Re: Discussion topic - rewriting (future) history....?

On 20/10/2011 11:58 AM, Damond Walker wrote:
>> My thought is, any time you spend considering the backstory canon
would
>> probably be better spent working on minis or co-coordinating with new
>> rulesets.  In the end, we didn't play FT because of backstory (though
it's
>> always nice to have) - we played FT because, it had good and fast
rules
>> and nice looking miniatures.  I don't think revising the backstory
>> will generate much, if anything in the way of new business, and will
>> risk alienating anybody who feels the 'backstory' has become less
>> 'realistic' by the changes.
>
> Who is this "we" you are talking about?  Your local FT Admiral's Club?

Most of the friends I played with for the past 25 years.  For us, we
bought stuff because of the big subject matter (starships, mostly.) 
Then,
we decided to play it or not if we thought we could get a game in the
amount of time we had.

Case in point: all my friends loved Star Trek, but none of us played
Star Fleet Battles because it just took too damn long.	We really
liked the ideas behind Renegade Legion, but, when we actually came to
play the game, we found it awkward and unwieldy, and we put it away.
How many of us have picked up a game, played it, and then decided that
we
weren't going to play it anymore?  What makes us decide that we're
not going to play the game?  The plot?	Or whether or not the game is
fun?

> I disagree -- I know a number of people who play (sujectively
> inferior) games BECAUSE of the fluff.  I think the fluff should be
> tweaked -- not changed per se -- but nudged in certain areas to align
> it with the world as we know today.

I think that's another issue: once you start revising in certain areas,
you
create that precedent of change.  In 20 years, you're going to have
"align it again", because the world is always going to change in ways
we don't see and expect.  And how do you choose which areas to align
it with?  That, in and of itself, is going to create a huge amount
of discussion, and, as I said, you can pretty much justify any future
you want.

Besides, as far as I can tell, supporting fiction for Battletech and
Games
Workshop and Halo (to pick three examples) didn't create massive game
sales.	It was massive game sales that created the market for the
fiction.  And to flip the question around: How many Battlestar
Galactica games have found runaway success?  How many Stargate games?
Heck, look at the GZG ECC schedule for the past 14 years - a bunch of
FT canonical history stuff to be sure, but also a ton of variant
universes, variant rules, different miniatures.  If the core game is
good enough, people will play it.  (Do you think people care that
Dominion's backstory is pure vanilla and almost completely
non-existent?)

Also, I never said that all people are like this, just that, with the
friends I played games with, the rules and the minis were more
important.

In the end, I guess what I'm trying to say is this:  If Jon's really
bothered by the fiction as it stands, he's welcome to change it.
After all, it's his universe.  I'm of the opinion that it's fine, the
same way that I have no problems with the fact the Eugenics Wars
happened
ten years ago now.  He asked for opinions, I offered.  He's quite
welcome
to think I'm daft, the same way you do.  :)

But, if this change is motivated by the thought that changing the canon
will make a significant difference in terms of sales or recognition
of the FT or Ground Zero Games brand, I don't think that's going to
happen without a lot of work on a lot of things, as well as a radical
change in the nature of entertainment in the 21st century.  (Because,
let's face facts - the traditional miniature gamer is a dying breed.)

That's why, if sales or brand recognition ARE the motivating factor,
I'm wondering if there aren't more 'bang for the buck' things that can
be done instead of kicking off a huge discussion about the backstory
of Full Thrust.

But as I said, that's my opinion, based on my own personal experiences,
and what I know of the gaming and publishing industries.  Feel free to
ignore me.  You wouldn't be the first, you won't be the last. :)

JGH

-- 
** Jerry Han - jhan@warpfish.com - http://www.warpfish.com/jhan -
TBFTGOGGI **
My heart has been worn, but it ain't broke;It may hiccup and cough black
smoke
It may seem old, but it still runs; My love has laces that won't come
undone
					-- Jason Plumb, "Satellite"