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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The-Magic-Sword" data-source="post: 8333831" data-attributes="member: 6801252">I think its a mixed bag in some ways, its unambiguously wonderful that its all getting more popular and its growing  inclusivity is an unmitigated good thing, but popularity can have knock on effects that I think I'd prefer to moderate-- there are cultural changes ala gentrification when a niche subculture break out (I'm thinking in terms of game design, and what the general public values in that sphere-- I've seen arguments where the very act of retaining 3.5e / 4e style gamist rules in the hobby at all, is painted as reactionary or anti-populist) that come with mainstreaming that can push out the people who were already here artistically, we've seen that in a lot of music genres once big, ruthlessly capitalist labels formed or stepped in to capitalize on growing interest in it-- hip hop, rap, punk rock, but then we've also seen them be reclaimed and many new fans yearn for more, and more authentic works too.But that isn't a problem we solve by not welcoming people, its a problem we solve by standing up for ourselves, preserving the things worth protecting, innovating in our own right, selling new people on the scene we want to see thrive, and basically doing the work of allowing multiple aesthetic movements within the hobby to vibrantly coexist.So it isn't really a crisis since even if the core DND license changes its design focus to try and fit whatever it understand the new movement to want, there's always going to be people interested in other designs and games that are serving them, the hobby itself might evolve into a bigger tent, but the spaces within that tent can drill down into an ever growing profusion of niches and subcultures if we go to the effort of making sure they aren't swept aside and new gamers have lots of choices, instead of just having to put up with the dominant zeitgeist. There certainly might be an LCD at any given time, but they don't have to define everything, and that's as simple as creating spaces and works that are comfortable with being an (ideally healthy and vibrant) niche of their own.There's nothing bad about many games that serve a variety of different interests, from a game design perspective, and if DND continues to be and focuses on being a gateway game, where some of the people interested in it will find more niche homes eventually-- well, I think that's ideal really.</blockquote>

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