Thank you for the insight! I enjoy reading your articles - by hearing the mind of game designs and then the intent of rules, it makes me run and use the rules more creatively then being stuck. This not only helps just those looking to design a game, but those looking to run their best game! (Someone should make a book on that...)
One of the games I use to introduce new players to the hobby uses different "part of speech" for the attribute names: a noun that can be an adjective, a noun (a bit obscure compared to the others, but a noun nonetheless), and an adjective. That mix and match is fine for M&M's but not for the main attributes of an RPG... I might be nitpicking a game that's supposed to be extremely simple, but language usage does matter.
By the way, a nice follow-up could be the different registers needed to write an RPG: from the very technical style of rules to the storytelling/fictional approach of examples (and even the drama-like elements of an example of play like you have in the CSR).
This took me to think that being TTRPGs a "system" they will definitely need to be nicely written, like when coding software. Small glitches on the code may result in bad user experience. For TTRPGs this means getting stuck not understanding what the rules are implying or feeling some underlying inconsistency.
Reading this, tough, has also inspired me to leave numbers in second place when designing, and maybe relying on words much more when it comes to creating a new game. Besides so many people fear the complexity of numbers, so if the system relies more on the words (and systematizing through them) maybe you can increase playability. :)
Thank you for the insight! I enjoy reading your articles - by hearing the mind of game designs and then the intent of rules, it makes me run and use the rules more creatively then being stuck. This not only helps just those looking to design a game, but those looking to run their best game! (Someone should make a book on that...)
They definitely matter, and they matter a lot.
One of the games I use to introduce new players to the hobby uses different "part of speech" for the attribute names: a noun that can be an adjective, a noun (a bit obscure compared to the others, but a noun nonetheless), and an adjective. That mix and match is fine for M&M's but not for the main attributes of an RPG... I might be nitpicking a game that's supposed to be extremely simple, but language usage does matter.
By the way, a nice follow-up could be the different registers needed to write an RPG: from the very technical style of rules to the storytelling/fictional approach of examples (and even the drama-like elements of an example of play like you have in the CSR).
Great article, like always, Monte!
This took me to think that being TTRPGs a "system" they will definitely need to be nicely written, like when coding software. Small glitches on the code may result in bad user experience. For TTRPGs this means getting stuck not understanding what the rules are implying or feeling some underlying inconsistency.
Reading this, tough, has also inspired me to leave numbers in second place when designing, and maybe relying on words much more when it comes to creating a new game. Besides so many people fear the complexity of numbers, so if the system relies more on the words (and systematizing through them) maybe you can increase playability. :)
Really great insights Monte. I really enjoyed this!
Really great insights Monte. I really enjoyed this.