What are the major trends and RPGs of the Decade?

[Trippy]

It's getting quite close to the end of the decade, with a couple of years still to go, but this is probably enough to be able to work out what the major influences on the hobby have characterised the decade. You know the sort of thing I'm talking about, I hope (feel free to correct me!):

1970s - Dawn of the hobby - Major games: OD&D, Traveller, RuneQuest - big emphasis on sweeping vistas, escapism and intricate settings (eg: Glorantha, Empire of the Petal Throne).
1980s - The Business decade of gaming - Major games: AD&D, Call of Cthulhu, Champions, GURPS, latterly Cyberpunk and most notably Warhammer 40K. The D&D cartoon; the 'satanic' outcry, the growth of the hobby into the gaming industry. Materialism in gaming: big skill lists and equipment catalogs; lots of materialistic/mechanistic settings low on 'spirituality' and high on accumulating stuff.
1990s - The 'Goth-Punk' decade - the withdrawal of Games Workshop from rpgs to focus on wargaming, the collapse of TSR, GDW and other older companies; the rise of Wizards of the Coast and White Wolf. Vampire: The Masquerade, 'goth punk'; dark urban fantasies and conspiracies; moody 'artistic' gaming. Magic: The Gathering and CCGs.
2000s - The D20 decade - D&D 3rd edition/OSR/d20 - new companies like Green Ronin and Mongoose; 'Indie' gaming - GNS theory. Lots of pulpy, heroic action games like Savage Worlds, Mutants & Masterminds and Spirit of the Century. Collapse of D20 Bubble. D&D4 vs Pathfinder.

And so to this decade, the 2010s. He's a few of my guesses:

- The Kickstarter Decade - Crowdfunding. Alternative avenues of creating and selling to RPG markets, including PDF and POD; eBay and Amazon.
- Tabletop - Felicia Day and Will Wheaton; Critical Role; YouTube unboxing videos and live action podcasts, etc.
- 'Old School Renaissance + mainstream "Indie" rpgs.
- Apocalyptic roleplaying - Apocalypse World, Eclipse Phase, Mutant: Year Zero, Numenera, lots of games depicting the end of the world as we know it.

Any others?

 

[David Johansen]

I think the rise of Modiphus, with their major licenses and narrativist mechanics, probably needs some mention. They've gone from pretty much nobody to major licenses in a hurry.

 

[Trippy]

I think the rise of Modiphus, with their major licenses and narrativist mechanics, probably needs some mention. They've gone from pretty much nobody to major licenses in a hurry.

Actually, along with Cubicle 7 too, it does need to be noted about the rise of British, and indeed other European companies in this last decade.

 

[Dumarest]

Sorry, I haven't paid any attention to the industry and rarely buy anything new. Most of it seems to put gloss and gimmick over substance and utility, at least what I have browsed. Maybe that's your trend, but I couldn't say as I can't keep up with what's been going down.

 

[David Johansen]

Kickstarter has certainly put success in reach for small companies but it seems to lean to high production value big fat art books.

 

[Voros]

I think this was the decade of rules-light games. It seems are the core audience for RPGs aged more people came to appreciate rule sets that are quick at the table and require less or zero prep.

 

[Trippy]

I think this was the decade of rules-light games. It seems are the core audience for RPGs aged more people came to appreciate rule sets that are quick at the table and require less or zero prep.

I dunno. Call of Cthulhu 7E seemed to get more complicated to me, and one of the most popular games has been Pathfinder which is pretty complicated too.

 

[clash bowley]

I generally do it like this: What did clash bowley write about? Eliminate those from consideration. List the balance.

 

[Simlasa]

For myself, it's mostly been about the OSR... the new takes on 'inspired by D&D'.
Kickstarter has been a thing too... and how long has OBS been around selling PDFs and POD?

 

[Ragr]

For me on a personal level it's been the decade of playing in online games, so G+ and, to a lesser extent, Roll20 have kept my gaming alive where it possibly wouldn't even be happening now otherwise.

This has also fed into the desire for much more rules light games that are easier to manage at a virtual table.

 

[Baeraad]

Definitely Kickstarter. And OSR seems to have become entirely inescapable, so that one too. Not sure about post-apocalyptic stuff... wasn't there plenty of that around last decade too?

Rules-light games are definitely in, to the point where you can barely find a crunch game anymore. A pity, from my perspective, since I like a nice, solid skill system, but there you have it.

 

[Trippy]

Definitely Kickstarter. And OSR seems to have become entirely inescapable, so that one too. Not sure about post-apocalyptic stuff... wasn't there plenty of that around last decade too?

Examples?

 

[Simlasa]

For me on a personal level it's been the decade of playing in online games, so G+ and, to a lesser extent, Roll20 have kept my gaming alive where it possibly wouldn't even be happening now otherwise.

Oh yeah! How could I forget Roll20... the majority of my gaming nowadays takes place online. If it weren't for Roll20 I'd pretty much be stuck with 5e and Pathfinder as local options... but online I've found it pretty easy to get in on a wide variety of games.

 

[Edgewise]

Here are some trends that I believe to have made an impact in the two-thousand teens:

• OSR reaches its apex (possibly) by breathing new life into D&D via 5e.
• Story gaming reaches its apex (possibly) via Apocalypse Engine and its ilk.
• Online gaming makes it easier to game and easier to see how other people game.
• Digital (i.e. PDF) content becomes a tsunami via places like DriveThru.

Of these, I'd argue that the last of them has the biggest impact. Its reminiscent of what's been going on in television for two decades: an ongoing explosion of high-quality niche-oriented programming for dirt cheap/free. All four of these are driven by the the internet, of course.

What about the next decade? I think we're on the cusp of an upswing in interest. That shouldn't seem controversial to anyone - there has been a big uptick in stories about D&D and tabletop role-playing in the wider world over the last two years or so. Credit where credit is due: 5e is the tip of the spear at the moment.

Why is this? I think our culture is much more accepting of geek culture, and more abstractly speaking, the concept of "virtual worlds" has been made very familiar. Fantastic escapism has never been more popular, and what more pure form is there of that than role-playing? What video games aspire to, ever falling short, is effortlessly achieved on the tabletop. "Sandbox" gaming? Please...we've had that locked down for decades.

I think there are real barriers to tabletop role-playing getting wider acceptance, but they are surmountable. The big ones are:

• A lot of effort, attention and planning are necessary.
• While fantastic fiction has more popular cachet than ever, some people are really turned off by "Yodas and shit."

In different ways, these can be mitigated. I look forward to a really good police procedural role-playing game. Something with really easy rules and comprehensive inspirational tables for the GM. Something like Law and Order could even be diceless, and you could put most of the work on the GM's shoulders.

Anyway, I think it's possible we could see a big surge, and I think we're at least going to see (are seeing) a modest surge.

 

[Endless Flight]

• Kickstarter making it easier for the little guy to make a big impression in the RPG world.
• Roll20 and other online tools making it easy for players to game anywhere.
• Pathfinder's dominance and the fall and rise of Dungeons & Dragons.
• Narrative mechanics becoming more ingrained in more games.
• More direct-to-PDF means customers are getting content faster than ever before.

 

[Baeraad]

Examples?

Dunno. I just feel like I've been going, "oh no, not another one taking place in the ruins of civilisation!" for a lot more than ten years. I admit it's possible that I'm mixing it together with books and movies, and that it didn't migrate into roleplaying until recently, but... well, the second roleplaying game I ever owned was Mutant, and that was back in the nineties. It just doesn't feel like a new thing.

 

[Raleel]

rules lite, OSR, kickstarter, roll20 and strong online gaming are big ones for me, but not the biggest.

One that hasn't been mentioned much is the mainstreaming of the hobby. Critical Role is being advertised on billboards. Stranger Things introduced it to a huge mass of people. The Community had an episode and suddenly people were asking me about D&D. The list of popular media for D&D specifically has grown pretty well exponentially in the last decade. Add on top of this 5e, which has outsold several previous editions, and it's really not very old at all. Articles like this are being published. Many many media figures are coming out as closet D&D players.

Essentially, there is no stigma anymore. No demon stuff. No fringe stuff. No weirdo stuff. Not even nerd stuff. You can literally point to people of whichever metric you view as valuable and there are role players.

On the "stuff" front, I'll point to kickstarter as much for enabling paraphernalia (minis, terrain, tools) as rpgs. Bones 1 was in 2012, for example.

 

[Baulderstone]

I dunno. Call of Cthulhu 7E seemed to get more complicated to me, and one of the most popular games has been Pathfinder which is pretty complicated too.

Also, Modiphius' house system has one of the most convoluted core mechanics of any game I have ever seen. Pathfinder has a really simple core TN system, but the complexity arises from the parts bolted into that system. Modiphius' system is complicated in its bones.

Not to say there isn't a lot of great light stuff going on, but it hasn't chased complexity away.

I'd say the biggest trend now is the diversity of trends. If you want new products written OD&D, you can find them. If you want new products, WoD, you've got them too. You don't like CoC 7E? Maybe Delta Green will be a more pleasing version of Lovecraftian BRP for you.

 

[Bunch]

rules lite, OSR, kickstarter, roll20 and strong online gaming are big ones for me, but not the biggest.

One that hasn't been mentioned much is the mainstreaming of the hobby. Critical Role is being advertised on billboards. Stranger Things introduced it to a huge mass of people. The Community had an episode and suddenly people were asking me about D&D. The list of popular media for D&D specifically has grown pretty well exponentially in the last decade. Add on top of this 5e, which has outsold several previous editions, and it's really not very old at all. Articles like this are being published. Many many media figures are coming out as closet D&D players.

Essentially, there is no stigma anymore. No demon stuff. No fringe stuff. No weirdo stuff. Not even nerd stuff. You can literally point to people of whichever metric you view as valuable and there are role players.

On the "stuff" front, I'll point to kickstarter as much for enabling paraphernalia (minis, terrain, tools) as rpgs. Bones 1 was in 2012, for example.

I wouldn't say there's no stigma. There's little to no stigma for people under 40. But my peers my age still view D&D through the lens of their childhood. If they didn't have a negative association then they don't now. If they did then they still do. It still oddly separates me from my age group while making me randomly cooler to people under my age.

Which would be cool but I do prefer spending time with folks who lived through the same stuff I did. You have a different perspective and there are times when I want a broader perspective and times when I want comfort of shared life experience. Gaming is escapism for me and I don't need social challenge when I escape.

 

[Raleel]

I wouldn't say there's no stigma. There's little to no stigma for people under 40. But my peers my age still view D&D through the lens of their childhood. If they didn't have a negative association then they don't now. If they did then they still do. It still oddly separates me from my age group while making me randomly cooler to people under my age.

Which would be cool but I do prefer spending time with folks who lived through the same stuff I did. You have a different perspective and there are times when I want a broader perspective and times when I want comfort of shared life experience. Gaming is escapism for me and I don't need social challenge when I escape.

That's fair. I don't experience a lot of that myself. My "group my age" at work is in a decidedly nerdy environment, so they are not going to be a good sample.

On the other hand, you might be old, but you are associated with the younger generation and can avoid the whole get off my lawn image ;)

 

[TheophilusCarter]

I wouldn't say there's no stigma. There's little to no stigma for people under 40. But my peers my age still view D&D through the lens of their childhood. If they didn't have a negative association then they don't now. If they did then they still do. It still oddly separates me from my age group while making me randomly cooler to people under my age.

I've noticed the same thing. When I tell my students (most of whom are in the 18-22 range) that I play D&D, I either get shrugs or "What edition?!" When I tell people my age(ish), I mostly get smirks or blank looks.

 

[Bunch]

I was in your situation when I worked in tech. Now I'm a stay at home dad and the other father's spread the gamut of jobs. When I say I game the first response is oh like Risk? If I advance towards euro games half or more drop off. If I advance to RPGs almost all drop off. I've found one Dad who gamed as a teen. The rest look at me like I'm a little crazier than I am.

It's been the hardest social adjustment to go from a situation where you are the norm and everyone else is weird to the complete opposite. Both in my hobbies and job. I used to spend all day around guys and maybe a few women. Now I speak to men maybe for an hour a week. Its weird.

 

[Baulderstone]

I wouldn't say there's no stigma. There's little to no stigma for people under 40. But my peers my age still view D&D through the lens of their childhood. If they didn't have a negative association then they don't now. If they did then they still do. It still oddly separates me from my age group while making me randomly cooler to people under my age.

Which would be cool but I do prefer spending time with folks who lived through the same stuff I did. You have a different perspective and there are times when I want a broader perspective and times when I want comfort of shared life experience. Gaming is escapism for me and I don't need social challenge when I escape.

I think gaming especially works well with people with shared life experiences. It involves creating a shared imaginary environment. It's easier to do that with people whose heads are full of the same cultural set dressing.

Obviously, people can expand their horizons. Gaming encouraged me to read authors like Jack Vance and Clark Ashton Smith, and a lot of history in order to better understand the game I play. People often play movies for their group to get then in the right headspace for a new campaign. It is just easier when everyone is already there.

 

[Ronnie Sanford]

Dunno. I just feel like I've been going, "oh no, not another one taking place in the ruins of civilisation!" for a lot more than ten years. I admit it's possible that I'm mixing it together with books and movies, and that it didn't migrate into roleplaying until recently, but... well, the second roleplaying game I ever owned was Mutant, and that was back in the nineties. It just doesn't feel like a new thing.

Hey - this looks interesting. Especially the versions of the games published in the eighties. Don’t want to derail the thread but we’re they available in English?

 

[Trippy]

Dunno. I just feel like I've been going, "oh no, not another one taking place in the ruins of civilisation!" for a lot more than ten years. I admit it's possible that I'm mixing it together with books and movies, and that it didn't migrate into roleplaying until recently, but... well, the second roleplaying game I ever owned was Mutant, and that was back in the nineties. It just doesn't feel like a new thing.

Not new, but a trend. Just like in the last decade, playing pulp action heroics wasn't a new genre to roleplaying, but it was something that became more accentuated within the hobby during that time. It was as if gamers were unconsciously rejecting the murky, gothic urban fantasies that were prevalent in the 1990s for something more morally straightforward and upbeat.

In the 2010s, we've seen titles like Eclipse Phase (technically a 2009 release, but really a game of this decade in terms of distribution), Apocalypse World, Numenera, Mutant: Year Zero, Stalker, The End of the World series from FFG, etc. There have been plenty of other rpgs of other genres of course, but for me, there has been a stable upsurge in the number of games that depict an end of human civilisation as we know it.

 

[Voros]

I dunno. Call of Cthulhu 7E seemed to get more complicated to me, and one of the most popular games has been Pathfinder which is pretty complicated too.

For sure there is always going to be a range but 5E D&D moved to medium crunch, the OSR is largely built on the lighter B/X chassis, Powered by the Apocalypse, Cypher System, etc all tend to the lighter end.

 

[TheophilusCarter]

Not new, but a trend. Just like in the last decade, playing pulp action heroics wasn't a new genre to roleplaying, but it was something that became more accentuated within the hobby during that time. It was as if gamers were unconsciously rejecting the murky, gothic urban fantasies that were prevalent in the 1990s for something more morally straightforward and upbeat.

That. Also, a lot of pulp stuff (yes, I know "pulp" isn't a genre, but you all know what I mean, so work with me here!) isn't shy about being gonzo and even downright inconsistent - which I've always felt makes GMing easier!

 

[Edgewise]

One that hasn't been mentioned much is the mainstreaming of the hobby. Critical Role is being advertised on billboards. Stranger Things introduced it to a huge mass of people. The Community had an episode and suddenly people were asking me about D&D.

I think it's mostly in the last couple of years that it's been more visible. As I said, I do expect this to continue and possibly explode. The (first) D&D Community episode was probably the first sign of this trend. Also: great fucking episode from the future co-creator of Rick and Morty. I've been meaning to watch Harmonquest but I'd have to subscribe to Hulu or something.

 

[Dumarest]

That. Also, a lot of pulp stuff (yes, I know "pulp" isn't a genre, but you all know what I mean, so work with me here!) isn't shy about being gonzo and even downright inconsistent - which I've always felt makes GMing easier!

I'll save the inevitable pedant the effort: PULP ISN'T A GENRE!

(You explain away the inconsistencies by "revealing" heretofore unknown information to prove the ref didn't make a mistake!)

 

[Baeraad]

Hey - this looks interesting. Especially the versions of the games published in the eighties. Don’t want to derail the thread but we’re they available in English?

Not the editions I played, no... But one of the later ones (which I'm not sure how different it is, because I haven't read it) has been translated as Mutant: Year Zero.

I'll save the inevitable pedant the effort: PULP ISN'T A GENRE!

There should really be a name for something that isn't a genre but a particular approach to any possible genre. "Aesthetic," perhaps? Another example would be anime.

 

[Charlie D]

I think a trend is a return of (almost) all the games. Right now we have a mix of the oldest games still in print, some of the biggest franchises as RPGs, a variety of games from the earliest days of the hobby making a comeback, and all the newest and latest and greatest. Right you can play or will be able to very soon:

1.) D&D and dozens of versions and editions of D&D, many in print.
2.) Star Trek.
3.) Star Wars, with two editions in print (one a reprint but still in print).
4.) Middle Earth in two rule options including D&D (which I never thought I'd see).
5.) Conan.
6.) Traveller in two editions in print.
7.) Call of Cthulhu and many versions.
8.) RuneQuest and many versions and editions in print.
9.) Palladium is still around.
10.) Torg.
11.) Warhammer FRP back in print.
12.) Alternity back in print.
13.) John Carter.
14.) Heck even Talislanta is back!
15.) You can probably name another dozen easily.

 

[Ladybird]

I think a trend is a return of (almost) all the games. Right now we have a mix of the oldest games still in print, some of the biggest franchises as RPGs, a variety of games from the earliest days of the hobby making a comeback, and all the newest and latest and greatest. Right you can play or will be able to very soon:

Indeed. This is our golden age.

 

[Dumarest]

The main trends that I have personally noticed is people taking names of old games and rewriting them rather than just rereleasing the real deal, combined with people making their own versions of old games, sometimes for no apparent reason, and the best trend of all is people producing original adventure modules. Now if we can just get them to see beyond D&D and start creating cool modules for original Traveller, Boot Hill, and other awesome games, all will be as it should be except I'd probably end up a pauper having gone broke on a module splurge.

 

[Baulderstone]

The main trends that I have personally noticed is people taking names of old games and rewriting them rather than just rereleasing the real deal, combined with people making their own versions of old games, sometimes for no apparent reason, and the best trend of all is people producing original adventure modules. Now if we can just get them to see beyond D&D and start creating cool modules for original Traveller, Boot Hill, and other awesome games, all will be as it should be except I'd probably end up a pauper having gone broke on a module splurge.

There is a lot of that beyond D&D. Traveller has the Cepheus Engine which seems to be getting good support. If that isn't "original Traveller" enough, I am sure someone will make a more old school variant of it soon enough. Since Mongoose let BRP out into the wild, it has had people running with it all directions. It's interesting that Mongoose has played such a big role in open sourcing classic games.

Freeing Boot Hill might be harder. Then again, if someone released a Boot Hill retro-clone, legality aside, I don't know it WotC would even notice. Of course, being so under the radar, I don't see it getting the same kind of support Traveller and BRP are getting.

 

[A Fiery Flying Roll]

Kickstarter. But in general the main RPG trend of the modern age is fragmentation into lots of different settings and types. A similar process has happened with music. The time of "big movements" is largely past.

 

[Charlie D]

Another thing I see coming back around is the house system. Modiphius has it. Free League has it. WotC has had it the longest. Paizo has one. FFG has it. Goodman Games have one.

 

[Endless Flight]

I hate it when companies try and squeeze every setting into one system. You should build the game around the setting, not the other way around. Occasionally you will get a system, like d20 or D6, that are good for more than one. They are few and far between though.

 

[Bunch]

Kickstarter. But in general the main RPG trend of the modern age is fragmentation into lots of different settings and types. A similar process has happened with music. The time of "big movements" is largely past.

Well except 5e which is probably the biggest movement since the original D&D fad.

 

[Dumarest]

Another thing I see coming back around is the house system.

Ugh, I really hate house systems. One size does not fit all. Never has, never will. Give me a game designed around its setting or genre.

 

[K_Peterson]

Freeing Boot Hill might be harder. Then again, if someone released a Boot Hill retro-clone, legality aside, I don't know it WotC would even notice. Of course, being so under the radar, I don't see it getting the same kind of support Traveller and BRP are getting.

Beyond just being under the radar, it's a Western Rpg, which tightens the niche even further. That would probably be the biggest reason why it wouldn't get much support if retrocloned today.