3/7/2024
from dice to decline: the renaissance, decline, and transformation of the OSR through a spenglerian lens
The following are some thoughts about the state of the OSR in 2024. Much of these concepts were carried over from Oswald Spengler's Decline of the West (highly recommended and very prophetic read given our current timeline). In his work, Spengler proposes a framework for understanding human civilizations as a macrocosm of the life-stages of a human. I found this idea fascinating and noticed the cycle he described taking place in all forms of human communities and systems, one of which is the OSR scene.
Spengler's perspective on the rise and fall of cultures offers a compelling framework to dissect the OSR's journey from its genesis to its current state, categorizing its evolution into stages of birth, growth, maturity, decline, and the potential for renewal or transformation. By examining the OSR through Spengler's lens, I aim to uncover deeper insights into its current challenges, achievements, and the pathways that lie ahead.
birth & growth
This stage is categorized by action and lack of definitions of cultures of play. Each individual contributes by actually playing the game and reporting back on their experiences. There is little attempt to quantify these experiences outside of the enjoyment of the hobby on its own pure experience. Innovation is rampant, but is hard to nail down as the culture of play can only be replicated by the actual experience of a game. At this point the scene can be described as having soul or sage-like wisdom. OSRIC is released in this stage as a way to allow for others to produce their own old-school modules. Magazines like Fight On! began producing new content for these old games.
maturity
This stage is categorized by the solidifying of the basics of the culture of play in some form of document or manifesto. This is the era of the retro-clone, allowing thousands to join the hobby who are unable to access the original copies of these older games. When this occurs the culture of play can be taught without initiations rites as was required in the previous stage. It no longer relies on a small enlightened few to ignite the torch of others.
This stage will typically have a large increase in population. Most newcomers have never played an old-school game. Now that a significant amount of the culture of play is in writing, it can be discussed "in theory" and no longer requires personal experience to engage in the community. Despite this, there is still a solid balance between members of the community discussing theory and actual play. New innovations are still being made but they are slow to integrate as they must contend with the previously established parameters.
decline
This stage has an overabundance of commentary and a fixation on rules over game play within the culture that the movement first arose out of. The vast majority of the culture of play has been nailed down with terms and definitions which have nearly completely ossified the movement into a monolithic behemoth. It can only regurgitate what initially started the culture but with significantly less soul and much more technical detail. Dozens of retro clones all for the same game appear. Rather than interesting playable content, there is an obsession with rules instead of game play experiences. There are still some who are discovering the community for the first time but it doesn't have the same level of appeal to newcomers as it did in the previous stages. During this stage a detailed understanding of the subsystems and psychology of the game emerges. Few actually participate in games and if they do, they are short lived. Most prefer to sit and talk about why this version is better than that. At this point the scene can be described as having a scholarly understanding of the game.
transformation
The final stage is either the death of the movement or its transformation. Using the analysis above, its my opinion the OSR as a culture is dead or dying.Transformation occurs when the corpse of the culture begins to decay. This "rot" prompts the truly innovative culture makers to take root and blossom. This is a critical crossroads that demands evolution rather than stagnation, urging the movement to innovate while honoring its roots. Are some of these transformational cultures already emerging? Only time will tell.
