Our hobby is essentially homebrewed. But it's also an industry eager to appropriate that which its players inevitably do themselves, whether through deliberate houserules or passive misunderstanding. Trust me, I'm the guy who wrote a homebrew after all of three sessions back in 1978 (a system swallowed by time). And it's not just mechanics either. Even a game's ethical foundations are largely homebrewed despite a system's ambitions.
Case in point, a certain billionaire wants to buy D&D to bulwark his version of its history because money's the final arbiter of truth; and seriously, what's the point of being a billionaire if you can't do this sort of thing? All sarcasm aside, it's pointless (words fail me) to suggest anyone can own the truth or the human imagination. The fact that I could homebrew a game after three sessions I barely understood speaks to the futility of trying...
No, the hobby's progenitors weren't perfect, and how absurd to demand fealty to such a whitewashed version of history. They weren't perfect. Mere realism demands this assessment from us. But they did some good things as well, and gaming's one of them, even if its early vision was (sometimes) similarly imperfect. Anyway, it's not at all disloyal to suggest that our creative heroes were imperfect and shaped by their respective backgrounds.
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Part of the problem is that Hasbro (and certain online tribalists) state the obvious without a shred of humility or self-awareness. Indeed, Hasbro shows all the sincerity of a gun-shy corporation shilling virtue while avoiding trouble. All while failing to admit the products they're deriding are (quite literally) paying the bills. Of course, some sins are unforgivable (way to sully a legacy, Professor Barker; Nazis can piss right off immediately)...
But who's left when our moral purges silence literally everyone not born after a certain year, especially since we'll all be judged (and rightly so) by future generations? Yes, the 1970s were sexist by modern, thankfully abandoned, standards. And yes, this had to influence the earliest pastime in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. But while it's right to acknowledge such things and do better, we didn't exactly earn the advantage of living in our time.
More importantly, and here's where the homebrewing comes in, such displays, whether the disclaimers of Hasbro or the performative outrage of Musk, accomplish very little beyond covering backsides (Legal insisted) or circling the proverbial wagons. No rulebook will ever play for us or be decent for us. We bring our intuitions to the gaming table, homebrewing mechanics and morality alike despite whatever rulebook(s) we're using*...
We own that. It's ours. No company, no rulebook can change it. We can homebrew original systems, giving commercial products only what power we grant them through time and/or money (an empowering thought if ever there was), and the same applies to our moral values as filtered through our actions. Thoughtful and welcoming rulebooks are great, but come to nothing without people of genuine goodwill honest and humble enough to engage.
*Within limits, obviously. Redeeming F.A.T.A.L. isn't worth the time or effort...
A comment from Musk, in the linked article: ""Too many game studios that are owned by massive corporations," Musk wrote in a quoted post. "xAI is going to start an AI game studio to make games great again!"" Dude has ZERO sense of irony. He is "THE MAN" now, which he thinks he is rebelling against.
ReplyDeleteThere's a lack of self-awareness on that point...
DeleteI am so very tired of people throwing around the words Nazis and fascists as if anything happening today in our hobby is even remotely comparable to the horrors of those two things.
ReplyDeleteWhile I disagree with some things Elon has said I do applaud his efforts to raise awareness to a variety of topics that others do not have the balls to speak about. Honestly, at this point I could care less about D&D or what happens to it, I have moved on to other, better games that suit who I am now. While I would welcome a return of D&D to the style of game I like, I also realize that would not be a money maker for WotC and I accept that. That is the reason I support indie publishers who create things I like and enjoy.
Nazi does get thrown around too much. I was referring specifically to M. A. R. Barker (of Tekumel fame), who wrote a novel celebrating Nazis as heroes and elevating the horrors we both rightly denounce. It was a very rare instance of someone from the hobby actually living up to the hype. As to Musk, everyone's a mixed bag; but neither Hasbro or Musk have any power over the scene that plays out at individual tables. That said, I know we both prefer the indie scene, which just feels more authentic and closer to the source...
DeleteAh, I did not know about that. Makes sense.
DeleteYeah, much prefer the indie publisher scene, lots of great work being done there in many, many creative and interesting products.