When someone says they've been playing or GMing RPGs for 30+ years, what does that really say to you? You see how they play now, and you're not impressed. Do three decades make any difference in their play-style quality?

It says they must be another old fart like me.

Play style/quality can be heavily influenced by who you are playing with. Play with hack'n'slashers and that will likely be your style. Play with dramaturges that will be your style. GM nothing but Call of Cthulhu and you will be excellent (hopefully) at Lovecraftian horror, but may not be at fantasy dungeon crawling.

Just time playing doesn't really tell me a lot.  I think favourite games actually tells me more.

It matters mildly to me. Anyone that's played RPG's for 30+ years is coming from a set of experiences that I can generally relate to. It doesn't mean I agree with everything they're gonna serve out of their cakehole, but it *generally* means we've experienced the same gaming issues (probably time and time again) and have probably come up with varying solutions that probably have a lot of overlap.

This doesn't mean I discount gamers that haven't pursued TTRPG's as long, but there is something that comes with experience that has some form of intrinsic value providing you don't become institutionalized. Conversely, I look to younger eyes that have interesting ideas on mechanics or settings that might be novel. Of course... I take this on a case by case basis.

Anecdotally, I find myself fairly alienated by all the new-blood coming into D&D since 3.x. I find they care less about whatever perspectives I have have to offer in discussion. In play - that's a different matter.

/shrug

Quote from: DavetheLost;892545It says they must be another old fart like me.

Play style/quality can be heavily influenced by who you are playing with. Play with hack'n'slashers and that will likely be your style. Play with dramaturges that will be your style. GM nothing but Call of Cthulhu and you will be excellent (hopefully) at Lovecraftian horror, but may not be at fantasy dungeon crawling.

Just time playing doesn't really tell me a lot.  I think favourite games actually tells me more.

But isn't it your experience when you've talked to those that have played this long - you find they've played with pretty much every kind of gamer under the sun?

Seriously, I haven't been shocked at my table by a player doing something "new" in literally decades. I had a young dude that turned out to be really concerned about the lack of social justice for the slaves in my Calimport campaign last year. That was a pleasant change. He didn't last long in the campaign, it turned out to be too anxiety inducing for him, alas. But aside from that... nothing new has been found under this sun. I keep my eyes out though!

It says to me that they've been playing or GMing RPGs for 30+ years. It means we've probably played some games in common.

But knowing how long they've gamed won't tell me whether we like the same games or whether we have compatible play styles.

This is just me projecting, but it probably means "I played/GM'd games on and off starting 30 years ago."

He or She likely told the truth on the 'how old are your dice?' poll, though!

Quote from: tenbones;892548I had a young dude that turned out to be really concerned about the lack of social justice for the slaves in my Calimport campaign last year. That was a pleasant change. He didn't last long in the campaign, it turned out to be too anxiety inducing for him, alas.

:popcorn:

You must obviously be a monster, adhering to setting and its suggested context.
:teehee:

Miss Manners would suggest you bring a candy dish of Xanax to your table. It's only proper.
:pundit:

I think Shawn's asking 2-3 different questions here. Let's break them down:

Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;892544When someone says they've been playing or GMing RPGs for 30+ years, what does that really say to you?

The only facts I can gleam from that statement is they are around my age and started gaming around the same time.

However, I could make assumptions that they played AD&D and maybe OD&D via B/X, and perhaps other old school games. Thus, I would ask them about what they played past and present.

Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;892544You see how they play now, and you're not impressed.

I am unsure what YOU mean by "not impressed."

My definition of "not impressed" varies. I am often confused by gamers who never tried games published after they left high school, but there is no reason the 30+ gamer couldn't be an awesome AD&Der who (for whatever reason) never branched out.

If we are talking about table behavior, or playing skill or DMing skill, I do not believe time alone improves these things.

Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;892544Do three decades make any difference in their play-style quality?

Depends on what they've been playing for 30+ years.

I don't think they're going to be much play style variation for players who have played the same game with the same people. I believe that depends on playing different types of RPGs with different groups of people.

The advantage of 3 decades is they could have played various RPGs as they were published and ebbed and flowed through the years. However, there is no reason somebody who has "only" gamed for 10 years to not also have a wide range of experience.

Quote from: Spinachcat;892564I am unsure what YOU mean by "not impressed."

This is Shawn Driscoll. It means that, like everyone who roleplays (except him, I presume), they're shit roleplayers who aren't really roleplaying and what they do sucks.

That could mean, never played anything past Expert D&D and it could mean played absolutely everything they got their hands on.  It could mean that they're open to new experiences and ideas or as close minded as it comes.

In my own experience, myself included, long term gamers tend towards older systems and styles of play and aren't much more likely to look into things other than D&D than new players are.

That said, experience, system familiarity, and clarity as to their ends are all good things.

It can mean a lot of different things, but generally it just means that they are older and have enjoyed the hobby for a long time.

The quality of playing skill has to do with a lot more factors than merely age. Consider an old fart gamer who has played old school D&D exclusively for 40 years. Even better, the old codger has pretty much played with the same group of people that whole time.

40 years of play experience but only with a single system at a single table. Now consider a player of a mere 20 years of experience (what we call whippersnappers) but this player has lived in several different areas, gamed with many groups in that time, and played dozens of systems, genres, etc.

That extra 20 years of experience isn't worth a whole lot if it is too narrow.

That is also just general experience. Playing skill can still vary wildly from game to game. Different games require different skill sets. I have seen younger players who are really good with modern WOTC D&D be completely lost in an old school game, but I have also seen young kids brand new to rpgs completely do really well in an old school D&D game. Youth or age alone it seems determines very little about the quality of play.

The only thing I can say as player who has been at this for almost 36 years is that if someone has been playing that long then either they REALLY enjoy the hobby or they are seriously dedicated to wasting their own time.

Quote from: Exploderwizard;892576The only thing I can say as player who has been at this for almost 36 years is that if someone has been playing that long then either they REALLY enjoy the hobby or they are seriously dedicated to wasting their own time.

Would that be an exclusive or an inclusive "or"?

Quote from: Sable Wyvern;892568This is Shawn Driscoll. It means that, like everyone who roleplays (except him, I presume), they're shit roleplayers who aren't really roleplaying and what they do sucks.

Pretty much, it's a dig at everybody (and probably me in particular lol!).

Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;892544When someone says they've been playing or GMing RPGs for 30+ years, what does that really say to you? You see how they play now, and you're not impressed. Do three decades make any difference in their play-style quality?

Since "play-style quality" is very subjective, I don't see whether you are impressed on not matters. Someone with 30+ years of playing in a optimizer/rules-lawyer type style (e.g. D&D 3.x) would probably not impress me at all, for example -- but while they don't impress me, they might provide great games for other who like that play style.

Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;892544When someone says they've been playing or GMing RPGs for 30+ years, what does that really say to you?

It depends on the individual and their circumstance. I met folks who played and refereed for 30+ years but basically are isolated to their immediate circle of friends. Which slowly changes over the years. I suspect most of the referees in the rural towns that surround my hometown are in that situation. Which is understandable as all these guys don't have the luxury of having people just walk in and game with them given the low population of the area.

Others are quite involved with the wider community of gamers in western PA, eastern Ohio and Western NY.  

Some are involved in the social scene around a game store.

Other are involved in the internet either blogging, discussing, or producing RPG material.

In short there are as many stories as there are individuals. This include the willingness to adapt, change, and incorporate new ideas and new techniques for playing and refereeing.

Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;892544Do three decades make any difference in their play-style quality?

Made a lot of difference for me. I ran a game-club in college, participated in convention and convention events, ran a boffer LARP chapter and boffer LARP event and so on. But perhaps the most important in recent years was the ability to use VTTs like Roll20 to play with a variety of people from across the nation and around the world. That more than anything exposed to how different people played. Allowed me to hone my referee style to accommodate a wider variety of interest among players.