>From: "woodelf (lists)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>we're going after completely different results for almost the same
>reason: you think mechanics don't matter, so just pick one (D20) and
>use it. me, i think game mechanics don't matter, so there's no
>reason to just stick with one. i can already pick up a Feng Shui
>scenario and use it in my D&D3E game, or define my Mage: the
>Sorcerer's Crusade town in Aria terms, or drop a Call of Cthulhu
>baddie into my CORPS game, so there is nothing to be gained by more
>games using the same mechanics.
I would disagree.. there is one HUGE factor that you aren't covering on why
to have games that use the same mechanics: Players. If a game has a small
or non-existant learning curve, due to the players already knowing the core
rules, it will see more use than a game that people have to learn from
scratch. I see this with my gaming group. The group was able to pick up
Talislanta and play it very quickly, due to similarities with d20, while
games who use entirely different mechanics, such as MERP, Rolemaster, etc
seem to slow the group down to a crawl as they try to figure out how to do
stuff, etc.
>>I am looking forward to a day when game rules can no longer be the
>>basis for pissing contests (and they really are on some of these
>>email lists and even at the gaming table) and it becomes obvious
>>that designers are focusing on getting to intimately know the people
>>who actually play the game.
The problem with intimately knowing the people who play the game is that you
have to carve a niche at some point then. IronClaw is a great example of
this, and I mean that in a good regard. They intimately know what their
target wants. They are serving that specific audience rather nicely. They
will never see the level of success that a more generic, d20 style game sees
however because they took the time to get to know their players. Generic
worlds, generic rules, such as d20 offers, are ideal for shotgunning to a
mass market. People know they can get the rules at most bookstores, gaming
stores, etc. Targetting products are not going to ever hit anything close to
that as you only have a few interested parties in any one location. Pissing
contest or not, if you want to appeal to the largest audience possible, you
make generic stuff that the players can alter on their own.
-Grok
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