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RPG Tools & Tech could kill Streamlined Mechanics

Sep 032010

Today I listened to a Podcast by the entire Pulp Gamer Media Network at GenCon. Near the end of the segment they started talking about new technology in RPGs: D&DI, Smart phone Apps, iPad Apps, and the amazing, but cost prohibitive Microsoft Surface. These tools are awesome!

Even now, I am putting together plans for virtual tools for Free Spacer, why not? Currently Free Spacer Character Creation takes around 45min plus any disagreement on the type of Crew the group wants to play, but still, an interactive guide to move players through that and allows them to share the Crew/Ship sheet all on the ultimate character sheet (otherwise known as the iPad), would so sweet. It’s been done for D&D4e, I want it too.

During the podcast, one of the guys, I’m not sure who, mentioned how much he loved transparent (streamlined?) mechanics and how technology did that for him. I defiantly agree about the Streamlined mechanics. A smoothly flowing game in which everyone understands the rules and there is little need to look stuff up is a worthy goal for all designers. Working in the Video Game industry though, I can tell you the rules and calculations behind the scene in any game are anything but streamlined or transparent. If you looked behind the curtain of most Video Games you would find a great swath of Spreadsheets, dangling modifiers, and a different mechanic, from physics simulation to dialogue trees, for every task in the game. The result is a huge team of designers and programmers creating unique mechanics and a mammoth task of testing every little thing as it all works differently.

So I must say as we race forward to embrace technology, we must be careful; these marvellous tools could kill the wonderful new trend in design of simple consistent and streamlined mechanics. If you play D&D 4e you know that it is nearly unthinkable to make up a character without the D&DI Character builder. With D&DI it takes a couple of hours without it many hours especially if you’re not sure what you want to make. The trend requiring the use of such tools is a bit alarming; will you be unable to play without one? What will it do to the rules of our games? My concern is that Game designers will allow the tools to make them less rigorous about their game mechanics and that games will become unplayable offline. Game mechanics will use more and more spreadsheet data, dissimilar mechanics, and systems with little regard for streamlining or ease of use. This can happen if players stop worrying about the ease of use in their games and instead just say… grab that tool it will calculate the millions of dangling modifiers and swaths of data. Now yes I am being alarmist, but I have seen this happen before; in film school, when film students switched from shooting their projects on film to shooting on video, they lost all their shooting discipline and shot hours of footage instead of just what they needed. The stopped planning and the project got worse. In any creative endeavour, rigour is important it makes for better project and in this case better games.

I believe though, the community can have a fun with the awesome new tools and still demand rigorous and streamlined mechanics from all the game designers out there. Do not let companies require you to use a tool just to play your favourite Roleplaying Game.

Playtesting: a N00b perspective

Community 2 Responses »

Jun 222010

OK, so picture this scene:

You’re exploring an abandoned RRS mining facility. The air inside is breathable and you and your crew go exploring in one of the larger areas. This area contains a great deal of rubble, vats full of toxic stuff and a pool of the same dominates the room.

At the other end of the room, right in front of the doors you and the crew need to get to, a nice little war is beginning. Upon closer inspection, the warring parties are Nar weevils and Kar’jah fighting for dominion of this toxic space.

Essentially, you’ve got furry bugs and plant-monkeys between you and your goal – but you also have guns and your shield skill kicks ass (being the crew’s shield mechanic does have its privileges).

This was the opening to my first playtest session of Free Spacer.

While one of our team members tried repeatedly to toss a metal locker in the toxic goo to see what would happen, the rest of us started in on the killing.

I learned very quickly to appreciate being able to pool my dice in defence or offence as the battle progressed.

Two plant-monkeys coming at you? More shields! Taking an aimed shot at a fuzzy bug from a reasonably safe spot? More fire power! We ended up with a room full of scorched enemy, minimal damage to the team and a locker that refused to be moved.

The next room got even more interesting.

I’m one of the first into the loading dock- but I’ve managed to completely misunderstand that sneaking into a place is a declared mode of movement. I did not declare it and might as well be wearing a giant “shoot me” sign.

This will not go well. A ragtag crew from a ship near the facility are hiding at the back of the room and preparing to take shots at me as I stand around behind a flimsy shelter.

My dice pool (most of which is in defence) is my saving grace. I take hits for sure, but my shields are good enough that the guy shooting me takes damage as the shots bounce back and hit him. Ha! How do you like those awesome dice rolls jerk?

There are no rules about what you need to roll to successfully moon an enemy though (I know because I asked).

More of the crew come in and they manage to find better spots to hide in. My new goal is to repeatedly shoot the guy who fired on me first – and then pick off the two people with him. I take several aimed shots and coupled with my uncanny ability to roll zeroes (zeroes are good – you get a re-roll) I still can’t seem to kill the guy.

My fellow crewmembers rally magnificently and even though they are wounded, we manage to kill all but a couple of guys who run away, and in my head are shrieking with fear like little girls.

I look at our battle board of carnage and decide my first Free Spacer triumph must be expressed artistically (and anyway, the markers were left within my reach and I’m a compulsive doodler). Here is the scene of the evening’s victory:

Victory!

And what did I learn this evening? Keep your shields up, take aimed shots and remember: over time, moderate damage = death.

-Renee McTavish is a writer, new FS playtester and would one day like to tame one of the plant-monkeys as a butler. See more of her stuff at Rambleicious.ca.

Is Ebert Right? Games as Art

Community, Game Design 2 Responses »

Apr 212010

Penny Arcade, the clown princes of the game commentary, brought my attention to a recent article by Roger Ebert, which is a response to his earlier conversation with Clive Barker and a TED video by Kellee Santiago. Although I agree whole heartedly with Gabe and Tycho, Roger Ebert does have some good points.

Roger Ebert vs. Games

Roger Ebert is steadfast in his insistence that Games are not Art, but his reasons for this are less then rigorous. He seems to have many things that qualify a work as art. He even qualifies “trash” film as “not great art”:

I treasure escapism in the movies. I tirelessly quote Pauline Kael: The movies are so rarely great art, that if we cannot appreciate great trash, we have no reason to go. I admired “Spiderman II,” “Superman,” and many of the “Star Wars,” Indiana Jones, James Bond and Harry Potter films. The idea, I think, is to value what is good at whatever level you find it. “Spiderman II” is one of the great comic superhero movies but it is not great art. – Ebert “Games vs. Art: Ebert vs. Barker”

If Ebert can appreciate the Art in this so called “Trash” then why are games not so qualified? In the same article he makes what might be one of the most over quoted things he ever said. (besides the thumbs up thing):

If you can go through “every emotional journey available,” doesn’t that devalue each and every one of them? Art seeks to lead you to an inevitable conclusion, not a smorgasbord of choices. – Ebert “Games vs. Art: Ebert vs. Barker”

Does choice ruin art? It seems to me that Roger Ebert is missing the point, a game can and most games do have an “inevitable conclusion” independent of their “smorgasbord of choices”. As an example, in the GTA series, players are in a sandbox and have a great number of possible choices. Yet no matter what choices the player makes, as long as they participate, they will come to the “inevitable conclusion” that life is a absurd state in which mundane existence is a mere break in our nature as petty, violent, and greedy insects climbing for the top. How many pieces of Art have tried to convey this message? GTA conveys this message to new audience in a new way through the very nature of it game mechanics. That is Art.

I’d have to say that there are only two good points that Roger Ebert manages to make. The first is that Famous Game producers are not rigorous in their approach to Games as Art. Clive Barker and Kellee Santiago are obviously no match for Roger Ebert, but their inability to defend Games as Art shouldn’t be taken as condemnation of Games as Art. The second point is one that it is hard to find a quote for. It is a point he seems to skirt around, but it is there as the subtext to all he writes. Games are not Art because those with power to create games are not artists they are business guys.

Penny Arcade is Right

Of course Penny Arcade is right, but not for the reason they think. It is essential that Games are considered Art and are critiqued as Art. This feedback will convince Game Companies to place Artists (Game Designers) in charge of their games and allow them to express themselves. A world where this is true is a world with great games, which do all that all other great Arts do and more.

Answer

Art is not easily defined by any philosophy and Philosophers much greater then Roger Ebert have argued over and written great treatises on the subject. My answer to Roger Ebert’s good points and Tycho’s question are the same; you just have to look to the top. Is the person who conceives of the game, makes the decisions, and has the final say an Artist Game Designer? Is this Artist Game Designer actually deeply involved with the creation of the game? If both answers are yes; the game is Art. If either answer is no, then the game isn’t Art. It is that simple.

Rules are the basis of Setting

Community, Game Mastery, World Building No Responses »

Mar 282010

Can you play a social game with 4^th edition? Or use WoD for a dungeon crawl? Does System Matter? Of course, you can use any system to play any sort of game, but should you?

Cross Purposes

Is it so bad to play at cross purposes; most systems are designed to have mechanics to handle any situation. So why does it matter?

Well, take D&D 4e for example; when you perform non-tactical combat actions you use a secondary system to perform skill challenges. If your game uses mostly this light unrefined quick skill challenge rule set, PCs will wander around with a great many relatively useless detailed powers while they use an under powered and unbalance system instead.

Would it not be better to use a system that did what you wanted it to?

House Rules

Many GMs solve this issue with house rules. House rules are a double edge sword as a good house rule can sometimes make thing work just the way you want, but house rules may also have horrible side effects. Well designed games are balanced for a specific array of gameplay and a bad house rule can often change this balance having many unforeseen effects.

Ironically, house rules seem to show how much system does matter; for the group to have type of fun they want, the GM has to change the rules. The system provides the structure for the setting. The rules give players abilities and tasks they can perform. Combat heavy ruled games structure encounter creation to produce many of opportunity to fight.

Generic Systems

Does any of this really matter in a generic system game though? Is it possible to create a rules system that allows players to do anything and GMs to create many different settings without the breaking the system. A game like GURPS seems to head in that direction, but the GURPS rules still set the underlying reality. Due to the way GURPS systems work, GURPS settings tend to have similar deadliness and allow PCs to do the things in the same ways. It seems to me that the system, while broad, has a great deal of effect on the play setting.

Rules Light

Story games and rules light systems are all the rage now. Games like Inspectres or FUDGE have simple rules, a small list of character attributes, and a list of special skills you get to make up yourself. You roll one dice that results in the story moving forward. Less framework, more imagination. This affects the setting and gameplay a great deal. The game is less consistent and relies on GM/player views rather than a codified system. Gameplay slows to examine a moment of Roleplaying rather skill testing, combat, or caper planning clearly making that the most important aspect of the game.

Indeed, Systems do matter and the system you choose should concentrate on the type of gameplay that fits your group’s preferences. The perfect system is the one that supports the essential aspect of the setting with its core mechanics.

Escapism & Suspension of Disbelief

Community, World Building 1 Response »

Mar 162010

Ever since film school I have disliked the terms: Escapism and Suspension of Disbelief. I believe that they are used to dismiss philosophic and speculative pursuits. These ideas have a direct connection to rigorous thought on Roleplaying Games.

Escapism is defined as using a mental diversion, as an “escape” from the banal aspects of daily life. Who has not heard RPGs, Sci-fi, or Fantasy referred to as Escapist? My retort is that no hobby, pastime, or other work can be essentially escapist. Any activity, no matter its perceived essential nature, can be used by an individual as an escape and therefore any activity, no matter its perceived banality, can be used for non-escapist reasons.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge coined the phrase “willing suspension of disbelief” to explain how the viewer can enjoy, identify, and believe fantastic plays, films, novels, or games. His idea is that the viewer must mentally convince themselves to believe the fantastic before them that they would otherwise disbelieve. I think this is exactly the opposite of the truth. In reality, viewers automatically believe whatever is before them.

In his work The Allegory of the Cave, Plato postulated his theory that education and wisdom would allow the viewer of the world to disbelieve that which was presented to them and see the world for what it was. Although Plato is talking about the eternal forms, rather than the separation between fantasy and realism, the point is there. It is education that brings disbelief, rather than the ability to believe. Ask any older brother, little kids believe anything you tell them until they learn better.

A great example is Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat, when this film was first shown to a live audience the popular legend is that some in the audience ran away so not to be hit by the train. So even if we just suggest that the audience was shocked, it seems that a viewer/listener automatically believe what is put in front of them and it is their own active disbelief that tells them otherwise.

JRR Tolkien also disagreed with Coleridge; Tolkien wrote his essay On Fairy-Stories suggesting that the author must develop an internal consistency to avoid jarring the viewer/reader from their fantastic world. This seem like the proper approach, besides who am I to disagree with Grandfather Tolkien.

So fight back and save your hobbies, never call them escapist and don’t use the term suspension of disbelief. If you must, you can counter with the term “suspension of belief.” When it come to roleplaying never be a sceptic.

WotC cancels the Star Wars RPG!

Community 4 Responses »

Mar 032010

It is official, as of May this year, D20 is dead. WotC’s Star Wars was the last big d20 title still in production. Unfortunately, WotC has announced that they won’t be renewing their Star Wars license with Lucasfilm.

I loved the old West End Games: Star Wars and could never get into the new D20 version of Star Wars. Still D20 Star Wars was a bench mark game; it was the test bed for many of the D&D 4^th Edition Rules, which love it or hate it was big change for the RPG industry. As the last big D20 product it was only a matter of time before they either remade it to line up with 4^th edition rules or cancelled it.

On the heels of their Star Wars announcement WotC has announced that they will be putting out a new version of TSR’s Gamma World and their redesign of the D&D Dungeon Delve as D&D Encounters. WotC’s world goes on without the force, but I would bet that this won’t be the end of Star Wars RPGs. Until then I hope you have another Sci-fi roleplaying game, I do.

Why I am making an RPG?

Community, Game Design No Responses »

Feb 162010

My journey to the world of Game Design has been a long and windy one. I started playing Roleplaying Games in junior high with 1983’s red boxed Basic Set of Dungeons & Dragons. It was great, I played with my best friend Shawn. We would play all the time, even without dice or rules while doing his newspaper route. I still can’t believe he never gave me a cut of his paper money. After I moved I continued to play when I could.

After years in the Royal Canadian Air Cadets chasing my dream of being an test pilot and astronaut, I found out that not only did test pilots not become astronauts without being engineers, but that my eyes weren’t 20/20 and I was therefore unqualified. So I worked and traveled and came home with a new plan, Film.

In 2002, I graduated from SFU with a degree in Film production and job at Electronic Arts as Video Game QA. So now I bounce around the Vancouver video game industry as a game designer and love designing games. So the question becomes, why am I creating a traditional pen and paper RPG as my first major solo work? Especially in what many people consider a dying industry.

My short answer is usually in the vain of, “RPGs are my first love” or “It is a great circle, I have finally returned to my routes”, but these are not complete answers.

Why not video games?

I still love video games. My Xbox 360 get a quite the workout, but develop video games is not easy. Programmers or at least scripters are a necessary part of development. Although I am a decent scripter, I cannot simply sit down and build a game, no problems. Even with 3^rd party solutions, like Unity or Flash, creating a video game becomes more about technical development and less about design.

Why Traditional Roleplaying games?

Traditional Pen & Paper RPGs combine two of my favourite things, game design and story. Since before I played my first game of D&D, I loved to tell stories. I learned Game design from mentors like Tyler Sigman while working on more than five video games titles. I believe that there is still a real Market for RPGs and that many in the community are looking for a Space Science Fiction RPG like Free Spacer. My hope is that many people will play Free Spacer and at the least it will be an incredible demo of my design and storytelling abilities.

Most importantly I have always loved RPGS and I don’t know why it took me so long to get here.

Just Right

Community, Game Design No Responses »

Feb 102010

Recently, a friend saw a presentation from on the founders of Pixar that talked about what made them so successful. The presentation focused on people, they posited that good ideas don’t always make good games, often they don’t make anything at all. The right people on the other hand can take a plain, mediocre idea, and through correct execution make something good.

Now, I’ve heard this argument many times, when I was at EA I heard it all the time and you can’t really disagree with it. Ideas are easy to come by. Who doesn’t come up with ideas everyday of things that could be amazing? Obviously, most of these great ideas don’t become anything. So, on a simplistic level it is the people. If all the right people are out there making good games from mediocre ideas, then why are there so many mediocre games? Are some of these people the wrong people? Or is it something else?

First, what factors make one better at creating RPGs then the next? Is it one’s number of years experience playing games or the number of different games one has played? Could it be one’s education in games, math, or specific subject matter? Is it one’s involvement in the RPG community or ability to market the project? Could it be one’s experience at big companies like White Wolf or WoTC or the amount of money spent on the project? Perhaps as the romantics believe it is the one who cares the most or works the hardest?

When put this way it seems that it has to be a little bit of each: idea, experience, education, money, community, marketing, passion and hard work. All of the above is usually the right answer, but I’d have to add timing and luck to this list.

Perhaps, it all has to be just right, but I doubt any of us can say what that looks like.

Everyone, let’s make an RPG!

Community, Game Design 4 Responses »

Feb 062010

When I’m out there on the net, it seems like everyone and their dog is making their own RPG. When Gary Gygax wrote his seminal Role-Playing Mastery, he had an entire chapter on designing your own game. It seems, when you read it, that he believed the natural progression for a Game Master was to design their own game. Sooner or later a Game Masters, who seriously pursue their hobby, will make their own game. Yet, as I check out shelves of my Friendly Local Gaming Stores there aren’t that many out there. What happens to them?

If they aren’t published paper, are they PDFs? Well, there are definitely a lot more on sites like RPG Now, but after you peruse the list there seems to be a lot of one offs or settings for other games. These projects were created by one or two people. Other RPGs, like Icar, are community projects, which are impressive effort. None of these games are mainstream. Did these would be designers want to make something big and fail? Or was being published at all the triumph they sought.

As I look through all these games, I often feel intimidated that it’s really an impossible task. The goals I’ve set for Free Spacer are ambitious and as I head towards design finish the future is scary. Yet as the one thing I’ve learned from those that went before me it that the most important thing is to finish the work.

Create the Game.

RPGs: Boards, Boxes, & Cards

Community No Responses »

Feb 012010

In June 2008, Dungeon and Dragons: 4^th edition was released and, love it or hate it, was a revolution in Roleplaying. D&D 4e brought new conventions from board games and collectable card games into Roleplaying. The new D&D emphasises miniatures and tactical maps.

At the end of last year, November 2009, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay upped the ante, with Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3^rd edition. The game is a huge box set with D&D 4e style action cards, Talisman style character cards, and special dice.

It seems that the big game companies are attempting to make our hobby more accessible. Do box sets and fancy dice make RPGs more accessible? Green Ronin’s new box set, Dragon Age RPG, seems show that they think so, but I remember the Basic D&D box set. This isn’t exactly a new approach, so the real question is, will it work? The ICv2 Review didn’t seem to think so and the RPG.net Review was a little more reserved. I think it would be great if it did; I would love to see more people playing RPGs, but I doubt it.

It seems to me that the difference between RPGs and Board Games is not the addition of fiddly-bits, the cards, and the dice; rather it is in the casual vs. campaign style play. Most Board Games are one off experiences. You play once and when that game is over, it is over. If you want to play next week, you play the game again. It is a series of evenings, playing games while most RPGs are a serial experience; you play one game that continues from session to session. Series versus serial Gameplay is the gap they’re trying to jump and I guess we’ll see if they’re jumping in the right direction.

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