Quote from: JoeNuttall;875889Then TSR went defunct in the late 90s and D&D went out of print, then WOTC D&D came out it was a very different game and lots of people switched.

  Minor correction: 2nd Edition AD&D didn't go out of print until the 3rd Edition launch in 2000 (WotC bought the company in 1997). Indeed, anecdotal reports are that during the seven months (January--July 1997) that TSR was not printing new material, there were still enough books in the pipeline that AD&D was the top-selling game for all but one of those months--and that one month was the release of the shiny new edition of Vampire: The Masquerade.

  It is true, however, that the break between 2nd and 3rd Edition is stronger than any prior edition (and arguably any subsequent one), and WotC adopted a policy of radical division in support instead of the more gradual transition that had marked the 1E->2E shift.

Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;875893OSR is just a playing style that most gamers use. See the game session text examples contained in AD&D 1st edition, or in The Traveller Book.

  Many, but probably not 'most'--not given how strong a presence 3E, Pathfinder, and even 4E have had in the market, to say nothing of things like WoD and Shadowrun. And even back in the old days, people were playing in ways that Pundit and other Grand Heresiarchs of the Old School would denounce as Blasphemies Against the Unholy Spirit of Demogygax.

Quote from: The Butcher;875946one of the defining traits of the OSR has been its thriving small-press (dare I say, "indie"?) scene.

Back when "Old School" was "Current School" fanzines were extremely popular (at least in the UK) - e.g. Imagine used to have a review column dedicated to fanzines - so it's funny that this aspect also had a strong resurgence.

Ask a stupid question, get a few dozen snarky answers!

The oftentimes pedantic "the way it's mean to be played" arguments unabiding, I believe the Old School Renaissance represents a point in time when the barriers to entry for self-publication were tore down. Several factors lead to this, including the PDF becoming the standardized format for digital publication, companies like Drive-Thru RPG coming into their own and promotion of works across role-playing game community websites with SEM/SEO ranks that drove new users to what would have been largely unknown games.

Kickstarter, IndieGoGo and other crowdsourced sites have led to a new renaissance, but abandonment of the term "OSR" seems imminent while the watchword is still nostalgia.

Personally, I am fond of old school feel, new school appeal when it comes to game design. Those are the sort of products which piques my interest.

Overheated Skunk Rectums.

The OSR makes me happy, but I ignore the drama and just focus on the products that interest me.

Quote from: flyingmice;875789In fact the only game is D&D. Specifically one certain version of D&D. The only question is which version...

There is a strong AD&D Revivalist faction of the OSR.

Not a big surprise considering AD&D's sales and scope of player community.

Of course, the epic battles between how various TSR editions are so incredibly different are kinda bizarre and laughably masturbatory.

Quote from: flyingmice;875874Just... some games are just more equal than others, right?

I know others may object to my use of the term, but I personally consider Mongoose an OSR company as they publish retro-whatevers of RuneQuest and Traveller.

Quote from: Spinachcat;875966Of course, the epic battles between how various TSR editions are so incredibly different are kinda bizarre and laughably masturbatory.

(shrugs)  Edition wars have always been with us, even back before 2nd editions of anything existed.  Nothing different between "3rd edition sucks!" / "No, 4th edition sucks" and "What's with all these loser variants and homebrews, you gotta play by the book!" / "Only an idiot doesn't make changes."

Optimally Sauced Ravioli

Quote from: Spinachcat;875966The OSR makes me happy, but I ignore the drama and just focus on the products that interest me.

A good solid plan.

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;875983Optimally Sauced Ravioli

I'm going to have some of that right now.  Ravioli from scratch too.  

Oh, shit, they're Tortellini.  

OST?!  I think I just got kicked out of the OSR on the grounds of wrong pasta.

The important thing about the OSR, the valuable thing, is that it's a design framework.

People tend to assume that having absolute liberty to make whatever you like will produce the most creative stuff; but just as often what will be produced is drivel, or just reinventing the wheel.

When you create a set of rules and structures, and then challenge someone to make something new WITHIN that framework, that's when you get some of the most creative stuff.  And that's what the OSR has accomplished.