How many years does it take for an RPG to become nostalgic, for you?

[The Soloist]

Looking back at my very long RPG GM career, I'm obviosuly nostalgic of the early 80s (1980-1984) and all the RPGs I played with my friends. It was the discovery phase.

Nothing in the 90s triggers nostaglia. I was busy studying, starting my career. There was AD&D 2e but it doesn't trigger the same emotion as BX and AD&D. We did not play Vampire and it's spin-off.

I'm nostalgic of the OGL d20 System era (2000-2007), we played RPGs of many genres. We easily switched from one genre to the other without much effort. d20 D&D, d20 Modern, d20 Future, d20 Star Wars, etc.

From 2008-2013, I played many games, instead of D&D 4e, but I am not nostalgic of them. They were good games but they didn't leave a lasting impression that triggers nostalgia.

2014 onward is too close to today.

How many years does it take for an RPG to become nostalgic, for you?

 

[payn]

Judging by your comments (which mine are very similar) its less about time itself and more about experience and time with it. There are games I played many years ago I think of fondly and games that I have no desire to rekindle. Both have nostalgia for me, but only the former do I want to play again.

 

[The Soloist]

Judging by your comments (which mine are very similar) its less about time itself and more about experience and time with it. There are games I played many years ago I think of fondly and games that I have no desire to rekindle. Both have nostalgia for me, but only the former do I want to play again.

Yes, the number of years is not the only factor.

Of the 90s, I'm nostalgic of DragonDice by TSR. We played it at the local store and had tournaments. It was fun. Then it die abruptly.

 

[DragonLancer]

It's less about year/time gone by as it is the emotions those games provoked then compared to now. I love the classic D&D archetype that was basic, 1st and 2nd edition of D&D, for example. I have great memories of 3.x but it wasn't the same because the D20 system had different mechanics than the previous editions and were more focused on the system. Same with Pathfinder.

 

[aco175]

Likely a bit like a song and it depends on time and place. Some songs remind me of youth and high school and others remind me of time in the Army or getting married and such. I recall some sessions of playing games more than others. While I remember 1e and playing with the neighborhood kids and my father, I am more nostalgic about 2e and the times we played with an expanding group and some for a long time.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

I am not nostalgic for the games themselves; but for the experiences, friends, and time at the table - which the games were a vehicle to facilitate.

 

[KYRON45]

My nostalgia comes from the shared narrative. The story we create. The rule set is at best a crutch to help facilitate that narrative. I’m not much of a nostalgia person anyway. Our best times should be ahead of us.

 

[Umbran]

How many years does it take for an RPG to become nostalgic, for you?

I do not become terribly nostalgic for games, so much as I get nostalgic for the kind of play experience I was having in a given era, which, when I look at it, is much less about the game, and more about the people and social patterns of my life at the time - a matter of how we were playing, not what we were playing.

 

[MGibster]

It's less about year/time gone by as it is the emotions those games provoked then compared to now. I love the classic D&D archetype that was basic, 1st and 2nd edition of D&D, for example. I have great memories of 3.x but it wasn't the same because the D20 system had different mechanics than the previous editions and were more focused on the system. Same with Pathfinder.

I'm with you on that one. I have a lot of good memories of playing AD&D 2nd edition, GURPS, and a few others but I don't ever want to go back to using those rules again. It's not the games themselves I'm nostalgic for rather it's my friends, being at a different place in my life, etc., etc. that I'm nostalgic for.

 

[sevenbastard]

As for the 90s I played 2e a lot, but also continued to keep playing it so hard to get nostalgic. But Shadowrun which I haven't played in decades, hits me with Nostalgia a lot.

But nothing after high school is really nostalgic for me.