First posts are always weird and awkward, kind of like first dates. If you’ve found this newsletter because you were sort of interested to see if anyone was talking about games on Substack, well, hi. Someone is, and that someone is me, Monte Cook. I’ve been working professionally in the game industry for over 30 years. I have the honor of being in the Hall of Fame for people like me (it’s called the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts Hall of Fame, but no one can ever remember that). I’ve worked for many different game companies on many different games. I have a list of credits that is…well, it’s long. But you might be most interested to know that I worked for a lot of years on Dungeons & Dragons, specifically as one of the designers on the third edition of that game. You might also be interested to know that I am the co-owner of
It's awesome to be able to reach you and discuss these topics. It's a privilege, really. We have actually been moving forward quite seriously during the past few years on this direction, trying to walk a path that lies between the "it's just a game, please, don't complicate it" side and the "we must write scientific papers and apply this to hard science" posture. We are decided to move TTRPGs (not game design, but actually just playing) into the category of art.
It's awesome to be able to reach you and discuss these topics. It's a privilege, really. We have actually been moving forward quite seriously during the past few years on this direction, trying to walk a path that lies between the "it's just a game, please, don't complicate it" side and the "we must write scientific papers and apply this to hard science" posture. We are decided to move TTRPGs (not game design, but actually just playing) into the category of art.
Good start Monte!