Games and Gameplay Innovation: Part 1: Introduction

I've been neglecting this blog of late; although one can't really dream of wide readership, especially when you're knocking something everyone likes.  Despite this, however, this Blog has been dedicatedly tame in comparison to some of the bile you find on forums.  It surprises me in no small part because I contribute fairly heavily to the bile you find on forums.

I think I'll put it down in a large part to my own maturity and freedom within a new media, when if you contrast forums, of which I've been a member of in some occasions for many years, which usually means my late teens.  That is soon to be 7 years ago, and frankly, I'm a little tired of still being in the same mould.  You see it is pretty easy to spout bile on forums, and when you feel the need to grow up a little bit, or "lighten up" you are doing so with the added difficulty of redefining your "online forum membership persona" and it can be extremely difficult to step back from it, and remind yourself that you're a lot older than you were when you started it.

You see, this leads me to Games, because Games get older and change (bask in the glory of my horrendous linkage), much in the same way as you do, and your relationships with them change.  This generally leads you to being disaffected, even angry, about something you had very little input in steering, if any.  Although as most people in this world knows, you spent a lot of money on it, and other investments, so you probably feel like you are owed some shares in it.  Here's to hoping, maggots.

[How I miss that Nightmare board game.  Remember when it was you who was the little maggot?]

There are many ways to combat it, but as my last article demonstrates, most people expect you to kindly take your opinions elsewhere or put up and shut up.  When you find yourself so convinced that everyone else is wrong, it can be hard to make either commitment, especially when you still care.  In particular, Games Workshop and its myriad of employees should have got used to this by now.  Their leopard has changed its spots so often that it is now actually a Tiger.  Or a Wildebeest.  Or a stoat.  Or a halibut.  Or more likely, it's just yet another in a long line of red herrings.

Privateer Press, on the other hand, is quite new to this.  Judging from Warmachine Mk 2, they might need some practice...

Games often change, and despite any indication to the contrary, every company who makes one will always say it is for the best, it needs it, etc, rather than more obvious reason that they need to keep on making money, and thus need to re-sell you everything again.  That comes with the pretence of change, because everyone has been telling you for the past 3 years that Citizen Kane looks so much better in HD.

Now, Wargames, for their part, do actually change.  They have to really, because if you're selling another book which simply allows people to play, you had better have done something with it, even if it is simply to make it 500% thicker , increase the price and actually make it so that games are even bigger, and not particularly that much better than they were last time.

One wonders whether GW realised the practicalities of a needlessly oversized and heavy TOME for a moderately scaled tabletop wargame.  Sure, there's the little book in their boxed set, but what's the point in the other one?  Don't tell me there's some moron out there who thinks GW's rules are good enough to be collectable? 

One second: **searches the internet**

My God...

Anyway, Gameplay innovation can come hand in hand with change, as it is when it is first introduced.  Sure there is innovation from previous editions, but I would like to explore the whole concept of Games Mechanics and Innovation in the Wargaming Hobby.  In GW's case, it probably wont take me very long, so I thought initially it might be a good idea if the next part of this series discussed Gimmicks.

Until then,

TWC