This is a problem, no doubt. Expectations of how to play that we all got by playing other RPGs do make it more difficult to adopt HQ. But I think the effort is worth it.
>I think the game needs more explanation:
>
>How traditional games differ from the HQ system, for instance. I admit
>there
>are some notes in the gamemastersection of the book but this is a bit too
>abstract.
A problem with this sort of thing is that you risk ghettoizing the game to secondary status. That is, why would the game have to refer to other games if those other games weren't in some way superior? I mean, it may sound like advertising, even if you try to show what you consider the game's adantages. "Better than D&D" isn't something that you want to see in the text. Consider that advertisers long ago decided that it never makes sense to do comparisons of this sort. Any comparison is always to Brand X. Because you're "admitting" that your game needs to be compared to these games.
Now, pride is just one thing. The other consideration is how much space to give these things. As you note, they did put some stuff in. How much is enough, though? At some point you have to hope that the point is made and move on. Did they miss the target? Maybe. But I think they considered it.
In any case, what about the new player to RPGs? They don't need that extra text with comparisons, do they? So, is HQ only for "expert" players who need to have their traditions checked at the door? Or is it also for new players who won't need or understand that.
Lastly, I can guess that Issaries decided to publish as they did intentionally to an extent. I think that they might feel that they can "get away" with presenting a game that theoretically appeals to many crowds, hoping that each crowd can make the game work for them. Certainly they have an economic incentive to widen the audience. So the question then is did they do the right thing in leaving these questions somewhat open to interpretation as they have (assuming that's what they did)? Here I'd agree with you that from a user POV it seems like it causes many problems in terms of some people understanding it.
Mike
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