Emotional Attachment

[Greatwyrm]

For me, it's memories of the times we had playing. I mean, I know the Palladium system is klunky in places. But if the old gang wanted to get together and do Heroes Unlimited or TMNT for a weekend, I'd want to do it.

 

[kitsune9]

I would postulate that the attachment derives from pleasant memories associated with a given system.

That's my answer too.

 

[NewJeffCT]

As someone who isn't emotionally tied to a system, I am curious - what is it that ties a person to a specific gaming system emotionally?

I'm in the same boat as you - I like most of the systems I've played, but I tend to date gaming systems and not marry them.

I've moved from Basic/Expert D&D to Advanced D&D (1E), to 2E to 3E to 3.5E and to 4E. I'm sure I'll move on to 5E once it comes out as well. I'd play Pathfinder as a player if I could find a really experienced DM and an experienced group of players as well.

 

[Holy Bovine]

As someone who isn't emotionally tied to a system, I am curious - what is it that ties a person to a specific gaming system emotionally?

Maybe it is because ofthis?

I kid, I kid. Seriously I have a hard time understanding people who have very strong emotional attachments to things. People, animals sure - I know I have strong emotions around those but a thing like a game system/book? Nope next to nothing. I mean sure I'd be upset if my house burned down with all of my gaming stuff in it (assuming all my family & pets survived) but I just don't think I'd be all that upset about the loss of the physical thing. Ditto on game systems. I jump from system to system as the mood strikes me - I find something I enjoy about pretty much every system I have tried. I think this is why the whole 'Edition War' really grated on my nerves so quickly and deeply. I simply could not generate the hatred and anger (or understand it in many ways) people seemed to feel over an edition of D&D coming to an end. I mean it's not like it hadn't happened in the past and wouldn't happen again so it was a strange reaction to me.

 

[leftfootofjustice]

Dem Dollas.

All the money I've spent. Although 4e made me open my mind to other systems. But when I walk into my game room and see the shelf crammed with 3/3.5/Pathfinder...how can I game otherwise?

 

[TerraDave]

Its well established that people tend to lock into certain brands and stick with them. This is a cornerstone of marketing and why so much advertising is focused on the young.

But ya, there is something with RPGs that may go beyond cars or ice cream.

 

[ShinHakkaider]

That would certainly explain one's attachment to a phone brand, or an RPG system. I don't think it explains the tribal animosity that, say some kinds of iPhone vs. Android users exhibit - it seems to go some way beyond feeling that a product meets your needs and that you can rely on it, and enters a territory of "... and you are wrong if you prefer something else". Thus our edition wars!

As a mac user (who works on windows machines at work but will never willing purchase another one for home) who is also an iphone owner who is also an ipad owner who is also a Pathfinder subscriber I agree with what youre saying here.

I dont try to push my choices on anyone but my loyalty to Apple and Paizo are pretty strong. Simply because they both produce a good product and have excellent customer service in my experience with both companies. Because of this?

I GIVE THEM MY MONEY.

Windows and WOTC? not so much with the money giving. Although with the Dungeon! Boardgame reprint coming later this year that might change.

 

[scourger]

It's the return on investment for me. Where I get the most bang for my buck. Also, time & effort are investments; so a game system has to deliver. Most times, it's one that I already have & like. But, new ones sometimes have a lot to offer.

 

[Glade Riven]

I guess I can see where $$ and branding come in. Maybe I think about it differently because I grew up with PC games, where hardware, software, and game engines were always changing & upgrading. Brands come and go, with very few lasting more than a couple of years before developers split and either join a new company or make their own. I expect change and revel in it, whereas a lot of roleplayers expect a more static or slowly changing system.

I'm glad Enworld is keeping a tighter reign on edition warring this time around, even though it seems that some forum members see it as a "challenge" and try to do it anyways in a more subtle fashion.

 

[innerdude]

First, D&D is THE most inclusive "common ground" for 90+ percent of gamers. EVERYONE in our community has some experience with it, for good or ill. Our emotional attachment is largely derived from the other emotional connections we make while playing the game.

But how does that translate into fighting over rules systems, you may ask?

Simply put, it's an accepted maxim that "The currently-supported version of the world's most popular role-playing game provides the most opportunities for gameplay." It's hard to find a dedicated GURPS or Runequest game . . . but nearly every FLGS has some kind of organized D&D play.

If you just don't happen to like the currently-supported version of the world's most popular RPG, you're necessarily being cut off from potential play experiences you might otherwise have had. It's the principle of scarcity of resource. More groups playing a ruleset you don't like means less groups potentially open to playing something you do.

Nobody would give a rat's backside about which RPG we played if the hobby had 500 million dedicated practitioners across the globe, because everyone would have an opportunity to "play what they liked" (attribution to JamesonCourage).

Unfortunately, you can't play a true pen-and-paper RPGs alone.