On Parallel Universe Technologies: analogue synthesizers and the Old School Renaissance in tabletop roleplaying games

rare wizard + synthesizer sighting

I'm Liz and I design analog synthesizer modules and indulge in tabletop roleplaying games (reading, playing, collecting).  Outside synthesizer solos in fantasy-themed prog rock tunes, these two interests may seem disparate.  However, they are both  experiencing a renaissance of new development in an age when both, timeline-wise, are outdated technologies.  This fascinates me. Are there other sub-cultural hobbies or phenomena experiencing a rebirth right now, too?  Why now?  I'm twenty-seven years old. Is my generation wondering what we missed out on, coming of age in cyberspace?  Or is nostalgia driving the innovators of these technologies back to their roots? Is technology moving so fast that we've looped back around and are realizing there were some vital, unexplored moments in the timeline?

For those who don't know, the OSR (old school rennaisance), is a contemporary movement in tabletop role-playing games focused on exploring the way  games were played at the roots of the hobby, beginning with the release of Dungeons & Dragons in 1974.  But in addition to playing older games, the OSR asks what if we can keep developing new games and content in this style?  The current renaissance in analogue synthesizer technology has eerily similar premise.  What if we go back to the 1970's, and continue developing the technology and methods that were abandoned there?  So it's not just about playing old games or collecting old synthesizers.  It is about taking the technology of a time period, and expanding it laterally into a new dimension.  It's parallel universe technology.  Are there other parallel universe technologies out there, experiencing a renaissance?  Or are the similarities between these two movements just a really strange coincidence?  Is this a generational cycle that's happened many times before, or is it unique to some pre- and post- information age transition?

This is the dialogue I'm hoping to open and explore over the next few months with this blog.  In addition, I want to take my place in the OSR blogging community by sharing resources from my weekly Sunday night D&D games.   I'll also post anything I find that is related both to synthesizers and tabletop roleplaying games.

I Dream of Wires: The Modular Synthesizer Documentary
GROGNARDIA: D&D and the Old School Renaissance