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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Staffan" data-source="post: 7707058" data-attributes="member: 907">They're just jealous that we have a language where you can actually understand the words.As for why Sweden is abnormally prominent on the RPG scene: RPGs were huge here back in the 80s. We had them available in pretty much every toy and book store - some locally produced (like Drakar och Demoner, which was based on a Basic Roleplaying engine) and some translated (we had translated versions of Middle-Earth Roleplaying, Chill, and Star Wars available from the same company that made Drakar och Demoner, and an attempt was made at translating D&D as well but for some reason TSR demanded that the translators do BECMI before they could do AD&D, and the company folded after the Expert rules were released). They kind of went away from the mainstream in the early 90s - part of the blame for this probably goes to KULT and the witch-hunt that followed, which lead to most toy and book stores dropping RPGs.Anyway, the dominance of RPGs in the 80s has lead to a substantial number of people who have fond memories of RPGs and significant disposable income, which has been a fertile ground for launching new games that look real slick and thus attract a lot of attention.In addition, something about Sweden has lead us to punch way above our weight when it comes to all sorts of culture. Part of it is probably that Sweden has spent quite a lot of money on cultivating the hobbies and talents of children. For example, you can easily enroll in extra-curricular studies in learning to play an instrument, and most municipalities make space available for young people who want to have a place for their band to rehearse and maybe even record a demo. Similarly, youth organizations can apply for money both from the state and municipal level to support their activities, which means that even relatively poor kids can have hobbies without bankrupting their parents. I, for instance, was a member of a gaming club in the early-mid-90s. We had rather tiny membership dues, but thanks to government funding we were able to have a kick-ass place in the basement of an apartment building, complete with a nice table, comfortable chairs, a blackboard, a copier machine, a ton of board games, and assorted other stuff. That gave me a place to meet more people playing RPGs (some of which were a few years older than I and made for nice role models), exposing me to a lot of different games, and generally broadening my horizons regarding RPGs. I'm sure many of the people writing these games have similar experiences.</blockquote>

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