A few entries back, I said that when you start to design a new game, you start with the heart—and the heart of an RPG is, “What do the characters do?” Then, we examined the various aspects of task resolution and determining success and failure in three different essays. (Hey, in my defense, task resolution is important!)
Again such a lovely write up, thank you! Do you know of any exercises that challenge you to state the intentions of the game a clear and as enging as possible?
"Game designers can fall into the trap of thinking too small. They focus on the proverbial trees and not the forest. To put this a different way, they think too much about actions and not about intentions."
Just minutes ago, I was reminded of a good example of an early experiment with "how to game-ify social interactions?" The Ties system and the Repartee duels expanded the options for non-fighting characters.
Again such a lovely write up, thank you! Do you know of any exercises that challenge you to state the intentions of the game a clear and as enging as possible?
Great article about Intentions - not Actions or Mechanics - being the real heart of a game. Thanks Monte! ⚔
"Game designers can fall into the trap of thinking too small. They focus on the proverbial trees and not the forest. To put this a different way, they think too much about actions and not about intentions."
Just minutes ago, I was reminded of a good example of an early experiment with "how to game-ify social interactions?" The Ties system and the Repartee duels expanded the options for non-fighting characters.
https://openhearthrpg.substack.com/p/lace-and-steel-great-rpg-covers