Hoo-boy. I'd like to acknowledge two things right off the bat. One, there is going to be some imprecision in terminology in this post because I am not making a philosophical argument about theism or atheism and so I'm not concerned with fine points of atheist vs. agnostic vs. whatever. That has its place but …
Tag: Game Design
Fallout RPG: Welp.
So, I've gotten my notification that I'll be receiving my Fallout RPG stuff on Monday. It will be nice to get the items I ordered. And the PDF version of the book is now for sale on Drive Thru RPG. I have not received an update to my PDF - and I'm not spending another …
Phase Two: The Rise of DM Determinism
In my last post (sorry for the delay), I wrote about how D&D – played as intended – is a very specific kind of game. I touched on the idea that D&D expects the DM to be the ultimate, but neutral, arbiter of the game. The DM breathes life into the spaces the PCs explore …
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 …
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, …
Game Design is Frustration
I know we all like to complain about the game design of our "favorites" but I'm not here to downplay anyone else's work... I'm here to sympathize. Working out the specifics of a game is maddening. Ever since I moved away from supporting the Adventurer Conqueror King System, I've had this hole in my life …
Life Without Dice
Diceless games are hard. I've written about diceless games before - I love Amber DRPG - and explored other games that don't use dice (or cards, or any sort of randomizer). I tend to very much enjoy games without randomizers, without the disturbance of dice. I've tinkered with trying to create such a game several …
The Rhetorical Gamer 