Why Do Old School Role-Playing Games Emphasize Teamwork?

I published a post last year with opinion on what makes a game “old school.”

My thesis is that old school is a mindset, not a ruleset. It’s not the mechanisms of the game that make it old school. It’s the implementation of the mechanisms that make the game old school.

Part of my thesis states classic adventure games require player character “teamwork.” Last week, I had a lateral thought during a conversation with a friend that solidified that element of old school games in my mind.

A valid but insufficient argument.

You might be saying that many “new school” games and adventures have teamwork as a feature. I agree, they do. Teamwork is an element that exists in these games but not to the degree it exists in old school games. It’s a matter of intensity.

In old school games, teamwork feels like its is an absolute requirement…