When Nostalgia Fails

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serleran
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When Nostalgia Fails

Post by serleran »

So, I've been reading over a ton of Shadowrun modules, trying to remember why I liked them, and you know, I just can't see it. These things make Dragonlance look free-form. They are tracked and trained, chummers.

I still love the game system, and I think the stories in the modules have potential... but, not the way they are presented. Hell, its got stuff like: "If the runners fail to notice this, have it drop in their lap." What the hell? If the players fail to notice something, they are screwed. No freebies. No get out of jail crap. No "but, but" coddling nonsense!

Arg. Anyone else have any of these moments, when you remember something being much cooler than it was? ;)
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DangerDwarf
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Re: When Nostalgia Fails

Post by DangerDwarf »

serleran wrote:
So, I've been reading over a ton of Shadowrun modules, trying to remember why I liked them, and you know, I just can't see it. These things make Dragonlance look free-form. They are tracked and trained, chummers.

Yeah. Because of that I never bothered with a lot of the old SR modules. One of the best parts about Shadowrun is that it is a real easy system to come up with your own stuff for. Johnson hires party to do X. Twist plot as desired.
serleran wrote:
Arg. Anyone else have any of these moments, when you remember something being much cooler than it was?

Yeah. RIFTS.

I get all nostalgic about that game about once every year or two. Then I pull it off the shelf and remember why it sits on the shelf and doesn't get used.
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SavageRobby
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Post by SavageRobby »

Car Wars is that way for me. Great concept. Complicated execution.
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CharlieRock
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Post by CharlieRock »

SavageRobby wrote:
Car Wars is that way for me. Great concept. Complicated execution.

Aw, Car Wars is still awesome. Just use only pre-2039 gear. Or, start a campaign somewhere around 2035 and end at 2040. Repeat as necessary. It was the plethora of doohickies that started slowing the action down for me.

One of my "this used to be cool back then ..." came when I rewatched the live-action TMNT2 movie. Hearing Vanilla Ice singing "Go ninja, go ninja. Go!" made me sick.
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SpencerWright
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Post by SpencerWright »

SavageRobby wrote:
Car Wars is that way for me. Great concept. Complicated execution.

About 20 years ago I played Car Wars with SJ, Scot Herring and David Ladyman. David won, Steve crashed and burned.

For me I guess it is the HERO system. It seems kind of antiseptic now.
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CharlieRock
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Post by CharlieRock »

SavageRobby wrote:
Car Wars is that way for me. Great concept. Complicated execution.

Er, waitaminit. Do you mean Car Wars the card game or Car Wars the boardgame?

I played the boardgame version. To me it didn't seem more complicated than BattleTech. Then again, that game used to scare a lot of my friends away from it back then, too.
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Philotomy Jurament
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Re: When Nostalgia Fails

Post by Philotomy Jurament »

serleran wrote:
Arg. Anyone else have any of these moments, when you remember something being much cooler than it was?

I've been reading lots of my old swords-n-sorcery paperbacks from decades ago: Howard, Leiber, Merritt, Burroughs, etc. Most of them have been great on the re-read, and have got my creative juices flowing for my games. But when I re-read some of my Moorcock books, I had exactly the reaction you're talking about. They weren't terrible, but it sure wasn't the same as the first time. Kind of a blow, to me, because Moorcock was one of my favorites, back in the day.
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synabetic
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Post by synabetic »

For me it was Cyberpunk 2020 recently. It's not that I think it sucks, as the basic rules are fine and dandy... it just reads.... well, it reads really dated and kinda corny. It also made me realise why my friends and I kit-bashed the hell out of it and we ended up playing something not quite the same, but similar. (eg we cut out everything we didn't like, such as the backstory and a couple archtypes and added a whole bunch of other stuff)

Do understand that I loved this game, and played it often from when it first came out to about 2003.

Then I picked up Cyberpunk v.3. Dear gawd. I don't like to dwell on the negative, but I have to say it's one of the worst things I've ever encountered game-wise (Maybe even-- dare I say it?-- Worse than Synnabar... at least the dude tried). And it's an eyesore. v3 also helped to further ruin my Cyberpunk nostalgia somehow. I don't think I could ever play the game again.

Don't ask me to explain fully why I feel this way... I just do. I'm probably going to get rid of what's left of my Cyberpunk books. Or at least pack them away never to be seen again (probably). I spent some time away, saw the new version, realised I only play it for nostalgic purposes, and came to the conclusion that I don't think I like it anymore.

Good thing my AD&D nostalgia is still running strong!
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