I can’t play the Civilization games. Call it a mental block, but when I see the different culture groups taken entirely out of context is too much to get over because those cultures wouldn’t be what they are without their historical and geographical context. Simply making the Canadians good at diplomatic endeavors is just lazy. …
Category: Game Design
Time Passing…
I'm kinda fascinated with the subject of time in RPGs. It's a quirk of mine as a fan of the genre and a long-time GM. I'm fascinated by the way we use time in games - or ignore time in games. I've written about time in games before, but it's a topic I feel myself …
Design is Serious, A Ramble
Strap in, I ran my first playtest last night… Design. It’s a simple word. These days, it’s a serious word. Put any other word together with design and it becomes serious business. Learning is fun. But use the term “instructional design” and watch people cringe. Visuals are fun, but Graphic Design evokes images of serious …
The Agency of Resources
I hope this doesn't come off as, "get off my lawn, you whippersnappers." I'm a middle-aged gamer who cut my teeth on the D&D box sets of the 80s. I also love a lot of modern games. But I've noticed something of a trend that - while not necessarily a bad thing - tends to …
A Few Thoughts on Failure
RPGs are abstract. Sure, some are more “simulationist” than others but there is always an abstract quality to a game that involves mechanics alongside, “tell a cooperative story.” Because RPGs are abstract, you end up with a lot of discussions (and arguments) over things like, “What do Hit Points actually represent?” One area that has …
Diceless to “Now with Dice”
So, a project that I've been working on for a while is finally coming to fruition. In the next couple of weeks I expect to run my first playtesting sessions of a new game I've created. I'll admit, the idea of doing it is kinda melting my brain - because I'll never actually be ready, …
Finite Worlds & the Escalation Mentality
I recently made the mistake of reading the Batman: Metal storyline. My review is straightforward; it was awful. But it got me further thinking about a problem that I have with storytelling in general. Mainly, I suppose, it would be fair to say – Serial Storytelling. Look at D&D. From the time of BECMI, the …
