Weekly Review Dec. 10th to Dec. 16th

An odd week in theory discussion, centering more on the forums than blogs.

Who's in Charge Here

Over a series of forum discussions, the topic of authority and responsibility was discussed, focusing especially focusing on the role of the GM. At the Forge there is a discussion about creativity loads and the responsibilities of a GM versus that of players. Part of this also centered on the difficulties that can occur in learning or relearning creativity in play. Over at Story Games is a discussion focusing on people with little experience or desire to take on a GM role. Discourse here covered GMing methods and the advantages of RPGs with more distributed responsibilities. Lastly, at Gamecraft is a discussion about the responsibility versus the authority of a GM, specifically that a GM may lack the authority to truly ensure fun, but that fun remains the accepted responsibility of that position.

Designing the Experience

Over at RPGnet, Jeremiah Henson suggests that he is fed up with his designs clashing with the pre-existing patterns of play in his players. He argues that to effectively design you must take into account and seek to affect those patterns.