finarvyn wrote:Frankly, in this market I wonder if any RPG will ever really "take off" the way some of the old ones did. There are just so many options nowadays that this tends to slice up the fanbase so many ways.
Back in the 1970's when RPGs were pretty new, every game seemed like an amazing innovation. I can play D&D in space with Traveller? I can have a colony ship with mutations in Metamorphosis Alpha? Have gunfights in Boot Hill? The list goes on, each one seeming to be different from another.
Now you have many games which fill essentially the same part of the market. Want to play fantasy RPGs? Try OD&D, AD&D, OSRIC, S&W, 4E, Pathfinder, C&C, et cetera. Each has some differences but each tends to follow the same basic model of gaming.
Where DCC may succeed is it's trying to capture a slightly different market -- that of the old style pulp fantasy novels. Whether that's a big enough difference to help it carve out a large niche or simply may encourage folks to say "well, I'll borrow this mechanic from DCC but still play X", who can say.
You have a good point, its a different industry than in the 70's 80's, or even 90's. But than again, maybe so many companies are making so many attempts at retro clones is because so many players are tying to find a good one. Perhaps its a sign that there is a huge market out that that is still yet to be satisfied. Maybe this game will capture that market? I have been looking for something like this for a long time. I played 3.x because every one else did, and it was the big thing back in the day. I play 4th ed occasionally because, again, that is played in alot of circles and alot of people like it. Im not crazy about playing CnC or any of those 3.x light games because I would rather just play my 3.x or DnD basic, and pathfinder, in my opinion, is a worse version of 3.x, not better. I have messed around with playing 4th ed hackmaster and hackmaster basic, as they somewhat capture the old feel, but they are very rule intensive with alot of stuff to keep track of, they are a blast but they are not easy to play.
For the past 20 years I have been looking for a game that played like old school but was updated in a way that is more substantial than a bunch of unnecsary rules or cheap tricks (such as fighters having super attack powers that they can use once per fight). I have alot of games that ended up being dissapointng sitting on my shelf. Maybe, maybe this is the one game to rule them all and, if alot of the gaming community has been like me, buying up these lesser games in an attempt to find that special something that made the old games so much fun, than maybe this game really can take off. Maybe there is something to be said for returning to the original inspirations of the game, and notes from the original creators, rather than moving further away from it in the way WOTC has. Time will tell, time will tell......
Like, in two days time if you guys release the beta on monday
Please?
