What flavor of 'Old School' do you like?

[Agamon]

I play HackMaster Basic, which is old school in feel, though not so much in mechanics (for the most part). Otherwise, I'd sooner run a game using my MC than any of the new stuff (which may or may not be cool, but I've got a lot of games I want to run already).

 

[JRRNeiklot]

First off, I don't play D&D4.

I didn't say you did play 4e. I just used that as an example. It's still insulting no?

Second, I didn't say folks play AD&D for nostalgic reasons.

The term "old school" implies nostalgia. Note the word "old" [vice "new"] is the key part of the term. Old school and AD&D are not synonymous.

No, but AD&D is a subset of old school.




Old school does not imply nostalgia. It implies an older ruleset and a different style of play than todays game. Nostalgia implies a longing for the past.

 

[Umbran]

Old school does not imply nostalgia. It implies an older ruleset and a different style of play than todays game.

That, sir, depends on your definitions. Looking at a few sources, in a general context, one of the meanings of "old school" is "bringing back memories of the past" - so, yes, nostalgia is one of the plausible implications.

Even dictionaries have a hard time telling us every implication of a term.

Given your previous invocation of the language filter, you might want to chill out just a bit on asserting that your is the only acceptable definition. Just sayin'.

 

[Doug McCrae]

Nostalgia is Tolkienesque. Dude was totally gay for rural Sarehole. He hated Edgbaston in Birmingham where he had to live after his mother died.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

That, sir, depends on your definitions. Looking at a few sources, in a general context, one of the meanings of "old school" is "bringing back memories of the past" - so, yes, nostalgia is one of the plausible implications.

I beg to differ. Possible does not equate to plausible.

Even dictionaries have a hard time telling us every implication of a term.

Given your previous invocation of the language filter, you might want to chill out just a bit on asserting that your is the only acceptable definition. Just sayin'.

Yeah, well, I get tired of hearing the nostalgia crap. It's complete nonsense. Inferring that someone plays an older ruleset because of nostalgia is just insulting. I play it because I like the game.

And fwiw: Official Dictionary.com
definition for: "Old School"

Main Entry:
old–school
Function:
adjective
Date:
1803

1 : adhering to traditional policies or practices <an old–school coach> 2 : characteristic or evocative of an earlier or original style, manner, or form.


Nostalgia: 1: the state of being homesick : homesickness2: a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of some past period or irrecoverable condition ; also : something that evokes nostalgia.

I have no yearning or sentimental reason for playing AD&D. I play it because it's a damn good ruleset. I think 3e and 4e players would say the same of their game. Tacking nostalgia on is bovine feces. (Yeah, that sounds much better than my original phrase, and should satisfy the filter.)

 

[Bumbles]

Y'know, when people begin arguing dictionary definitions, that usually tells me the argument is going nowhere.

 

[jdrakeh]

Yeah, well, I get tired of hearing the nostalgia crap. It's complete nonsense. Inferring that someone plays an older ruleset because of nostalgia is just insulting. I play it because I like the game.

Oh, so everybody must play and enjoy games like you do? You might not play old school games for reasons of nostalgia, but it's clear that Bullgrit does — and so do I. I'm not ashamed to admit that I play old school games because I'm re-living my youth. That's not your bag? Fine. But you don't get to tell me how to play or enjoy games.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

No. it would be pretty boring if they did. I realize some people play because of nostalgia, and there is nothing wrong with that. What I object to is the broad brush that paints EVERYONE into that category. That because I play an old school game, that it MUST be because of nostalgia, that it's really an inferior system, and I can't REALLY be having fun, I'm just deluding myself. If nostalgia is your bag, fine, I hope you have fun with it. I sincerely mean that. But the assumption that nostalgia is the ONLY reason to play old school is annoying, and assumptious.

 

[diaglo]

But the assumption that nostalgia is the ONLY reason to play old school is annoying, and assumptious.

i've got room at my table mang. of course, we play OD&D(1974) not that later ADnD stuff.

 

[Bullgrit]

What I object to is the broad brush that paints EVERYONE into that category. That because I play an old school game, that it MUST be because of nostalgia, that it's really an inferior system, and I can't REALLY be having fun, I'm just deluding myself.

You got all that from my comment, "Old school is nostalgic"? Dude, come on. Really?

I was answering the OP's question for myself, and myself only. You picked the only sentence in my post that didn't have the word "I" in it, and assumed it must therefore be a blanket statement on *everyone*?

Bullgrit