TSR TSR5! A modest proposal. Paizo (or Modiphius or Free League) buys TSR, for a true rebirth

[Staffan]

I could see Free League making an offer for Star Frontiers if they thought there was an audience. Kickstarter limits the risk somewhat, and they've already revived Twilight 2000.

It seems unlikely. Free League are Swedes, and Star Frontiers were never a big thing over here. I've never heard any Swedish gamers express any nostalgia over Star Frontiers. Now, if we were talking Traveller, that'd be a different thing.

Plus, Free League already have a space RPG in Coriolis, and it doesn't seem like a good idea to compete with themselves that way.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Now which TSR publishes Boot Hill Revised: Socks With Sandals Hill?

Them’s fighting’ words!

OTOH: Foot Shoes in the Foothills…

 

[Don Durito]

It seems unlikely. Free League are Swedes, and Star Frontiers were never a big thing over here. I've never heard any Swedish gamers express any nostalgia over Star Frontiers. Now, if we were talking Traveller, that'd be a different thing.

Plus, Free League already have a space RPG in Coriolis, and it doesn't seem like a good idea to compete with themselves that way.

I'm sure it is. That "If" was intended to do a lot of work.

 

[Keefe the Thief]

Most TSR games were good because they were connected with the pop culture of the time.

Boot Hill. Star Frontiers. Top Secret. These ooze a certain style, inspired by movies, novels and other stories.

That pop culture is gone. Why should we reenact the games that were inspired by it? How about creating something new?

But, of course, for that we do not need the TSR name.

 

[Li Shenron]

Meh... I wouldn't mind if they do, but frankly all this recent mess about multiple TSRs is because too many people are too attached to the past, and when they hear TSR they go hype for nothing. No wrong with a bit of nostalgia in a hobby, but we have to understand that nothing new will bring the old back. It's a lost cause, pretty much like real-life reactionary movements to bring back a country's presumed past greatness by rolling back to old flags and titles.


What we really miss is ourselves when we were young (and the lost dear ones, but that's another matter). So instead of trying to bring back names and logos, let's remember that we're lucky that those books of the past are still with us if we want to. We don't need to re-do what's already done, it is still here, and even though the physical books may crumble, what is written on them does not. We can't go back in time but we can still play an old adventure with the old rules anytime!

 

[Umbran]

Well, I skipped the part where PF3 (or 2d20 2E, or Year Zero 2E) follows the trends of 2030-era "back to basics" TPRGs, and is designed to be a super simple game (no more complex than The Black Hack or MAZES), but which can modularly scale in complexity up to an "advanced" version

So, you skipped the part where the magical unicorn appears? That's kind of an important step.

(It can be done.

Assertion that it can be done, and proof that it can be done and be appealing to a large population of gamers are not the same.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Most TSR games were good because they were connected with the pop culture of the time.

Boot Hill. Star Frontiers. Top Secret. These ooze a certain style, inspired by movies, novels and other stories.

That pop culture is gone. Why should we reenact the games that were inspired by it? How about creating something new?

But, of course, for that we do not need the TSR name.

So, you are saying westerns, space opera and spyfi are dead? Because I have a Mandalorian and a Black Widow here who beg to differ.

 

[Umbran]

Because I have a Mandalorian and a Black Widow here who beg to differ.

Two examples do not a two popular genres make.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Two examples do not a two popular genres make.

Dune, Mission Impossible...

 

[Umbran]

Dune

Dune doesn't sit well in either the Western or Spy-fi genres, to my way of thinking. You want to call it Space Opera, fine. But, I gave pushback on Mandalorian as a Western, as it is more that than a Space Opera. Space Opera is happy as a clam as a genre. Westerns are passe.

Though, I dunno if a yet-to-be-released version of unproven quality, after previous efforts that sucked, should be raised as "living genre".

Mission Impossible...

Seems less like an example of a living genre as it is a vehicle for a particular actor. By this logic, the existence of Grand Theft Auto games and Fast & Furious movies should support a car-centered RPG.

Living genre needs a whole stack of different examples to support it, not a couple centered on very specific franchises.