I have decided to go in a completely different direction with what Arneson gifted to us, and outside of the RPG Industry. Once I make up my mind it is pretty well set in stone because I have usually assessed all angles prior to such decisions.I will be exclusively promoting design theory and systems theory for play from this point forward and will be spending increasingly less time on RPG related matter as well.
In the next 6 months I'll probably be finished with my last effort in RPG's, a history, the BOOK, and from there I hope to stay in theory, essays, board games and other. RPGs have run their course.
Such irony, too. I have an idea for an open systems RPG, really good *written and outlined in 2010* but cannot/would not produce as it would be something that people would not play. I would. Gary would have. Arneson, of course. But folks today? Nah. They are stuck with their brand of gaming, don't take chances and look for sameness, a comfort zone. This is not BITD of wild and carefree meandering, the huge cross sections of science and fiction and history which intersected with design, those days are gone at least as I have attempted to find any comparison to them in this industry.
I have seen this coming, btw, since 2007 and probably even before. No surprise. Thought I'd give it a last shot for the good ole times. No biggy. I have interested parties outside this hobby sphere, in fact much bigger than within it.
He didn’t fail; the hobby failed him. This, of course, is more of the same Arnesonian one-true-way dead-enderism that Kuntz has been flogging for years. It’s Dungeons & Dragons as gnostic cult.
Between this and Frank Mentzer’s recent antics, the hobby’s old-timers are really embarrassing themselves. I wish they’d just go away and I don’t think I’m alone in this opinion.
