Episode 539 - to splat or not, part 2

[Garoath]

This was a great episode. There was one thing that Chad said that really resonate with me. He mentioned the fact that Burning Wheel was a real indy darling at one point but seems to have disappeared. Well, that's pretty much true. For whatever reason Luke Crane doesn't really distribute Burning Wheel digitally, and only occasionally reprints the current edition in small batches. There are burning wheel derivatives like MouseGuard and Torch Bearer that are fairly easy to obtain either in print or digitally, but even those games don't seem to have a huge following.

Compare that to things like Apocalypse World which has a million hacks.

This got me thinking, what makes a game really catch on and influence and inspire people? Is it simply an accessibility issue?

[Chad]

This was a great episode. There was one thing that Chad said that really resonate with me. He mentioned the fact that Burning Wheel was a real indy darling at one point but seems to have disappeared. Well, that's pretty much true. For whatever reason Luke Crane doesn't really distribute Burning Wheel digitally, and only occasionally reprints the current edition in small batches. There are burning wheel derivatives like MouseGuard and Torch Bearer that are fairly easy to obtain either in print or digitally, but even those games don't seem to have a huge following.

Compare that to things like Apocalypse World which has a million hacks.

This got me thinking, what makes a game really catch on and influence and inspire people? Is it simply an accessibility issue?

It's like fire. Long, smoldering burns last a long time (like Traveler the like) or great wild fires that spread and spread (like Apocalypse World or Fate or Savage Worlds with all of their remixes) but stuff like Burning Wheel it flares up with great intensity and then dies out just as quickly.

People can only stand a certain level of hype and ubiquity for so long before the next thing catches their eye.

[VaMinion]

This got me thinking, what makes a game really catch on and influence and inspire people? Is it simply an accessibility issue?

Accessibility, timing, hackability, and whether or not it's open for third party development.

[clintmemo]

This got me thinking, what makes a game really catch on and influence and inspire people? Is it simply an accessibility issue?

Accessibility, timing, hackability, and whether or not it's open for third party development.

it also helps if it is fun to play.