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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Guest&nbsp; 85555" data-source="post: 5672662">Rolemaster was out as early as 1980. But even so I consider the mid-80s part of the early days of RPGs (maybe the second phase but we are still talking 25 years ago).    Sure they were. Rolemaster was very much focused on a different RPG xperience. It marked a big shift from general abstracted damage to the kind of wound you get. It was also skill-based and used a percentile system.  I will grant you there is a much different aesthetic in game design these days. I see a lot more unified mechanics for example. And I do agree there are more people making focused games today as well (at least focusing on specific kinds of gaming experience---genre focus has been around for a while).  However, I still don't think that means focused games are where it is at neccessarily (and just for full disclosure here I tend to make focused/niche games, not games with broad appeal). Even though 3E was more focused than 2E or 1E, it still was rooted in a general concept of being open to multiple playstyles. I think 4E is really the first edition to take some GNS concepts to heart and make a truly focused product. And the result has been somewhat mixed. Don't get me wrong, I believe 4E is a well designed and focused system. But that isn't really what D&D has been about, and I really don't think that is what many D&D fans are looking for in D&D. It has treaded toward one end of the spectrum or the other, but has generally been rooted in the middle. There have been plenty of more focused options for a while now for those who want that.  I could of course be misunderstanding your position. Perhaps if you gave some more examples of games you believe are focused and examples of well known modern games and where they fall in your mind (savage worlds, 4E, etc). This is in no way to slam your playstyle. I appreciate that you are looking for a very specific gaming experience and that previous editions fall short for you. But I think I just see the gaming environment as being more open to general games and less open to focused games than people often assume. Otherwise I expect we'd see a lot more highly successful mainstream games come out of places like the forge.</blockquote>

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