The Quest for the "One True System" Is It a Myth or Something More?

[WuM1nG]

I see the issue as it is hard to convince the entire gaming group, which would otensibly have say 5 to 6 persons, to change from one system that the group has spent alot of time and money on and swap over to a completely new system for a long period of time. For one or two sessions, maybe, but for campaigns lasting years, people feel they are better off playing something they have tons of options of and are intimately familiar with.

The game of choice for my group is 4E, firstly because we all have tons of materials of it and even after so long, we have never even gotten close to try all of it, and have never ever reached epic level to give it a try. Secondly because of our familiarity with the material, it let's players heavily modify their powers and still be more or less balanced: out of 5 players, 2 are using completely homebrew classes, written from scratch by themselves, with me giving inputs from the balance stand point (although my players are quite good at self-regulating themselves, except for 1 guy..)

This to me is what a "One True System" should be: a common platform from which all players are able derive their own fun from. For us, the commonality, universality and ease of modification of 4E is it.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

Hmmm...it just seems foreign to me that players who really love role-playing games for the games themselves (rather than being social players, for instance (not that there is anything wrong with that)) would be disinterested in trying new ones.

I think there are probably a lot more circumstances involved than I expected. Some people are burnt out. Some people don't want to spend more money, or feel like they would be wasting their previous purchases. Some genuinely don't care what system they use--the experience is more or less the same for them. Others feel like they would be wasting the system mastery they dedicated to their current system by trying a new one. Maybe some players just don't like trying new things in general (seems an odd trait for gamer personalities, but I guess there are all sorts of reasons one might start playing, and peer recruitment doesn't limit itself to set personalities).

So perhaps the question is what is it that makes some gamers interested in trying new systems?

 

[Balesir]

What I think it entails--certainly it does so for me--is the desire for a single system that is robust and capable enough of handling pretty much any game that they've ever like to play, with a few minor house-rules or modular variations to accomodate the differing vicissitudes of each game. In other words, I think it turns out that most gamers don't just want new bathwater all the time. I think the number of gamers who are "turned on" by new systems for their own sake is a relatively minor number of gamers, and most gamers aren't interested in new systems.

That might be true if the only way of making an RPG system was using Task Resolution and standard objective tropes; a major reason I/we use different systems is to switch up these things, which is not possible in one system. It's not a case of being ""turned on" by new systems for their own sake" - it's more a case of using different tools for different jobs.

An alternative to resolving each task ("did the attack hit?") is to resolve each conflict ("who won the fight? What does that mean ongoing?"). This works particularly well for player-driven stories in non-combat driven environments (despite my examples - "Who won the fight?" could just as easily be "Who won the argument/race/game?"). 4E kind-of uses both, but most games don't mix them.

"Standard objective tropes" include hit points or their equivalent (linear wound tracks and so on). Some systems don't use this sort of system for "failure"; there are wound systems (HarnMaster), sanity systems (Call of Cthulhu) and keyword penalty systems (FATE, HeroQuest to a degree). It's possible to mix these systems, but each mixture provides support for a specific aesthetic, so a "one size fits all" approach is possible only if someone's tastes are very narrow.

So while, yes. some folks do keep to a single system and are happy with it, those who use a variety of systems are not just doing so "for the sake of it" - there are good reasons to have several tools and select one for each job.

 

[Bluenose]

The oldschool games really didn't have a central mechanic. This has been a major criticism of them for some time now.

On a side note, I find it amusing how "Old School" is used entirely to mean old editions of D&D. Games older than AD&D had central mechanics for task resolution.

 

[Jhaelen]

In my experience, and WotC market research in the past seemed to corroborate this view, most gamers play nothing but D&D. Ever.

Did WotC's market research extend beyond the US boundaries? I doubt it. And what is your experience about countries outside the US?
In _my_ experience, D&D is one among many rpg's overseas, even more so since Pathfinder hit the market. In Europe it seems every country has a different rpg that is played the most in that country. D&D may be the biggest rpg in the US, but that's hardly the case everywhere. D&D as a brand is well-known even beyond the US, but that doesn't translate into having the most players.

 

[Zhaleskra]

WotC market research in the past seemed to corroborate this view, most gamers play nothing but D&D. Ever.

There's your problem right there: MARKET research.

 

[GMMichael]

So while, yes. some folks do keep to a single system and are happy with it, those who use a variety of systems are not just doing so "for the sake of it" - there are good reasons to have several tools and select one for each job.

So, can certain upcoming games toting "modules" meet the One True System requirements? What if one RPG is more like a toolbox?

There's your problem right there: MARKET research.

Here's a similar sentiment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDW_Hj2K0wo

 

[Desdichado]

Hmmm...it just seems foreign to me that players who really love role-playing games for the games themselves (rather than being social players, for instance (not that there is anything wrong with that)) would be disinterested in trying new ones.

Depends on what you love about the game. The system for me... not so much.

 

[Desdichado]

There's your problem right there: MARKET research.

No doubt I've got plenty of problems. That isn't one of them. Not even by a long shot.

 

[Zhaleskra]

The market is not the hobby and never has been.