Do you still feel the wonder you had in your childhood games?

[Dragonblade]

This thread doesn't really have a point at all. Its just me speaking aloud some thoughts I have had for the longest time.

I am 28 and have been playing D&D off and on for 18 years. I remember fondly making dungeons to play with my friends that just had the most bizarre stuff. Like rooms with monsters just sitting in them. No ecology, no history. Just a room drawn on a piece of notebook paper with the word 'vampire' penciled in. And right next to it, another room with 'mongrel men' scribbled in. My players would go in, fight the monster, win and get some gold pieces and a wand or a ring for their trouble. It didn't really make any sense, but for some reason that was how we played. But it was fun. I can't really express why, though. And that has been bothering me. Where has that sense of wonder gone?

And we played that way for years. I remember times when we would go months without missing a single weekend game. Every Saturday night we would gather at a friends house and play until the sun came up. Then we would do it all over again the next weekend. High level, low level, new characters, or old. It didn't matter. It was all fun.

It was the same way for other areas of fantasy and sci-fi as well. For example, I don't really have any clear memory of first seeing Star Wars. It has just sort of always been there. It was and still is one of my favorite movies of all time. It seemed to capture that childlike wonder in a way.

But then I grew up, went to college, traveled around, and now find myself married with a regular job. I still play D&D every week. And I have a blast.

But its not the same. Our campign is serious and involved. Our characters are carefully constructed and every feat and skill point well chosen. By rights it should be the best gaming of my life. And in a way it is. But its missing that sense of wonder I remember from my childhood.

I watch the new Star Wars movies and nothing. Even Lord of the Rings, a phenomonal series, is missing something for me. I watch it and enjoy it, but in the back of my mind I visualize the DVD extra telling me how they created the troops in CG, or built a model of Minas Tirith. When I watch the original non-SE version of Star Wars, even with dated 1977 special effects, I never find myself thinking about special effects guys blowing up models. There is something special about that movie.

At first, I thought that perhaps this is just a matter of growing up. That as a child, I accepted things at face value, but as an adult I seek out a more in-depth explanation for things. And some of that is true to some extent. But when I watch the original SW trilogy, I can still experience that feeling of wonder. At first I attributed that to simply fond childhood memories of the movies. But when I first read Harry Potter, I also felt the wonder of childhood again. I realized it isn't necessarily childhood memories, but rather there really is some intangible quality that provides that experience.

Likewise, when I played a D&D game with my friend Richard (known as SHARK on the boards), I also recaptured some of that gaming wonder from my youth. He is an awesome DM, and the way he described his world with vivid detail and imagination, rekindled some of those fond memories of gaming all night when I was 12 years old.

So what is it? What is that intangible quality that's missing in other games, movies, or books? Some of it is just a matter of growing up and being more sophisticated. But some of it is not. Anyone have similar experiences?

 

[Tinker Gnome]

Its called Nostalgia. You probably miss the moment more than the game.

 

[Ranes]

I cannot recapture the sense of bemusement that accompanied my first game of D&D but the sense of wonder has definitely returned. I can't put my finger on exactly why but I really have had the best gaming of my life, over the last three years. Maybe it's because I have a better grasp of the new rules than I did of old 1e but I doubt that's it. A friend and colleague once said he envied my 'childlike' appreciation of just about anything. Maybe that's it.

You mentioned the difference between your earliest memories of Star Wars and your experience of the LotR films. My experience is almost the reverse. I was thirteen when Star Wars launched in the UK. I went to the cinema almost every week for a year to watch it, again and again. I lapped up expensively imported American special effects magazines like Cinefantastique and Cinefex. I read interviews with matte painters and modellers talking about their painstaking work, about motion control and optical printing. My antennae picked up every rumour about forthcoming film releases and I knew as much as any lay person about them by the time of their release.

Now, it's quite the opposite. I love the LotR movies but I couldn't tell you much about the technology behind their production - and I have watched all the DVD extras. I watched Return of the King again the other week and not once did I think of how a particular shot might have been achieved. The only time my mind wandered from the unfolding story was when I swtiched DVDs half-way and caught myself hoping that I would get to see The Hobbit given the same treatment.

I have changed, of course. But despite being deeply suspicious of yet another superhero comic transition to film (ie The Fantastic Four), I'll check it out. (Really, do FF comics still sell, to kids?) Meanwhile, I'm eagerly looking forward to an opportunity to see the new War of the Worlds, Serenity and the Christmas return of Dr Who.

[mumble] Not to mention the HDTV Tales of Known Space/Ringworld mini-series I've been patiently awaiting since the last millennium. [/mumble]

 

[Wormwood]

Its called Nostalgia. You probably miss the moment more than the game.

Truth.

I get that a lot—but after 10 years of marriage, who wouldn't?

 

[S'mon]

I think the Sense of Wonder is harder to get when you're older; I don't get SOW as often as I did, and often when I do it's from old stuff (like getting the Rules Cyclopedia recently) so there may be nostalgia there. I definitely got SOW when I saw the new Battlestar Galactica series though, so it's definitely possible! I didn't get it from Fellowship of the Ring or the Star Wars prequel trilogy. In the latter case, because it wasn't very good. In the former case, I don't know, maybe I just don't like Tolkien much, but it seemed like the film version lost what humour there was in the book and made something very po-faced and over-long. I seek SOW whenever I buy RPG products, and am usually disappointed. A few things that did inculcate some SOW included Lost City of Gaxmoor and the C&C Players' Handbook, again it may partly be nostalgia value.

 

[Odysseus]

The event I most remember about my early D&D games was meeting a troll, and not knowing anything about regeneration . We spent hours trying to figure out how to kill the troll.
I still have enjoyable moments like that playing D&D , not the same , but just as enjoyable. So yes I still feel the wonder, but perhaps differently.

 

[DarrenGMiller]

I have fond memories of the role-playing games of my youth. We had a 17' travel trailer in the back yard that was just for myself and my friends to stay in. We "camped" there all summer and played D&D almost every night until the wee hours, then drag ourselves to whatever jobs we had (if we had any). I have a particularly vivid memory of DM'ing the original Ravenloft adventure in a terrible thunderstorm. It was very dark outside and pouring rain. The lightning was crackling all around and the thunder was booming. I had my players scared stiff the entire session. There was magic in the air that day.

I think we remember very fondly the absence of adult responsibilities. I worked as a lifeguard at the time and kept my campaign notebook at my chair, writing notes and desiging adventures. I couldn't wait to get home and game again. Now, I am responsible fro so much at home and at work...

However, I think a lot of players, especially those that did not have the experience of those times; teenage games of OD&D, B/XD&D, AD&D 1 or 2E, etc., are jaded. I recently had a player who came to the game from WoD and just did not have the same memories of the game. I also had several players who started between 1998 and now and they just do not look at the game the same way.

My current group is made up of people who played the game as teens and in older editions and we are bringing some of that wonderment back into the game. My former WoD player quit because there was not enough realism in the game since these new players joined the group. We are now playing a retro-style game (3.5 rules, but "1E feel") set in Greyhawk and loving it.

DM

 

[Exquisite Dead Guy]

I was surprised to find that 3E rekindled my SOW. I wouldn't say I feel it everytime we game, but it does crop up from time to time. Even when it doesn't I still look forward to every session.

Playing with 1 or 2 "old hands" like myself with a shared experience of classic modules helps too.

 

[Dragonblade]

Its called Nostalgia. You probably miss the moment more than the game.

Hmm, nostalgia. True, but I have somewhat isolated nostalgia. For example, about a year and a half ago my wife and I moved. As part of the unpacking process I went through a lot of old papers and stuff from not only grade school days, but high school and college as well. I felt a lot of nostalgia looking through that stuff.

But it wasn't the same as the sense of wonder that I get when I read a new Harry Potter book. There is definitely something different between that and nostalgia. Although, I do think nostalgia is likely part of it.

 

[Quickleaf]

Wolf, I can totally see playing Ravenloft in a spooky trailer during a thunderstorm.

As for me, my best moments were when I first learn D&D and would play with my friends by Willow Creek. About a year ago, my friend and I were talking about that sense of wonder. We decided to try three experiments in an attempt to regain it:

Experiment #1: Starve
Both of us were busy, so this experiment was easy. We starved ourself of role-playing for several months. Though we were a bit rusty, coming back to the game was quite a joy. Only later did I find out my friend had been sneaking games in! Curses!

Experiment #2: Draw
We decided I'd run a game with just him and his girlfriend. No rules. No books. Only a pad of paper and colored pencils. I gave them each 5 minutes to draw their characters. Then they switched drawing and added a few things to each other's character sheets. Then all of us drew the villain together. It was a one-shot game, but it sure got the role-players in us jumping up and down with enthusiasm!

Experiment #3: Closed Book
We picked up our 5 year-long campaign, but without any books (and one player didn't even have a character sheet). In fact, all we had was a pile of dice and my 5 minute brainstorm on an adventure idea as GM. The lack of preparation actually seemed to increase our enjoyment. I wouldn't say we recaptured our sense of wonder, but my descriptions were definitely the best I've ever done in a game.

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Further experiments I'd like to try:
- Clue rolls for checks like Search/Gather Information/Notice which allow for both player and GM description of events
- Rotating GM and everyone contributes to the world's creation
- Everyone is quiet and closes their eyes when GM sets the opening scene