Daily Archives: March 16, 2006

System Sketch: Karmaloader 0.3

Not long ago I had an idea about a system to handle action movie style events or superheroes. I wanted to retain the self-assured, “I know I can do this,” vibe you get from them. I’m not sure about the…

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What’s Good About Indie Games

Anyway, as I said before (except in more annoying sentences), the problem I have with indie game culture/criticism basically boils down to a lack of knowledge about how “corporate” RPGs are actually produced and a lack of knowledge about what’s…

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Two Fake Game Design Concerns

I couldn’t sleep a wink. The moment I closed my eyes I started coughing spasmodically, leading to nothing but an hour nap after work and 20 minutes this morning. This is an obviously perfect time to talk about the titular…

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The Architect, the Set Designer, and the Improviser

If I were to shoehorn game design into three types right now, I might talk about architects, set designers and improvisers.

Gaming celebrates architects in game design and other chunks of geekcult. D&D has always been stumbling toward an architecture,…

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Dark Secrets of Game Design

1) Most game sessions are badly run.

Every time I’ve said this it’s really pissed people off, but it’s still true. I’m not talking about any set of standards aside from those that are touted by each game or play…

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On Meaningless Detail, GM Entertainment and Low Prep Play

I used to be quite fond of elaborate site-based stories, webs of character interaction and other ways to flesh out the setting to that PCs to travel hither and thither. Consequently, I loved buying setting material, published adventures and the…

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Politics and D&D

Ever since my experience at GX I’ve been thinking of where the game and gaming subculture are at. It’s one thing to merely suspect political engineering at work, but another altogether to actually witness its fruits.

The marketing position…

Posted in Tabletop RPGs: Art Without Prestige | Tagged , | 1 Comment