I recently noticed on Facebook that another “old school” RPG was being kickstarted and this got me thinking “why is there such a fascination with the old school stuff?” I chose an image of my friends playing Dungeon World because I’ve often described this game as “feeling like what I remember of the early days of playing Dungeons and Dragons.” Back then we were kids telling epic stories together. But this capacity to tell epic stories really should transcend the game mechanics, and to be honest I think that there is a bit of selective memory going on, at least in my own mind theatre.
I can’t help thinking that nostalgia is at work here. Did you know that nostalgia was once considered a psychological disorder? The term has morphed a bit, but it still essentially describes a dissatisfaction with our current state of being coupled with a longing for something past – like a sort of myth of endless return. If we can just recapture that old feeling everything will be right with the world. Perhaps some things were better, at least some things were simpler in those days. I do remember fondly my parents setting up the tent trailer in the driveway so me and my buddies could play D&D all night long. Good times. But were those games really so much better than the experience of playing the latest D&D or even of playing one of the new fangled RPGs like Numenera or even my current kick of Blades in the Dark?
Nostalgia aside, it is true that we really can never go back. Sure we can recapture a sense of what we remember it was like, at least in brief moments, but games, like life, have moved on. And dare I say games have gotten better. If I’m honest, as a teen I was happy with the murder hobo band of adventurers who consider themselves the good guys going out and murdering bands of “obviously” evil monsters only to steal their treasures. If I want this kind of grind there are lots of video games that do the same thing.
Games have grown up and offer much more opportunity for rich story telling. Case in point, when I got back into D&D as an adult we had folks at our table trying to recreate the murder hobo vibe as well as some new players who were thinking about a larger ethical story. So when a murder hobo suggested torturing a goblin, another player stopped them – we were not going to do that. Good and evil are not so cut and dry anymore. And our games have evolved to become tools that help us navigate the complexities of life. Is that not infinitely more desirable?
So I say, more power to the endless “old school” RPGs, I hope they do well. I’m skeptical that the market is not saturated already with games that make such claims. Hey, I have loved Dungeon World for a long time now, and it seems to be part of this vibe. But for me Dungeon World unleashed D&D from the rules and mechanics, showing us a possibility that now lives on at our 5th edition table. I’m certain that our gaming experiences will be richer if we just play the systems we already have and already love, refusing to think that the past was always better (it was not) instead embracing the insights that drove the new games to emerge. At my table I’m sure we will see both, and I’m sure we will tell epic stories with whatever system we are playing on a given day. I do not feel compelled to support yet another old school fantasy RPG, I would like to see something new.
Let me know your thoughts...