D&D General Gen X D&D

[Reynard]

The stuff you loved as a kid were made by people one or two generations older than you. For 80s kids who grew up on Basic, that game was made by boomers.

2014 5e is the ultimate result of that, the final form of the GenX designed D&D. What follows will be, and is, driven largely by millenials.

That's just the nature of media.

 

[Audiomancer]

Probably something like this:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dicedungeons/80s-adventures?ref=profile_created

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

If you have a Gen X game and want give fair representation, you'd have Members Only jackets, Ocean Pacific shirts, pastels, big hair, Valley girls, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Wham, and Culture Club. Jocks and preppies would outnumber punks and nerds.

I had 2 Members Only jackets- one in leather- had several pastel polos (not OP, though), a fro, and listened to all 4 of those artists.

I also got my first pair of Sperry docksiders, which I often wore without socks.

 

[Bedrockgames]

You can tell by reading the responses how most of us grew up in the 70s and 80s. It's the Cure, Rush, Iron Maiden, and the Clash.

But we don't represent all of GenX, or even most of it. If you have a Gen X game and want give fair representation, you'd have Members Only jackets, Ocean Pacific shirts, pastels, big hair, Valley girls, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Wham, and Culture Club. Jocks and preppies would outnumber punks and nerds.

The only singular trait amongst almost all of us were absentee parents and a society that glamourized the rich and wealthy lifestyle while getting laid off or losing the farm.

I was born in the mid-70s so I grew up in the 80s and came of age in the early 90s (which means the Mentzer boxed set, AD&D 1E and 2E were my editions. Iron Maiden obviously was a big influence but I also remember so much stuff being left over from the 70s when I was a kid.

I don't know what binds Gen X together. I have a better sense of what binds people my age together and there is a lot of overlap between that and people born from 65 to 80 I suppose.

 

[Scribe]

The stuff you loved as a kid were made by people one or two generations older than you. For 80s kids who grew up on Basic, that game was made by boomers.

2014 5e is the ultimate result of that, the final form of the GenX designed D&D. What follows will be, and is, driven largely by millenials.

That's just the nature of media.

Right, but is it "Gen X designed D&D for Gen X players." I think thats the distinction missing. I'd argue it was designed for Millennials (18-33 years old a decade ago), while 5.5 is likely designed for Gen Z, seeing as (google says) Gen Z is now 12-27.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I had 2 Members Only jackets- one in leather- had several pastel polos (not OP, though), a fro, and listened to all 4 of those artists.

I also got my first pair of Sperry docksiders, which I often wore without socks.

I've had this conversation before, but I'm convinced that the 80s had by far the largest variety in pop culture trends than any other decade. Look how fast fashion and music changed throughout the decade. It was very distinct, while it seems most things from the past 25 years are kinda all the same. I mean, I can wear clothes from 2004 and no one really notices (cuz I do all the time lol). But imagine wearing clothes from 1965 in 1985, or clothes from 1985 in 2005? You'd really stand out.

So I guess the thing that ties us together for Gen X is our penchant for anything goes as long it was weird. Dinosaurs with lasers? Sure. It was the electronic decade, where we were the first generation to widely use computers and video games and all things tech.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I've had this conversation before, but I'm convinced that the 80s had by far the largest variety in pop culture trends than any other decade. Look how fast fashion and music changed throughout the decade. It was very distinct, while it seems most things from the past 25 years are kinda all the same. I mean, I can wear clothes from 2004 and no one really notices (cuz I do all the time lol). But imagine wearing clothes from 1965 in 1985, or clothes from 1985 in 2005? You'd really stand out.

So I guess the thing that ties us together for Gen X is our penchant for anything goes as long it was weird. Dinosaurs with lasers? Sure. It was the electronic decade, where we were the first generation to widely use computers and video games and all things tech.

Some things change wildly, others subtly. Think of how skirt lengths change. Or tie and lapel widths vary. Shoulder pads (for men & women).

And there’s also cycles in fashion where things return to the fore. I was looking for some purple corduroy pants a couple months ago, and on one site, not only were the pants were prominently flared, everything else about the model (hairstyle, sideburns, mustache, multicolored knitted vest) screamed mid-1970s. I don’t expect JNCO jeans to ever come back, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they did- ripped jeans did, as did high-waisted “mom” jeans, and so forth.

Some stuff is seemingly timeless. T-shirts and polos aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, though colors and patterns may vary wildly from year to year. Some shoe styles in the West haven’t changed much in the past century+.

…to say nothing of the Great Male Renunciation (which I’m personally fighting against).

Great Male Renunciation - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Scribe]

I don’t expect JNCO jeans to ever come back, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they did- ripped jeans did, as did high-waisted “mom” jeans, and so forth.

Wife and I got a chuckle as we saw a group of teens yesterday and 1 was wearing JNCO jeans lol.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Wife and I got a chuckle as we saw a group of teens yesterday and 1 was wearing JNCO jeans lol.

I’ve seen 1-2 myself in the past few months, but they’re nowhere near the ubiquity they once had. Still, only time will tell.

 

[Reynard]

Right, but is it "Gen X designed D&D for Gen X players." I think thats the distinction missing. I'd argue it was designed for Millennials (18-33 years old a decade ago), while 5.5 is likely designed for Gen Z, seeing as (google says) Gen Z is now 12-27.

I think they did design it for GenXers because in 2014 recapturing that cohort was essential to the success and continued existence of D&D. Other external factors converged to broaden its appeal, but it was aimed at us.