What’s the draw of licensed games?

[MGibster]

I kind of get it. A series you love gets an official RPG, with official art, with official…officialness. But then the thing comes out, people complain about the system, the choices, the canon, the art, etc.

In a thread (not here) where someone made a negative comment about some minor aspect of a beautiful woman's appearance, someone replied, typing something like, "Venus herself could emerge from the sea atop a seashell, fully nude, and someone would complain because her 'knees were too sharp.'" In other words: Potatoes gonna potate. Haters gonna hate. Someone is always going to be unhappy and you can't really concern yourself about that too much.

So, given the overwhelming amount of creativity in the hobby, and the mountains of wonderfully done “X with the serial numbers filed off” games, why is the official stamp of approval such a big deal to some?

When I play a licensed game, it's typically because I'm interested in that setting. If I'm playing Star Wars, I want to play a Jedi Knight wielding the Force, hanging out with my Wookie companion, and maybe looking for the plans to the Death Star. I don't want to play a Warrior Monk wielding the Obligate, hanging around my Snookie companion, and looking for the plans to the Dark Starrior. I'm also lazy. The only reason I play anything other than GURPS is because I don't want to do the work of building the game myself. I have other things to do with my time.

 

[smetzger]

Published adventure support

 

[Morrus]

Partly because it’s not just a game, it’s a reference book full of info about the world/setting/universe you love. You aren’t just buying a rulebook, you’re buying a coffee table book which you can just read.

I have Star Wars encyclopedias and Star Trek deck plans and maps of Middle Earth and Transformers toys… it’s all part of that.

Plus, it’s a game.

 

[overgeeked]

True, but I don't care for online resources because I'm terminally online for my part-time work as a proofreader and game developer. I like to pick up a physical book when it comes to reading (PDFs and wikis are fine for reference at the game table, though).

Yeah. I feel that.

 

[MGibster]

Boy, that is not my experience with licensed products.

You're going to look at me with a straight face and tell me d20 Wheel of Time wasn't a great game? :Tugs braid and sniffs derisively:

 

[overgeeked]

When I play a licensed game, it's typically because I'm interested in that setting. If I'm playing Star Wars, I want to play a Jedi Knight wielding the Force, hanging out with my Wookie companion, and maybe looking for the plans to the Death Star. I don't want to play a Warrior Monk wielding the Obligate, hanging around my Snookie companion, and looking for the plans to the Dark Starrior. I'm also lazy. The only reason I play anything other than GURPS is because I don't want to do the work of building the game myself. I have other things to do with my time.

I get that. But to me that’s a low bar. What the book says vs what we say at the table. The book can call it whatever, but we’re calling it a wookie when we play Star Wars. The difference is a bit of easy mental replacement and an extra $20+ for the book.

ETA: Sorry if I’m coming across as argumentative. That’s not my intent. I just don’t really get it. Like all preferences it seems to come down to “because I do.”

 

[MGibster]

I get that. But to me that’s a low bar. What the book says vs what we say at the table. The book can call it whatever, but we’re calling it a wookie when we play Star Wars. The difference is a bit of easy mental replacement and an extra $20+ for the book.

I don't particularly care for products that are X but with the serial numbers filed off. It feels like a type of stealing to me. It's one thing to be influenced by someone else's work, it something different to crib their work and publish it as your own even if you change the names.

 

[Brendan Byrd]

I mean, it’s all homebrew. Difference is there’s a license involved.

That I can see. If we’re talking about the IP owner wanting their IP well represented. But the writers on some of the official games are some of the same people doing the unofficial games. That is the line between amateur and pro is super thin.

Fair enough.
I have nothing but respect for folks who are able to cross that line.

For myself, I don't care for the IP based games for several reasons.
The first is that there is a dissonance between the highly visual aspects of IP derived games and my own theatre of mind, which is not strongly visual (shapes in grey with co-ordinates).
There is a graphic floating about that illustrates what I'm getting at, and will try to find it.
The second, is that canon can seem like a hard boundry on a sandbox that is a tripping hazard (not the good kind ) That's why I prefer the serial numbers filed off.

I'm quite fond of Sci-fi/Fantasy.
Sometimes it is better to read the book after seeing the movie.
For me, it would be better to get the game first.
---

For youngsters, I think the power of brand recognition shouldn't be underestimated.

 

[Morrus]

I don't particularly care for products that are X but with the serial numbers filed off. It feels like a type of stealing to me. It's one thing to be influenced by someone else's work, it something different to crib their work and publish it as your own even if you change the names.

It's important not to confuse ideas/concepts with work. Ideas and concepts are easy--I can come up with 30 in the average evening at the pub. Ideas and concepts are cheap and plentiful. The work--making a book--is hard. Let's try not to use the word "work" to refer to ideas and concepts, because the concept of a jedi or a hobbit is not work--the making of a feature film like Star Wars or the writing of a massive novel trilogy like Lord of the Rings is work. And, let's face it, Star Wars is a mishmash of previous ideas. So is Dungeons & Dragons.

 

[MGibster]

It's important not to confuse ideas/concepts with work. Ideas and concepts are easy--I can come up with 30 in the average evening at the pub. Ideas and concepts are cheap and plentiful. The work--making a book--is hard. Let's try not to use the word "work" to refer to ideas and concepts, because the concept of a jedi or a hobbit is not work--the making of a feature film like Star Wars or the writing of a massive novel trilogy like Lord of the Rings is work. And, let's face it, Star Wars is a mishmash of previous ideas. So is Dungeons & Dragons.

I used work in the sense of a literary or artistic composition. i.e. Star Wars is a work of fiction. It's fine to be influenced by someone else's work. If I were to make a swashbuckling space adventure game, I couldn't help but be influenced by Star Wars, Buck Rogers, and Flash Gordon. But Star Wars isn't just Buck Rogers with the serial numbers filed off. It ended up being it's own thing even if it was influenced by what came before.

I do prefer completely original works that had no outside influence of course. Like Warhammer 40k.