And they shall raise a statue in thine honour...
Well, the internet is ablaze with argument and counter-argument following the recent Games Workshop releases and the death of the Warhammer game as enjoyed by my generation.
Rarely have I seen such vitriol from gamers, but something has been unleashed in those 30-somethings who form the subset of 'my generation'. These are the guys who came in at the end of the Golden Age and whom I think are somewhat peeved that they missed the best bits. They don't remember when Games Workshop was exactly that and variety was the name of the game. And so, they have only really known a single flavour when visiting their local store - vanilla, in my opinion.
And so, I think that they have a mono-loyalty in that they find it hard to accept that WHFB is no more (for the moment) and yet at the same time they are so indoctrinated into the gaming equivalent of a crack habit, so invested into a never ending war, that they cannot bear to hear the Old Guard rip the piss (mock) out of their 'first love'.
They really are in some instances a hot headed lot...
My own experience of this in the last week (and I am not alone) is one in which I have had to be rather blunt and rude (surely not).
Gamers of my own vintage and earlier (there are some, I will concede) are a little more pragmatic. We simply walk to our games cupboards and take out Warhammer and play it. Nothing has changed for us. Despite 8 versions, we are of the 'Goldilocks Era' and whilst we may play 1st, 2nd or 3rd edition, we know that these are still the best versions, wherein there was less 'fluff' and more substance. The game world was more or less whatever your gaming circle wanted it to be, and the need for 'official rules' handed down by the High Priests Of Corporate Tat was almost non-existent.
Observing these angry not-so-young men of gaming, those products of the pre-packaged hobby decades is rather quite funny. True, some of their peer group have learned the simpler beauty of the original system with it's lack of insecurity regarding what can and can't be used on the gaming table, and with some care and attention, like a rare orchid, they will bloom.
But I am pretty sure that there are more for whom wearing their customer loyalty (no matter how hard they get screwed by the object of their ardour) is everything. To me it's nothing more than Stockholm Syndrome with dice and tape measures. Perhaps they believe that they'll one day be recognised and honoured with a statue.
If so, it will be a tall structure, suitably proud and erect, like Cleopatra's Needle, yet more organic and masculine in design. After all, if you're going to act like a pr...
TTFN
