While this week has seen a few promises to return to more active posting and discussions about theory-related communities, only a few developments occurred.
Character Failure
Over at Story Games, is a discussion about character failure and player investment in the outcome of character attempts. One distinction is made about when characters have multiple and success and failure are mixed, making the decisions more meaningful. Another is made about how most RPGs give players to choice to have characters fail, which makes it more difficult for a player to make interesting choices leading to the character's failure.
Genres of Theory
Fang Langford discusses the idea of genres of theory, specifically suggesting that GNS and it's approach to theory is only one such genre. Bradley "Brand" Robins follows this up in a comment with a listing of possible genres of RPG theory.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Friday, January 19, 2007
Editorial: Announcing Literature Reviews
Thanks to the feedback we've received, we've decided to add a new component to RPG Theory Review. Literature reviews will appear periodically, between every month to every three months as a review of scholarly, historical, or other material of particular relevance to RPG theory.
This will open up a venue for reflecting back on RPG theory developments and looking at important work of a scholarly type being conducted in or near RPG theory. We will be opening this type of content to guests with experience in the subject being reviewed.
And as a reminder, we are always interested in guest articles from those involved now or in the past with RPG theory.
This will open up a venue for reflecting back on RPG theory developments and looking at important work of a scholarly type being conducted in or near RPG theory. We will be opening this type of content to guests with experience in the subject being reviewed.
And as a reminder, we are always interested in guest articles from those involved now or in the past with RPG theory.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Weekly Review Jan. 7th to Jan. 13th
This week has seen several new developments in RPG theory, from whole cloth theory to a new podcast for learning RPG theory.
Derivative Works
John Kim describes one way in which RPGs can become derivative works from other creative medium. Borrowing from the Gregory Maguire's Wicked, he describes the art of taking a setting from one source of fiction and treating as a reality, thus exposing interesting questions, as yet, unexplored. This was a continuation of Kim's general investigation of derivative works from earlier this week.
Game Development Kit
Over at the Forge is a general description of RPGs, nominally as a design foundation. The Game Development Kit (GDK) attempts to describe RPGs in computable terms and extract out the structure of how players manipulate the game.
Let's Talk About Theory
Clyde Rhoer has begun a podcast meant to introduce people to RPG theory. As he puts it, he intends to get things 90% correct, due to the difficulty and volume of topics in RPG theory. The rest he hopes will be fleshed out by listeners and readers.
Derivative Works
John Kim describes one way in which RPGs can become derivative works from other creative medium. Borrowing from the Gregory Maguire's Wicked, he describes the art of taking a setting from one source of fiction and treating as a reality, thus exposing interesting questions, as yet, unexplored. This was a continuation of Kim's general investigation of derivative works from earlier this week.
Game Development Kit
Over at the Forge is a general description of RPGs, nominally as a design foundation. The Game Development Kit (GDK) attempts to describe RPGs in computable terms and extract out the structure of how players manipulate the game.
Let's Talk About Theory
Clyde Rhoer has begun a podcast meant to introduce people to RPG theory. As he puts it, he intends to get things 90% correct, due to the difficulty and volume of topics in RPG theory. The rest he hopes will be fleshed out by listeners and readers.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Monthly Review December 2006
One of the threads in theory developments in December was creativity and decision making. Early on, at Gamecraft there was a discussion about RPGs as a medium. In particular the advantages and disadvantages of the RPG medium largely stem from the creative flexibility of structured imagination and the mixing of creator and audience. This idea returns with a discussion on The Forge about creativity loads among players, as well as, a discussion on Gamecraft on the GM's apparent responsibility to provide high quality creative content contradicting a lack of authority to make those decisions.
Later on, Carl Cravens suggested that decisions must not be so important that they paralyze or so irrelevant that they mean nothing to the players. Lastly, Matt Snyder offered an approach to making situations and characters more compelling, specifically ensuring that no character has full information of the situation. This ensures that decisions are more engaging if only as examples of the way real people make decisions.
Later on, Carl Cravens suggested that decisions must not be so important that they paralyze or so irrelevant that they mean nothing to the players. Lastly, Matt Snyder offered an approach to making situations and characters more compelling, specifically ensuring that no character has full information of the situation. This ensures that decisions are more engaging if only as examples of the way real people make decisions.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Weekly Review Dec. 31st to Jan. 6th
This week has seen some revisiting of ideas from earlier developments, but with some new twists.
Designing System
Guy Shalev discusses different approaches to system design in RPGs. Specifically he delineates between mechanics and advice, suggesting that the former lend themselves to rigorous testing, and should not be made reliant on advice and context to make them work correctly.
RPG Media Revisited
Malcom Sheppard expands on a Story Games thread he initiated on table-top play as a specific medium for RPGs. He suggests that much table-top design does not exploit the medium, so much as treat table-top as an assumed place to play. He describes the distinctiveness of table-top as allowing "fuzzy judgments with complex systems" - namely subjective judgments as parts of a fairly complex system.
Cooperation and Private Creation
John Kim discusses the problems with creative commitment, stemming from the debate about accessible games. Moving away from that specific problem, however, he discusses the use of private and semi-private creative spaces for players, as a means to provide safety while enjoying the creative process.
Designing System
Guy Shalev discusses different approaches to system design in RPGs. Specifically he delineates between mechanics and advice, suggesting that the former lend themselves to rigorous testing, and should not be made reliant on advice and context to make them work correctly.
RPG Media Revisited
Malcom Sheppard expands on a Story Games thread he initiated on table-top play as a specific medium for RPGs. He suggests that much table-top design does not exploit the medium, so much as treat table-top as an assumed place to play. He describes the distinctiveness of table-top as allowing "fuzzy judgments with complex systems" - namely subjective judgments as parts of a fairly complex system.
Cooperation and Private Creation
John Kim discusses the problems with creative commitment, stemming from the debate about accessible games. Moving away from that specific problem, however, he discusses the use of private and semi-private creative spaces for players, as a means to provide safety while enjoying the creative process.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Yearly Review 2006: Lists - Part Two
Influential Theory Developments:
1) Push and Pull
Highlights: Introduction (Moyra Turkington), In Resolution (Vincent Baker), Moments of Crisis (Bradley "Brand" Robins)
2) Story Blindness
Highlights: Brain Damage (Ron Edwards)
3) Unsafe
Highlights: Design What Matters/Doesn't Matter (Joshua BishopRoby), Flinching (Vincent Baker), Dangerous versus Unsafe (Ben Lehman)
4) Month of Immersion
Highlights: Unfiltered Mental Activity (Thomas Robertson), Visceral Immersion (Fred Wolke), Literary Immersion
(Moyra Turkington)
5) Theory of Setting
Highlights: Setting Matters, Aspects of Setting (all Troy Costisick)
1) Push and Pull
Highlights: Introduction (Moyra Turkington), In Resolution (Vincent Baker), Moments of Crisis (Bradley "Brand" Robins)
2) Story Blindness
Highlights: Brain Damage (Ron Edwards)
3) Unsafe
Highlights: Design What Matters/Doesn't Matter (Joshua BishopRoby), Flinching (Vincent Baker), Dangerous versus Unsafe (Ben Lehman)
4) Month of Immersion
Highlights: Unfiltered Mental Activity (Thomas Robertson), Visceral Immersion (Fred Wolke), Literary Immersion
(Moyra Turkington)
5) Theory of Setting
Highlights: Setting Matters, Aspects of Setting (all Troy Costisick)
Monday, January 01, 2007
Weekly Review Dec. 24th to Dec. 30th
This has been an especially sparse week, likely due to various holiday concerns. Next week hints at a resurgence due to looking back over the year of theory and design.
Stereotyping Boys
John Kim, deriving from his own experiences as a father and a gamer, suggests that the pejorative treatment of immature play as expected of teen boys who play RPGs is inaccurate and problematic. First, he suggests that immature handling of sexual and violent content is as often an adult behavior as a pubescent one. Second, he suggests we should not encourage those behaviors, even, or perhaps, especially for young males.
Stereotyping Boys
John Kim, deriving from his own experiences as a father and a gamer, suggests that the pejorative treatment of immature play as expected of teen boys who play RPGs is inaccurate and problematic. First, he suggests that immature handling of sexual and violent content is as often an adult behavior as a pubescent one. Second, he suggests we should not encourage those behaviors, even, or perhaps, especially for young males.
Friday, December 29, 2006
Yearly Review 2006: Lists - Part One
Five Most Prolific Contributors:
1) Thomas Robertson - Thomas' contributions have included a variety of topics, most notably the structure of RPG mediums.
2) Joshua BishopRoby - Joshua's work tends to focus on stories within RPGs.
3) Moyra Turkington - Moyra has made several specific contributions, including Push and Pull, the sockets perspective of RPGs, and categorizing spectrums of player behavior.
4) Brian Hollenbeck - Brian's main development has been the AGE (Art, Game, Emulation) model of RPGs.
5) John Kim - John has contributed to numerous discussions, with a special focus on inclusiveness in RPGs.
1) Thomas Robertson - Thomas' contributions have included a variety of topics, most notably the structure of RPG mediums.
2) Joshua BishopRoby - Joshua's work tends to focus on stories within RPGs.
3) Moyra Turkington - Moyra has made several specific contributions, including Push and Pull, the sockets perspective of RPGs, and categorizing spectrums of player behavior.
4) Brian Hollenbeck - Brian's main development has been the AGE (Art, Game, Emulation) model of RPGs.
5) John Kim - John has contributed to numerous discussions, with a special focus on inclusiveness in RPGs.
Monday, December 25, 2006
Weekly Review Dec. 17th to Dec. 23rd
This week has seen a few new perspectives on previous developments.
Unobserving
Matt Snyder discusses the importance of hidden information to the functioning of stories. Specifically he describes how, while players may be aware of the full picture, the fitness of a character for a story often depends on what they do not or cannot know. This also suggests that a good situation in game is one where no party has full information.
Decide
Carl Cravens discusses the importance of player decisions in the context of RPGs. Specifically, he suggests that decisions can matter too much, as well as mattering too little. In the former, the analysis brought on by fear of failure can grind play to a halt. On the other, the irrelevance of the decisions makes play largely meaningless.
Unobserving
Matt Snyder discusses the importance of hidden information to the functioning of stories. Specifically he describes how, while players may be aware of the full picture, the fitness of a character for a story often depends on what they do not or cannot know. This also suggests that a good situation in game is one where no party has full information.
Decide
Carl Cravens discusses the importance of player decisions in the context of RPGs. Specifically, he suggests that decisions can matter too much, as well as mattering too little. In the former, the analysis brought on by fear of failure can grind play to a halt. On the other, the irrelevance of the decisions makes play largely meaningless.
Friday, December 22, 2006
Monday, December 18, 2006
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.
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.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Editorial: Feedback 2006
RPG Theory Review has been running for over a year. Soon, we'll be doing a series of posts for our Yearly Review of RPG Theory. In the mean time, I think it is past time to ask readers what they would like to see in the coming year.
What do you like or dislike? Do you want more interaction, lessons, or editorials? Or possibly fewer?
What do you feel would make this a more useful resource to the community of people who want to better understand how we play RPGs, and how to make that play better?
I look forward to ideas, even just confirmations of what we're already doing. After all, this site will only serve you better if you let us know how.
What do you like or dislike? Do you want more interaction, lessons, or editorials? Or possibly fewer?
What do you feel would make this a more useful resource to the community of people who want to better understand how we play RPGs, and how to make that play better?
I look forward to ideas, even just confirmations of what we're already doing. After all, this site will only serve you better if you let us know how.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)