Re: Dungeons of Dread – a rant about a game that doesn’t exist (yet)
Posted by Billiam Babble on Oct 16, 2011; 5:43pm
URL: http://the-lost-and-the-damned.71.s1.nabble.com/Dungeons-of-Dread-a-rant-about-a-game-that-doesn-t-exist-yet-tp6875207p6898166.html
Those quotes from players and passers-by were making me curl up inside.
I'm such an isolationist these days, I'm rarely actually exposed realities which I sort of suspect.
Thanks for explaining the "specialist" games stuff , makes more sense of the big picture for me. Now I think I remember a while back you explaining why LotR was deliberately un-warhammery in rules and aesthetics - tis a legal thing!
It's still so strange, considering Games Workshop's roots in the 70s when they were open to all products (strategy boardgames, RPGs, table-top war-gaming) and then marginalising to one arm of the hobby. At least they never went too far into collectable card packs - but no, they didn't need too, I mean imagine if the pictures on the cards were molded in 3D metal or plastic and that a few cards could cost a mere £15 ... no, wait. ;)
I'm also curious to read how many folk in the US have FLG store (is that right? "Friendly local game" store? I often get the abbreviation wrong) which might sell everything from comics, toys, t-shirts and games. GW was that for us in the UK and then they changed. Virgin Megastore used to stock a handful of imported games, but it was meagre. In "good" bookshops you will see the odd rulebook in amongst the manga, but rarely a full range of anything. I know in some cities, sometimes there's a Forbidden Planet/Another World -"collectables" shops, but they would rarely hold games or contests (or am I wrong?). Locally, my town had a new independent shop open and close in just under a year, but even then it was tabletop wargames only, but thankfully gave me a chance to see some Flames of War models, Hordes and Warmachine, but RPGs or even a dungeon crawler (or a D&D boardgame) seemed a little too beneath radar for them. The funny thing was that this shop was just around the corner from GW and sold GW products. The GW staff would even go in and play games, which was nice to see (despite my belief that they are ex-gamers tortured to do the devil's will and trained in Dixons). I'm pretty sure there was at least some symbiosis there - or at least an overlapping of customers. (Cue: "Popular People's Front of Judea" sketch)
So from my RPG-gaming biassed perspective, I say that GW effectively killed off role-playing in the UK (or drove it underground).
Ah, bless GW. They giveth and they taketh. Bless the customers who giveth and well... they get something for a bit, right? (before they change the rules, army lists or stop a product line)
But again, I think I've gone off the point here.
Mortis's Dungeons of Dread is an effective bringing together of the combination of exploitation, excitement and let downs that a single special product from Games Workshop can have.
One day I will learn to love you again, my darling Games Workshop.
But not today or tomorrow.
URL: http://the-lost-and-the-damned.71.s1.nabble.com/Dungeons-of-Dread-a-rant-about-a-game-that-doesn-t-exist-yet-tp6875207p6898166.html
Those quotes from players and passers-by were making me curl up inside.
I'm such an isolationist these days, I'm rarely actually exposed realities which I sort of suspect.
Thanks for explaining the "specialist" games stuff , makes more sense of the big picture for me. Now I think I remember a while back you explaining why LotR was deliberately un-warhammery in rules and aesthetics - tis a legal thing!
It's still so strange, considering Games Workshop's roots in the 70s when they were open to all products (strategy boardgames, RPGs, table-top war-gaming) and then marginalising to one arm of the hobby. At least they never went too far into collectable card packs - but no, they didn't need too, I mean imagine if the pictures on the cards were molded in 3D metal or plastic and that a few cards could cost a mere £15 ... no, wait. ;)
I'm also curious to read how many folk in the US have FLG store (is that right? "Friendly local game" store? I often get the abbreviation wrong) which might sell everything from comics, toys, t-shirts and games. GW was that for us in the UK and then they changed. Virgin Megastore used to stock a handful of imported games, but it was meagre. In "good" bookshops you will see the odd rulebook in amongst the manga, but rarely a full range of anything. I know in some cities, sometimes there's a Forbidden Planet/Another World -"collectables" shops, but they would rarely hold games or contests (or am I wrong?). Locally, my town had a new independent shop open and close in just under a year, but even then it was tabletop wargames only, but thankfully gave me a chance to see some Flames of War models, Hordes and Warmachine, but RPGs or even a dungeon crawler (or a D&D boardgame) seemed a little too beneath radar for them. The funny thing was that this shop was just around the corner from GW and sold GW products. The GW staff would even go in and play games, which was nice to see (despite my belief that they are ex-gamers tortured to do the devil's will and trained in Dixons). I'm pretty sure there was at least some symbiosis there - or at least an overlapping of customers. (Cue: "Popular People's Front of Judea" sketch)
So from my RPG-gaming biassed perspective, I say that GW effectively killed off role-playing in the UK (or drove it underground).
Ah, bless GW. They giveth and they taketh. Bless the customers who giveth and well... they get something for a bit, right? (before they change the rules, army lists or stop a product line)
But again, I think I've gone off the point here.
Mortis's Dungeons of Dread is an effective bringing together of the combination of exploitation, excitement and let downs that a single special product from Games Workshop can have.
One day I will learn to love you again, my darling Games Workshop.
But not today or tomorrow.
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