"Old School", to Me

As a gamer of nearly 30 years, it has definitely brought a big smile on my face to see a surge in "Old School" gaming. My first gaming experience was the D&D Red Box edition, which I think qualifies as "Old School" by nearly every definition.

That being said, there seems to be some debate as to what qualifies as "Old School". I thought it might be cathartic for me to share my own thoughts on the subject, because I think they vary slightly from popular convention.

The two biggest distinctions in my mind come down to playing style and the inherent range of consequences, namely the fear (or lack thereof) of death.

Playing Style

To me, "Old School" gaming has very little to do with game system, setting or even genre. While some folks primarily think of D&D and its derivatives when they think of "Old School", my mind goes more to the playing style of games in the early days of the hobby.

I've read and played quite a few RPG's (though not nearly as many as I would like), and it seems that most games fall into two basic camps, which I'm clumsily going to call "Old School" and "New School", if only to help keep them straight in my head.

When I think of "Old School" gaming, I think of a playing style in which the GM is essentially the eyes and ears of the characters, and the players step into the shoes of their characters, and react and act in the world presented to them by the GM. While characters can certainly pursue any goals they have and push the narrative around their characters, the GM is largely responsible for keeping things moving along. The GM still sets most of the tone, while the players focus on what their characters say and do in their world. While the characters can certainly be proactive, the game tends to lend more weight to characters being more reactive in nature.

When I think of "New School" gaming, I think of a game that offers more of a shared narrative; one in which the players have more influence and control of the narrative. There are usually some kind of mechanics in place that allow the PC's to have more say in how a particular scenario plays out, and even what things are and aren't present in the game world. Fate's Aspects are a great example to me of character traits that allow the player greater control over the overall narrative of the game. This allows the balance to shift from reactive play to proactive play.

In the end, for me, playing style is really a matter of how they players and the GM interact and influence the outcome of the game that defines "Old School".

Fear of Death

When it comes to potential consequences in games, I immediately imagine a very polarized view. In "Old School" games, it's very hard to live, while in "New School" games, it's very hard to die. A gross oversimplification, I admit. But this is just my honest, gut-level response when I compare the two different playing styles.

I remember playing with a DM in the 80's that required you show up with three PC's, because it was highly likely that one or more of them would die in the course of the session.

When I play games like Fate or PDQ, I feel like it's nearly impossible for my PC to die. Some newer games even take PC death off the table right from the start.

With that being said, I'm often asked which I prefer. Well, I think I like both approaches, and I especially like the idea of combining both. I really like a game system that puts most of the heavy lifting in the hands of the GM so that the players can focus on playing as their characters and describing what their characters do and say in the game. But I think that style of game can also have rules in place to allow the characters to pursue their own goals and help shape the narrative as the game plays out.

Thoughts?

At the end of the day, it really doesn't matter what is or what isn't the definition of "Old School". Like most things in the RPG world, terms are fluid, subjective and open to interpretation. My interpretation might resonate with a few, and others will find it absurd. But one of the things I like most about this hobby, and more directly, its enthusiasts, is that we can have discussions and disagreements and still throw dice together. So I'd love to hear back from anyone who actually got through this little post of mine; whaddya think?