Is Fantasy changing?

[SemperJase]

The newest Dragon editorial mentions that the Fantasy is changing. Younger fans think fantasy is Pokemon (and maybe Magic: The Gathering). Fantasy is changing. The average age of the D&D player is creeping up on 30. D&D must change, hence, Eberron.

So, is Swords and Sorcery on its way out? The Lord of the Rings brought it back a bit. But is it sustainable?

I think Dragon was wrong on this one. Swords and Sorcery is as strong as ever. The D&D player is getting older because the medium is becoming obsolete. Table top games are not the future. Kids won't play it if you can't plug it in. Everquest proves that S&S is still viable. Boys (and it is mostly boys) still love stories of heroes swinging swords fighting dragons. Fantasy isn't changing, its just that D&D missed the boat on MMORPG's.

 

[MerricB]

I think fantasy is changing, as it has always been changing. I don't see it as losing any particular genre, but as a broadening of what it covers.

I think pulp Sword & Sorcery is no longer the force it once was - I definitely think Leiber, Burroughs and Howard are on the way out - but the genre still exists, although I do think it's a lot more intelligent than it once was.

Cheers!

 

[Nightfall]

Yep. It's more than some guy with a sword carving up a kingdom. It's about riding dragons, surfing the mindscape of Gods, and even occasionally, dancing with death.

 

[Shadowdancer]

I guess it all depends on what your definition of fantasy is. I'm reminded of the night of the Academy Awards in Feb. I mentioned that Return of the King was the first fantasy movie to win the best picture Oscar. My boss asked, "What makes it a fantasy?" :\

Maybe he thought it was a historical drama, like "Braveheart" or "Gladiator."

Some people think fantasy is anything that is not non-fiction. Others think it has to involve magic, dragons, elves and dwarves. Others think it is anything with elements outside the realm of "real life" -- horror stories, science fiction, sword and sorcery, etc.

 

[Eosin the Red]

I think that it is factionalizing - something like modern news. When I was younger - everyone watched the same evening news at 6 PM. It was the only news to be had - we all shared a common experience. Now we have access to not just 6 channels of nothing but news, we also have the traditional evening news, plus a sports news station, plus a weather news station, plus news websites and alerts, plus news radio.

Now we have become discerning. Once it was JUST the news, now there is some difference between FOXnews and CNN. The market forces to choose a flavor like modern RPGs or Fantasy Lit forces us to make choices. We cannot read everything. Heck, we probably can't even read everything d20 much less RPG.

We also have the younger generation - I saw my first computer when I was 16 and my first video game (other than pinball) when I was 12. My 3 year old boy comes to the "Puter to check ME-Mail" with his daddy. Instant access to fantasy in the form of MMORGs, computers, Gameboys, and VCR/DVD has to have made an impact on the hobby. We had to wait until Sunday afternoon to get Kung-Fu theater - no matter how much we wanted to see it. What did you do saturday in anticipation? You donned the towel and went out and jumped off of the roof - or played cowboys and indians or cops and robbers. We just don't do that as a society any longer.

 

[Biren Firebelly]

I don't believe that fantasy is changing as the foundation is still the same. We might start to see fantasy developing different genre though. Classic and a Modern version for example. Remember though, there are 10’s of thousands of people all over the world that read Fantasy novels (Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Greyhawk) that have never played a tabletop game. I believe that the word Fantasy still has the meaning to them that it should have.

 

[Estlor]

Personally, I don't think the core elements of what makes something fantasy are changing at all. What's happening, however, is as the popular eye of the media is fixed on fantasy more often, people involved in the business of fantasy (writers, game designers, etc) are being freed up to branch out more. We're seeing a growth of fantasy as it's producers are embracing other genre interests they may have. Fantasy at its root will always be about sword and sorcery in some form, it will just show influences of different mediums.

From my own experience as a would-be author, Japanese anime highly influences my work. Since I'm a big fan of the "mecha" genre of anime and a passing enthusiast of the "martial arts" genre, you see a bit more science fiction creeping in and more over-the-top sword fights and spell duels. It's still fantasy, just twisted to suit my own compatible interests.

 

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

I don't think fantasy's original referents in short stories, older literary forms, and history is not nearly as relevant as it once was.

 

[S'mon]

I think pulp Sword & Sorcery is no longer the force it once was - I definitely think Leiber, Burroughs and Howard are on the way out...

Mongoose's excellent (but badly edited) Conan RPG seems to be doing very well, and at the more highbrow end of the RPG market where there's interest in 'Narrativist' play, Ron Edwards' Sorcerer & Sword book is arousing a lot of interest - two of my players raved over it.
Certainly pulp sword & sorcery is still the dominant influence on me and my campaign world, with some high-fantasy influence. I'm 31 though.

 

[Eosin the Red]

I don't think fantasy's original referents in short stories, older literary forms, and history is not nearly as relevant as it once was.

what?

I cannot make any sense of this? Maybe I am just too tired?