After having read a couple of comments in one thread on Reddit today, I’m rolling my eyes again. Far, far too many times have I seen a system described as a “heartbreaker”…when there ain’t so such thing.
The term arises from The Forge years ago. The founder of The Forge, Ron Edwards, in one of his condescending essays–he once said that playing games not designed in his One True Way gave people *literal* brain damage–he offered up a supposed lament about “heartbreakers.”
Now, the definition he gave stated that any fantasy system that somebody produced *and expected to be as big as D&D* was just the designer setting themselves up for heartbreak. That definition is one I can live with…
…and I can say I’ve never encountered such a heartbreaker in the wild. I’ve never seen any indie designer releasing their system say they expected it to be as big as D&D. Never. Even those who think their system is going to do really well and gain a large audience aren’t expecting D&D numbers.
So, please, stop referring to any system you’re designing or somebody else has done as a “heartbreaker.” Without the designer expecting a miracle in terms of sales, their heart isn’t getting broken in the way the definition requires. It just doesn’t happen.
And you sound like a condescending ass when you say it.