D&D General Mike Mearls' blog post about RPG generations

[Thomas Shey]

We can have rational discussion IF we choose to. If we agree on what terms mean and express our ideas as clearly as we can.

The first half of your second sentence is the killer.

 

[Scribe]

People could choose to stop intentionally misunderstanding yes.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

People could choose to stop intentionally misunderstanding yes.

 

[Aldarc]

Can you provide an example of said discourse? We use labels for a reason. Replacing the existing ones is fine by me, but removing them and replacing them with nothing doesn't read to me as workable.

Bearing in mind that this thread of conversation started, in part, because I said that I would not mind if the 8 Aesthetics of Play killed these terms. So it's not as if no alternatives were proposed. They were: i.e., the 8 Aesthetics of Play. However, you for some reason ignored that alternatives were named. I believe it was even Gradine who first mentioned them in this thread, so I'm not sure what more to tell you.

 

[Minigiant]

Maybe we should use fantasy genres with attachable aspects that the game was designed and published around over debatable terms not tied to anything.

• Sword and Sorcery (1E & early 2E)
• Epic Fantasy (Mid 2E)
• Dark Fantasy (Late 2E, WOD)
• Dungeon Fantasy (3E)
• Adventure Fantasy (3.5E, PF 1&2)
• "Paragon" Fantasy (4E, 13A, Draw Steel)
• Heroic Fantasy (5E)
• Grim & Gritty Fantasy (OSR, DCC Shadowdark)
• Superheroic Fantasy (Daggerheart)

Lack of Wave:
Mythic Fantasy
War Fantasy
Intrigue
Urban Fantasy

 

[Micah Sweet]

Bearing in mind that this thread of conversation started, in part, because I said that I would not mind if the 8 Aesthetics of Play killed these terms. So it's not as if no alternatives were proposed. They were: i.e., the 8 Aesthetics of Play. However, you for some reason ignored that alternatives were named. I believe it was even Gradine who first mentioned them in this thread, so I'm not sure what more to tell you.

Well, I was talking to @Scribe ,who seems to feel differently on the matter.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Maybe we should use fantasy genres with attachable aspects that the game was designed and published around over debatable terms not tied to anything.

• Sword and Sorcery (1E & early 2E)
• Epic Fantasy (Mid 2E)
• Dark Fantasy (Late 2E, WOD)
• Dungeon Fantasy (3E)
• Adventure Fantasy (3.5E, PF 1&2)
• "Paragon" Fantasy (4E, 13A, Draw Steel)
• Heroic Fantasy (5E)
• Grim & Gritty Fantasy (OSR, DCC Shadowdark)
• Superheroic Fantasy (Daggerheart)

Lack of Wave:
Mythic Fantasy
War Fantasy
Intrigue
Urban Fantasy

What does, "lack of wave" mean?

 

[Thomas Shey]

Maybe we should use fantasy genres with attachable aspects that the game was designed and published around over debatable terms not tied to anything.

• Sword and Sorcery (1E & early 2E)
• Epic Fantasy (Mid 2E)
• Dark Fantasy (Late 2E, WOD)
• Dungeon Fantasy (3E)
• Adventure Fantasy (3.5E, PF 1&2)
• "Paragon" Fantasy (4E, 13A, Draw Steel)
• Heroic Fantasy (5E)
• Grim & Gritty Fantasy (OSR, DCC Shadowdark)
• Superheroic Fantasy (Daggerheart)

Lack of Wave:
Mythic Fantasy
War Fantasy
Intrigue
Urban Fantasy

At the very least, this is fantasy-centric. D&D notwithstanding, fantasy isn't the whole of the hobby.

 

[Minigiant]

What does, "lack of wave" mean?

Meaning there hasn't been a time where FRPG design for those genres has been very popular or captured the zeitgeist of game design.

Like War Fantasy, there hasn't been a big game that seemlessly transitions from RPG to Wargame and back.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Meaning there hasn't been a time where FRPG design for those genres has been very popular or captured the zeitgeist of game design.

Like War Fantasy, there hasn't been a big game that seemlessly transitions from RPG to Wargame and back.

Does popularity matter when we're discussing types of games and playstyles? Not to me it doesn't.