I had a recent exchange with
@Hussar and he asked a question, which, roughly paraphrased, was this:
Why is it that people keep saying that they want official campaign settings that reflect what they want? There are so many great third-party campaign settings already out there!
And my reply was this:
But, of course, that's not just it, is it? I have previously opined about the punk/DIY aesthetic of early D&D, but I wanted to really drill down into what makes people desire official branded product, as opposed to "just" third-party product ("3PP" yeah you know me) or homebrew. It's an interesting topic because it tends to come up fairly often in discussions.
My personal belief is that there are the following primary driving factors behind the desire for official product; we can usefully separate them into those that are common among all brands, those that are specific to fan/nerd culture, and those specific to TTRPGs.
Official product from a brand carries with it certain signifiers, such as quality, consistency, interoperability, authority, and prestige.
Quality. When you go to the store, and you see a "name brand" as opposed to a "store brand," you assume a certain amount of quality associated with the name brand. It's the same with anything else; after all, that's one reason brands advertise; to give you the belief that they are big enough to provide a quality product. Even when the products are the same (store-brand ibuprofen or Advil, for example) there are those that will gravitate toward the "official" product solely on the basis of assumed quality. Which leads to the next issue ...
Consistency. A primary driving factor for many brands is consistency; both consistency within products (a Coke is a Coke is a Coke; a Big Mac in Seattle will taste the same as a Big Mac in Miami) and consistency between products (similar styling cues, like terribly ugly grills, for the Toyota and Lexus cars). If you buy a store-brand "Cola," you won't get the exact same corn-syrupy taste that Coke has, and if you go to McDowell's instead of McDonald's, you're going to miss out on the sesame seeds.
Interoperability. This might be a mouthful, but it's pretty easy to understand. If you buy an HP printer, you know that HP ink will work. If you buy a Ford car, you know that Ford parts will work. Purchasing official products ensures interoperability. Sure, maybe that off-brand ink will work in your printer .... but maybe it won't. Or maybe it won't work as well.
Authority. "If you use anything other than official Apple parts or Apple service, you will void your Apple warranty." Official products carry with them the authority of the brand.
Prestige. And finally there is the most important factor. This is what brands spend the big bucks on; associating their brand with prestige, with a good life, with a luxury lifestyle. Why buy off-brand sugar water when you can buy Coca Cola? But we see this more with true luxury goods; if you've ever been in the market for an expensive car, bottle of booze, handbag, or anything, you know that you are paying partly for the increased cost to make it, but partly because you can now say that you can spend that much for the good. Prestige matters. And buying an off-brand Rolex is cheaper than the real thing.
Next, when it comes to thing that matter for fans, and more specifically to nerd culture.
Canon. This is always a touchy issue, but fans care deeply about this. What is, and isn't, "true" within the setting of the story? What is canon for the Buffyverse? For Star Trek? For Star Wars? For the Orville? Given the distinction between "official product" and "fan product" (and the hazy area of 3PP) the desire for official product that will provide more (and updated) "canon" is always there.
Validation. ...and this is canon's (sometimes) ugly cousin. More and more, fans assert a type of vicious ownership (or, more generously, a loving stewardship) over properties, and look to have their ideas about the property validated in the future; if the property moves in the direction they like, or predicted (validates what they wanted) then it's great, if it doesn't .... oof. But the desire for more official product, of a particular type, is often a desire for validation of the individual's wants and desires.
Convenience. This is the easiest one. Making stuff is hard. Finding stuff is hard. Having someone create things for you? Much, much easier. Convenience includes
availability. (h/t
@prabe ). Official product is more likely to be available to everyone.
And this ties into D&D ....
D&D emerged as a DIY hobbyist game. Famously, TSR was late to the whole "module" thing because, hey, who would want to run someone else's adventures? Early on, it was common to mix and match between official product, different rulesets (OD&D, AD&D, B/X, BECMI, Gamma World), homebrew, semi-official product (Dragon Magazine), 3PP (The Compleat X, Grimtooth's, etc.) and so on.
But there are reasons for wanting official product; looking at the factors listed above, quality, consistency, interoperability, prestige, and convenience can all be understood fairly easily within the context of wanting an official product. "I want WoTC to make X (campaign setting, class, feat, crunch, etc.) because I know it will be playtested, should work with everything else, and should be allowed in AL and any given convention or even home table without much fuss. Heck, other than Elves peeing into the wind (NO SHAME!) it should be edited really well too!"
Usually, the arguments ensure because of the more common fan issues that we see in anything from Star Wars to Forgotten Realms; canon and validation. People strongly identify with D&D, people love D&D, and because of that love for D&D (and/or particular things within it) they have strong beliefs as to what should be included. Or even what a campaign setting should look like.
So the long and the short of it is ... people will want official product because that's what people do.
The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
