Last Hitting the Nail post I refered back to Zhu's post where he coined the phrase Oldhammer. But that isn't to say others were not expressing their own views about old styles of play around the same time so I thought it worth looking at Gaj's exploration of Warhammer for Adults. It has a separate page on his blog but many of you may not have found it yet, this is I belie the second iteration the original appearing some time in 2011:
http://warhammerforadults.blogspot.co.uk/p/why-is-it-called-warhammer-for-adults.html
Again I don't want to summaries Gaj's points, he does that very well himself, give them a read and let Gaj know what you think on his post. Would love to hear from you here too though? Has he got it right, or what's he missing? Next time I'll post a more recent take on the whole shenanigans.
I like the eponymous rant on Gaj's blog, not the least because it quotes Lewis, who has been a favorite writer of mine since childhood. Although he ultimately suggests that his rant doesn't match the point that Lewis wants to convey, I think it actually does. Both essays argue for an honest, mature view of children's literature or games—one that sees these genres for what they are and finds value in that (rather than getting hung up on limited and immature expectations of how they should be experienced and enjoyed). While it mentions early Warhammer Fantasy Battle only briefly, DrBargle has a good essay about the old school as well:
ReplyDeletehttp://drbargle.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-old-school-is-pathetic-rant.html
My reading is that he stresses the dark comedy in wargames, where the players kick back, roll some dice and watch with amusement as horrible things befall their tiny, pewter men. Wargames are just that, games. They should not be taken too seriously, but they can be enjoyed for the funny-yet-terrible things that happen to your poor little soldiers.
Now just let me get to DrBargles good post in my own time, no reading ahead in class ;)
ReplyDeleteI think you are right Evan, Gaj is actually well supported by the Lewis quote, it is the over structuring and ridged in flexible tournament scene that for my money tries in vain to make the child like joy of playing toy soldiers more adult. A grown man can play soldiers with pride and doesn't have to pretend it is a competition.