Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="RareBreed" data-source="post: 9241597" data-attributes="member: 6945590">Never been monogamous never will be <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Now here's the more dangerous question to ask...is being a mono-game-system-only player healthy?I'm always amazed at the parallels between the TTRPG hobby and software engineering.&nbsp; Someone mentioned that being both a player and a GM makes you better at both.&nbsp; I feel the same about game systems.&nbsp; The more you learn other game systems, the more ideas you have and the more you realize there are different ways of approaching things.The same thing happens with programming languages and frameworks.&nbsp; Unless you are a brand-new, out-of-school college grad, if you've got 4+ years of experience, IMHO, you better know at least one other programming language and more than one framework (even if you have to learn it on hobby time).&nbsp; Why?&nbsp; Because it broadens your ability to think about how to solve problems and see there's a different way to design and architect things.So why don't more engineers learn more programming languages and frameworks?&nbsp; The most common reason is either &quot;I already know how to do it in X so why learn Y?&quot; and/or &quot;I don't have time to learn X&quot;.&nbsp; It's similar to what I hear in the TTRPG community.&nbsp; Many don't want to buy a new game system or take the time to get familiar with a new one.&nbsp; One difference though is most software engineers are aware that other languages and frameworks exist often due to one or more (sometimes over)zealous compatriots suggesting to the team to try this new language or framework that promises better functionality.I've used the analogy many times before, but to me it's like saying &quot;I love pizza, and so from now on, I only want to eat pizza&quot;.&nbsp; And it's even worse, because if we use the pizza as an analogy for a genre, and toppings for a game system, people not only want a pizza with the same toppings....they only want to eat pizza from the same restaurant!&nbsp; (or maybe chain of affiliated restaurants if you stretch the analogy to 5e compatible systems).&nbsp; Not only will some people only want 5e, it has to be 5e in Eberron, or Dragonlance, or &quot;fill in your favorite game world here&quot;.When a recent thread talked about how the Golden Age of TTRPG is ending because (as the assertion went) the dominance of 5e was coming to an end, I could only think: &quot;If true, it's about time&quot;.&nbsp; Not because 5e is bad per se.&nbsp; But because of the monopoly it has on the industry.&nbsp; And I can't blame WotC for the monopoly really.&nbsp; For some reason I can't fathom, it's a community-imposed monopoly because so many gamers only want to play one system and even in just one setting.If people tell me &quot;that's my choice if I only ever want to eat Sausage and Mushroom deep dish pizza from Pizza Hut&quot;, yes I suppose it is.&nbsp; But think about what we would do if a child refused to eat everything except only one kind of food?&nbsp; Or read only one kind of book.&nbsp; What would you do if you had a room mate, significant other or family who only ever wanted to watch one kind of TV show or movie?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="RareBreed, post: 9241597, member: 6945590"] Never been monogamous never will be :) Now here's the more dangerous question to ask...is being a mono-game-system-only player healthy? I'm always amazed at the parallels between the TTRPG hobby and software engineering. Someone mentioned that being both a player and a GM makes you better at both. I feel the same about game systems. The more you learn other game systems, the more ideas you have and the more you realize there are different ways of approaching things. The same thing happens with programming languages and frameworks. Unless you are a brand-new, out-of-school college grad, if you've got 4+ years of experience, IMHO, you better know at least one other programming language and more than one framework (even if you have to learn it on hobby time). Why? Because it broadens your ability to think about how to solve problems and see there's a different way to design and architect things. So why don't more engineers learn more programming languages and frameworks? The most common reason is either "I already know how to do it in X so why learn Y?" and/or "I don't have time to learn X". It's similar to what I hear in the TTRPG community. Many don't want to buy a new game system or take the time to get familiar with a new one. One difference though is most software engineers are aware that other languages and frameworks exist often due to one or more (sometimes over)zealous compatriots suggesting to the team to try this new language or framework that promises better functionality. I've used the analogy many times before, but to me it's like saying "I love pizza, and so from now on, I only want to eat pizza". And it's even worse, because if we use the pizza as an analogy for a genre, and toppings for a game system, people not only want a pizza with the same toppings....they only want to eat pizza from the same restaurant! (or maybe chain of affiliated restaurants if you stretch the analogy to 5e compatible systems). Not only will some people only want 5e, it has to be 5e in Eberron, or Dragonlance, or "fill in your favorite game world here". When a recent thread talked about how the Golden Age of TTRPG is ending because (as the assertion went) the dominance of 5e was coming to an end, I could only think: "If true, it's about time". Not because 5e is bad per se. But because of the monopoly it has on the industry. And I can't blame WotC for the monopoly really. For some reason I can't fathom, it's a community-imposed monopoly because so many gamers only want to play one system and even in just one setting. If people tell me "that's my choice if I only ever want to eat Sausage and Mushroom deep dish pizza from Pizza Hut", yes I suppose it is. But think about what we would do if a child refused to eat everything except only one kind of food? Or read only one kind of book. What would you do if you had a room mate, significant other or family who only ever wanted to watch one kind of TV show or movie? [/QUOTE]

Verification