There is some sort of universality about D&D today, or at least about the ability to talk about it, via the internet on forums such as this one.
That didn’t exist back in the late 1970s/early 80s. Sure, there was Dragon, White Dwarf and the Dungeoneer, but their reach was only so far, so it’s hardly surprising that gaming styles were phenomenally diverse.
But I think it runs even deeper when older gamers talk about playing the game back then because they’re not just talking about playing the game; they’re talking about their lives.
I’ll try to explain further: I’ve just turned 60, so I’m one of the older gamers on here, but I was just a kid back then ( and I suspect most of the others on here who remember were the same) so my memories of playing are entwined by my memories of growing up.
In my case that rolls in D&D with late 70s punk, being in care, school, friends, sport, romances, politics, London and so much else. Other people’s filters will be different so their D&D memories will be different, simply because their youth-culture experiences will have had an impact on how they played. A kid growing up in rural Montana will have had a whole different set of experiences than me, and therefore their D&D was probably different too. Not better, not worse, just different.
Of course, a rural Montana teenage experience is still pretty different from a London one, but kids can now get on Roll 20 and play a game together.
Anyway, just some thoughts to this lovely thread.
PS if I could have one “D&D wish”, it would be to play one more game with the same friends from 1980.