It's Not Just Gamers

[mythusmage]

Michael Blowhard of The 2blowhards has a bit to say on the subject of the lack of grounding in the arts and history among the young today here. The money line is ...

Everyone's out there being brilliant, rediscovering the wheel.

Remind you of some game designers?

He has a lot more to say on the subject of the young, their lack of grounding in history, and their evident disdain of what has come before. A case of, if I didn't create it, it can't be any good.

Tradition for tradition's sake is bogus, but when somebody else has already figured out a perfectly good way to do it why waste your time doing it all over again?

 

[Dolom]

Because the hero's journey was perfected with Beowulf, Star Wars and The Matrix were clearly big fat wastes of time.

Well, the second and third Matrix movies definitely.

 

[Umbran]

He has a lot more to say on the subject of the young, their lack of grounding in history, and their evident disdain of what has come before. A case of, if I didn't create it, it can't be any good.

Not really, because the young also lack gorunding in math and science. It isn't "if I didn't create it, it can't be good". It's more, "I have no use for learning at all"

Tradition for tradition's sake is bogus, but when somebody else has already figured out a perfectly good way to do it why waste your time doing it all over again?

Well, there's something to be said for that sort of effort, honestly. There is no better teacher than doing. It is not enough to use the tools created by others. Full understanding (and appreciation) only comes through doing it yourself.

Now, there's not much to be said for reinventing the wheel multiple times yourself....

Oh, also, in this particular field, there's the simple fact that most of the wheels ever invented are not readily available for study or use. They are out of print and under copyright. And despite what some might tell you, you can't slap the d20 wheel on any old vehicle and expect the proper performance. SUVs and Formula One cars have vastly different needs when it comes to wheels. Similar for games.