I have been reading around the various D&D forums, as usual, and one thread I saw was trying to compare 1E to 2E and how 2E was more story/campaign oriented where 1E was more module or short adventure oriented.
I have to disagree. Not on the idea that 2E is what they claim it to be. I have never even read a 2E book, let alone played it to make such a comparison.
I have played and written enough for 1E however to say beyond a shadow of a doubt that 1E is as open to long story/long term campaign adventures as any other system out there.
Ultimately, I think it's more up to each DM as to how the game sessions go. I know that 1E is flexible enough to run a series of short adventures or many related adventures over a long term campaign.
Personally, I tend to run more short games when the players are new and need to acclimate themselves to the game, role-playing and the general mechanics. Once they are comfortable and confident, I can open things up to fuller stories and adventures that stretch out over multiple game sessions.
If a given DM typically has a lot of new players or even a pretty even mix of new and experienced players, it would not surprise me that most of their game time is spent on short games and modules. That's not the games fault or even its design. It's the DM tailoring the experience to the players abilities.
What I have read of 2E and later versions from many people is that the game itself has evolved to become more of a "let me do that for you" experience to reduce the amount of time spent on details and allow more time to be spent on general action and activity.
I personally don't like that direction. I'm very much a details DM. When I write an adventure for one of my campaigns, it's the details, the nuances, that help make the story become as complete as possible. I like to make my players think on their feet. pay attention. Even when action is slow, they need to pay attention or something they may need will be missed and if they miss it, too bad for them.
I started with AD&D 1E about 20 some years ago and I came back to AD&D 1E because it's what I know and I have never felt like it was limited to one type of game play or another. It's always been exactly what I want. My world.
