I really want to believe that the runaway success of the Ogre Kickstarter, various OSR projects such as the Dwimmermount Kickstarter, and such are an indication that gaming, as I came to know it in the period of the end of the '70s and the early 1980s, has returned. I'd like to think that it is more than a temporary nostalgia. But I always remember what John Shirley said in Eclipse, or something like what he said since I don't have the book anymore to examine for the exact quote: "You only get a year out of a retro act". I keep looking nervously for the signs that all of this is going to end.
Yeah, that's short and to the point. Good enough.
But why should it end? We have all the tools we need. New products are just icing. The other important thing is a medium to talk about it, and I don't see that going away any time soon either. The Internet allows niche communities to flourish, even if they are small (relatively speaking).
ReplyDeleteHaha! Yeah, that's true. I guess I'm just afraid that everyone will lose interest, no one will talk about it, and we'll come back to a point where no one (OK, hyperbole, which you should read as something like "hardly anyone, such that it is difficult to get a group together in any particular place") wants to play anymore.
DeleteWe can't rely on sheer numbers anymore. We need to get organized.
DeleteI think a major goal for the OSR should be a game club in every city in the civilized world.
That's a pretty good idea.
DeleteI think if people can just see what's good in the old school games, I'll be happy. If we see elements of the older games making a comeback in subtle (or not so subtle) ways in the newer systems and settings, that's a solid win. That seems to be an element of what the OSR is about.
ReplyDeleteWe can take consolation in the fact that, in a few years, all the new-fangled games will themselves be retro.
Also very true. If a reinfusion of the original gaming ideas helps to inform newer games, then that's going to certainly be a beneficial result. If even a little of the "writers' workshop exercise" style of game can be mitigated, then that will make me happy.
DeleteI think in some ways the motion to keep OSR type things going is having a presence in the major conventions and get more games on the schedule. Which has been happening the past few years. Even though it might be 30 years old to me there are a group of newbs and they are at day 1 with it. All we need to do is keep having fun with it.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's true. Keep playing, and the players will come. Which reminds me, I really need to get my game going. I haven't put a line or word down for it in over a week.
DeleteThis has been going on for much longer than a year.
ReplyDeleteLiteralist! ;)
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