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<blockquote data-quote="Ourph" data-source="post: 5136325" data-attributes="member: 20239">I think the reason that word touches off so many strong reactions is that this...&quot;The only way to overlook the glaring faults of (insert OS game here) is if you are looking at your experience through rose-colored glasses&quot;... has been a pretty common edition-warring tactic for many years. Thus, &quot;nostalgia&quot; became a hot-button word even when used non-pejoratively. I, personally, would agree with your analysis that nostalgia can be a positive thing and I have no doubt that nostalgia plays a big part in getting people to pick up their old gaming materials and give them a try again. However, nostalgia is by definition a feeling you have about something from your past. It can't explain ...a) Why people who pick up OS games they played in the past, have fun with them in the present.b) Why some gamers never stopped playing OS games and have continuously running games or campaigns that span decades of play.c) Why a new player who plays an OS game for the first time has fun with it.So, while there is no doubt in my mind that nostalgia is a boon to the OSR in many ways, I think people who trot it out as the main reason for the OSR are mistaken. Nostalgia alone might tempt someone to pick up an OS game and play it for one session, but if that person continues to play the game or decides to blog about the game or write new adventures and supplements for the game, it's more than just nostalgia at that point, it's a genuine enjoyment of the game that has nothing to do with skewed perceptions or self delusion (which is what the whole &quot;rose-colored glasses&quot; comment is meant to imply).</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Ourph, post: 5136325, member: 20239"] I think the reason that word touches off so many strong reactions is that this... "The only way to overlook the glaring faults of (insert OS game here) is if you are looking at your experience through rose-colored glasses" ... has been a pretty common edition-warring tactic for many years. Thus, "nostalgia" became a hot-button word even when used non-pejoratively. I, personally, would agree with your analysis that nostalgia can be a positive thing and I have no doubt that nostalgia plays a big part in getting people to pick up their old gaming materials and give them a try again. However, nostalgia is by definition a feeling you have about something [u]from your past[/u]. It can't explain ... a) Why people who pick up OS games they played in the past, have fun with them [u]in the present[/u]. b) Why some gamers never stopped playing OS games and have continuously running games or campaigns that span decades of play. c) Why a new player who plays an OS game for the first time has fun with it. So, while there is no doubt in my mind that nostalgia is a boon to the OSR in many ways, I think people who trot it out as the main reason for the OSR are mistaken. Nostalgia alone might tempt someone to pick up an OS game and play it for one session, but if that person continues to play the game or decides to blog about the game or write new adventures and supplements for the game, it's more than just nostalgia at that point, it's a genuine enjoyment of the game that has nothing to do with skewed perceptions or self delusion (which is what the whole "rose-colored glasses" comment is meant to imply). [/QUOTE]

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