A popular sport of all time it has now become a bit of a frenzy. Part of it is he said this and part of it is that person questioned that with a big dose of every one questioning everyone else’s cred. The end result is rather comical in the worst kind of dark humor that reveals more about the “seers” thank anything about the future of the RPG industry. I have been involved in the industry for a long time. Longer than most people realize. I generally do not wave it about like a badge of honor or anything mainly since most of it is stuff that the vast majority of people either would not believe or choose not to believe. I have heard the “end of the industry” along witht he “end of the hobby”. When magic came out, industry folks in the know said that was the end for RPGs. Late 90s, CCRPG would kill the industry in 5 years. In 2000, it was MMORPGs.
My father once told me, “Bill, whatever you do, never believe your own bullshit. If you do, no one will be able to convince you otherwise and you will end up on the loosing end.” This is, I believe, the heart of it. Folks decide that the ideas they have are right and just push on to reinforce it more and more. You end up with proclamations of the end of times every 5 years or so (sometimes more often).
What will happen, as it always has happened, new methods of doing business will arise. Some folks will adopt them and fail, some will adopt them and succeed, some will not and fail and some will not and continue. You have companies that are still around 20 or more years into this. Some that are brand new. A great example of this is the retail tier of the industry. Here you have an original start with hobby stores. RPGs being sold next to model airplanes. Then you had athe first dedicated game stores. Then you had card/RPg hybrids. Now you see all manner of new models arising including online and entertainment models. The industry will go on, but it will evolve. Into what, I cannot say (if I could I would be WotC).
On a side note, a lot has been thrown up about “needing” the industry. Gamers do not need the industry on several levels. If the need a rules set, there are more than enough out there and will continue to be remainders sitting on pallets for the foreseeable future. Rule books are not consumable. Sure, 50 years after the last RPG book is printed you might have an issue but not in the foreseeable future. Couple this with the ability, nay, the inherent nature of RPGs to be customizable and you reduce any need to a convenience. Mind, for some it is pretty highly valued but still not a need.
Now, here is the thing, what we as publishers should do is look for ways to provide that convenience. In some cases it is a case of system rules, in some cases settings or adventure ideas. In all cases it needs to keep with the easiest means to access and use the rules books. Things that seem to be after thoughts to some publishers like bookmarks in digital copies or indices in print copies, looking at the book in terms of entertainment but also remembering it is a reference book.
In the end, as I have said before, the industry is evolving. There will be pain. More importantly, it is academic. As a company you cannot control it but you need to react to it. As a customer, you can only vote with your dollars.
System on a more positive note.
So, what does all this naval gazing really get us? Not much at the end of the day but it may make for some entertaining reading. Recently Clash over at Flying Mice Games talked about system as a distinct set of components. In those he included things we would all nod our heads in agreement but added a few that we would most likely shrug at. In those, we have things like character generation, initiative, resources and abilities. Sure, we would probably say, you either rolling the dice for those or defining the dice you would roll. This is off course system. This is the toto of system, the alpha and omega. Or is it?
The problem here is we are looking at the trees, we are classifying them, defining the as the forest and not understanding how the moss, the brush, rivers and creeks, hills and vales all figure into it. We are leaving out what fundamentally gives system meaning. In a word, that is system.
System is the glue that binds, this is the elements that gives system meaning. System has no purpose, in and of itself. Setting though, this can exist without a shred of system. Wait! you might say, you have setting-less systems like DND!!!!! Not really. Sorry, but DND has a fantasy setting. Upfront. Very few systems are sold without a shred of setting. D20 Modern?!?! Well, a modern world setting. Palladium Fantasy?!?! Right there in the title. However, lets flip it around. Greyhawk? Sure, it was made for DND but it is not tied to it in the least. The many setting books by Green Ronin and others? You can sell a setting without a system because it is the glue that binds the system. It is the hills, vales, rivers and whatnot outside of the trees and types of trees. A truly setting-less system will fall flat because it boils down to a flat engagement of analytics. It does not engage our imaginations, it does not fill that craving for a story that we find so engaging. I am not saying setting equals story but that a setting engages the same area of our imagination and sparks the ideas for a story.
So, bottom line, how does the tripe above make for a better gaming experience for you, the reader. Going forward, assuming it had not already occurred to you, one could take the understanding of setting over system as a means to:
1. Present a setting to your group and let system work itself out. The group likes Palladium, then adapt it to your setting.
2. When picking a gaming product, look more closely at the setting, less at the system. The system, at the end of the day, can be replaced, setting, not so much.
3. When you are disappointed with a game, think about why that is. Is it really the system? It may well be. Is it the setting? If it is, you may have a much more fundamental problem with the product.
Good luck in finding a game you enjoy and Good Gaming!