"New Edition" gaming culture, what do you think of it? Options Track this topic Email this topic Print this topic Download this topic Subscribe to this forum Display Modes Outline Switch to: Standard Switch to: Linear+

[sunnyside]

When I first got into RPGs the general feeling (and that espoused by some of the game store people selling them) was that here was a thing where you could buy it and you'd be using it indefinitly. Unlike, say, a video game where you play it and then it's time to buy the next in the series.

D&D had a second edition out and maybe some others. But usually that was viewed as upgrading from the neonatal garage production quality of the origional rules (i.e. stuff that looked like the white box).

However now in everything from RPGs to Wargames new editions is just part of the business model. While you could of course play old rules indefinitly in maybe an average between the various systems of five years there will be a new edition and your pile of books is going to need replacing.

I'm not sure what to think of that. On one hand in theory the new editions should be "better". And also new editions coming out seems to charge the game community. I believe there was a role playing surge that came along with D&D 3rd edition at least and their promotion blitz. But on the other it kinda sucks having a pile of books nearly invalidated.

I know it's made me rather more finiky since I look at books as temporary investments. I've also found myself evaluating things based on how old the current edition is. Especially crunch type books. I'll almost always get a crunch book released in the first year or two of a new edition, but I become more reluctant as it gets closer to when I now expect a new edition to drop and invalidate them.

[Hatspur]

When I first got into RPGs the general feeling (and that espoused by some of the game store people selling them) was that here was a thing where you could buy it and you'd be using it indefinitly. Unlike, say, a video game where you play it and then it's time to buy the next in the series.

D&D had a second edition out and maybe some others. But usually that was viewed as upgrading from the neonatal garage production quality of the origional rules (i.e. stuff that looked like the white box).

However now in everything from RPGs to Wargames new editions is just part of the business model. While you could of course play old rules indefinitly in maybe an average between the various systems of five years there will be a new edition and your pile of books is going to need replacing.

I'm not sure what to think of that. On one hand in theory the new editions should be "better". And also new editions coming out seems to charge the game community. I believe there was a role playing surge that came along with D&D 3rd edition at least and their promotion blitz. But on the other it kinda sucks having a pile of books nearly invalidated.

I know it's made me rather more finiky since I look at books as temporary investments. I've also found myself evaluating things based on how old the current edition is. Especially crunch type books. I'll almost always get a crunch book released in the first year or two of a new edition, but I become more reluctant as it gets closer to when I now expect a new edition to drop and invalidate them.

I don't think the gamer market works exactly like the businesses want it to. Some of us who spent half a fortune on D20 books were really looking forward to 4th for a completely different reason, many Used Book sellers will look at d20 as dead product and sell it at massively reduced prices. Which is EXACTLY what happened in my town. Old editions of gamiing books go for reduced prices almost the world over, I tried to exlain this to the local gaming store owner and he thought it was a silly idea. But he also lost out on lots of my money when I went down the street to a local bookseller and bought 10 old d20 books for $100.

I look at different systems as different Operating systems for a computer. Shadowrun can do things D20 and GURPS are completely incapable of. GURPS reminds me a lot of Linux, there's usually one gamer in the group who views it as the best damn thing in the world capable of doing almost anything, but it completely lacks flavor and appeal. D20, with a little bit of tweaking is a alot like Windows XP or 2000, lots of fun cinematic hours of gaming. Then there's WoW...I mean D&D 4th, that is obviously geared toward the power gamer who wants his roleplaying game to be much more like a video game where the ONLY encouraged off board character interaction is snarky comments and "lulz." I think D&D 4th and Windows Vista have a lot in common in that I will probably never have a good enough reason to convert to either.

Mind you, I kind of have a unique situation where my entire group agreed that D&D 4th was a waste of time and money especially now that all the old books became cheaper. If you don't like what the businesses are doing to your game, don't let it stand. We are all the masters of our own groups and we can make the choices not to do what Wotc or whoever wants us to do.

[shadowfire]

Mind you, I kind of have a unique situation where my entire group agreed that D&D 4th was a waste of time and money especially now that all the old books became cheaper. If you don't like what the businesses are doing to your game, don't let it stand. We are all the masters of our own groups and we can make the choices not to do what Wotc or whoever wants us to do.

i would have to say that my group was off almost the same option as far as 4th edition.
We heard about the that they had planed to do with it before it was released and thought, "i hope this kills off D&D", then we read the core books when they came out and said-" wow theres like two rules in the whole game that are anything near good- the rest is crap". Mind you we didn't think we were going to drop everything to play the new D&D anyway so it was no big deal. There is much better games out there that have more to them and that don't act like crappy video games.

[Reg06]

i would have to say that my group was off almost the same option as far as 4th edition.
We heard about the that they had planed to do with it before it was released and thought, "i hope this kills off D&D", then we read the core books when they came out and said-" wow theres like two rules in the whole game that are anything near good- the rest is crap". Mind you we didn't think we were going to drop everything to play the new D&D anyway so it was no big deal. There is much better games out there that have more to them and that don't act like crappy video games.

Even if anything you said held any water, it's not like Final Fantasy ever borrowed anything from D&D. Which is good, because about the worst crime I can imagine is one form of media borrowing good ideas from another.