form of the game. Disagree, and your game is somehow lesser. They go on and on, about options instead of limitations being their goal, but there is no other option, if ya don't subscribe to that.
VTT: Calm down, Whitey. You're like, foaming at the mouth.
WHITEY: Look at it like this - according to them, every PC faces 'level appropriate' challenges, with the same gear value, using the same stale plot-lines. What's it to them, that every game plods out to the same result? And if it's got their precious, precious balance, and everything is defined by numbers, why not just have dueling Excel spreadsheets, with no gaming at all? See, if the game could be played in two totally different fashions, using the same rules, those games would both be just as 'right', so long as everybody playing enjoyed them. But they can't have that. To reduce the Dungeons and Dragons name into a cipher, a brand that can be slapped on any piece of garbage, they have to take away its identity. They don't own that - the players do, and they're out to disenfranchise the players, who won't get in line. There is one way they say, fun or not fun, to do it. And that is the harshest limitation of all.
That's about how the conversation played out. Some of the more colorful expletives were removed, but what Tom said, was really crucial. So, it's posted here with the question - what do you think, Mr Gygax? Basically, can a gamer play just the spirit of a game, or is there something intrinsic to the rules, that makes playing the rules the point?