Nostalgia Trend in Gaming

[The_Gneech]

That was my feeling before I switched to 3e.

Not to hijack the thread, but ain't it weird how that works? The core principles between the two editions are the same (kill monsters, take their treasure), most of the fluff parts are the same or very similar, and I'll readily admit that the actual gameplay between older editions and the current isn't that different. The ranger I played in 1997 and the ranger I play today could easily step back and forth from one campaign to the other without the characters noticing anything, even though the character sheets are radically different.

Nevertheless, the differences are enough that even going back to play, say, "Baldur's Gate" sets my teeth on edge because I find myself cursing the 2e rules ... and nowadays there are even 3.0 purists who hate 3.5, etc.

What is this power the system has, when theoretically it's the playing of the game that's important? I find it mind-boggling.

-The Gneech

 

[Insight]

When I was 12-15, I had no concept of a 'gaming community'. It was my friends and I, and that was it. We were so secretive of our love for D&D and RPGs in general, there was really no way to know if other people played. Obviously, there were other gamers around the country (otherwise the books wouldn't sell very well, would they?), but we had little knowledge of any gamers outside our circle.

From the same perspective, I can tell you what we thought of older gamers back then (college age gamers). I had a friend whose older brother had introduced him to D&D. We are talking back in the days when the Elric and Cthulhu mythos was still in Deities & Demigods. Those guys would NEVER want to play with us, because we were kids, and we really didn't have much interest in playing with them, because they were a different breed of gaming cat to us.

If you can expand this to the general gaming population (and I don't know if you can), it becomes more clear as to why younger gamers seem to be non-existent. You don't know they exist because either a) you run in different circles, or b) they hide.

 

[Mouseferatu]

I would suggest that a nostalgia boom in RPGs is in no way harmful to the industry as a whole--with some caveats.

Consider: For those who remember the "good old days," products that evoke them are selling points. For those younger gamers who don't remember the "good old days," all this stuff is new. It's their first time seeing it. Thus, nostalgia products can (although it's not a given) increase sales among grognards, while not harming sales among newbies.

However...

Where the potential harm lies (and I say potential, because I'm not convinced this is the case; merely that it could be) is in the marketing of nostalgia. Does saying "This is a new version of Game X from 20 years ago" hurt sales among newbies? Do some younger players feel that they'll be missing out if they don't have experience with the older game, and thus eschew such purchases? I don't know. It could be the case, but it could just as easily not be.

I think, then, that the problem (if a problem exists at all) is not with nostalgia, but with reliance on nostalgia.

 

[Shemeska]

I started playing in 3e, but I know quality when I see it. Hence my love affair with Planescape and many of the 2e books that I've gone back and discovered after the fact. I mean, Christ almighty, by comparison most of the 3e material is uninspired and boring.

'Faces of Sigil' compared to ... nothing comparable by WotC

Planes of Law/Chaos/Conflict ... all of the Planescape source books compared to the 3e MotP and Planar Handbook. No contest, even when you take into consideration the page count and condensation of the single 3e book. It pales in comparison. And when I consider the 3e MotP to be one of the 3 best books of 3e, that's saying something too.

'Faces of Evil: The Fiends' compared to .... nothing comparable by WotC

[I will however put in a giant caveat here for the 3e FR material which has repeatedly exceeded my expectations (except the literary abortion that is the 3e FR cosmology)]