aia_2
Custom title
This seems to be extremely interesting! I was wondering whether or not someone used a "graphic novel" hybrid model! I don't know this game but for sure i will have a look at it... It could be extremely effective!
Artworks in an RPG
Jd Smith1
Hero
Other games have used the same model.
Benjamin Olson
Hero
I spent over a month this Summer helping 8-14 year olds make characters for and play 5e D&D at a Summer Camp. And what I noticed this Summer was how much more kids connected with the art rather than the text. I even had a 7-year-old kid tell me he couldn't read, actually meaning he was overwhelmed by words when I showed him the first page of the chapter on classes with a summary of each and told him to pick one. He was still able to play D&D with a bit of help.
While accessibility to young children is perhaps not directly relevant to the goals of most RPGs, I would say the experience was nevertheless eye opening in regards to the degree to which pictures make an RPG more accessible to new players in general. Big blocks of text that seem perfectly straightforward when you've mastered a system and its jargon can be pretty hard to attack when you're new to it, and a lot of people's brains just refuse to try.
While accessibility to young children is perhaps not directly relevant to the goals of most RPGs, I would say the experience was nevertheless eye opening in regards to the degree to which pictures make an RPG more accessible to new players in general. Big blocks of text that seem perfectly straightforward when you've mastered a system and its jargon can be pretty hard to attack when you're new to it, and a lot of people's brains just refuse to try.
Jd Smith1
Hero
I would say the opposite. We need a constant infusion of new players to keep the hobby going. There's a terrible attrition in gamers in their 20s and 30s as family and career decimate available time.
Bagpuss
Legend
Some sort of combat illustration, it's not like every rules concept needs an piece of artwork to match. But one or two pieces would spice up a combat chapter. Using the PHB as an example, the combat chapter opens with a full page illustration of a warrior fighting off multiple opponents at the top of some stairs. Initiative is three paragraphs on the opposite page, you have a similar amount of text for surprise, order of combat, your turn and bonus actions. This opposite page which is all text, use headers, and a boxed section to break it up.
The next double spread has three columns of text where a fourth would be is an illustration, I know to be a fire giant, next to the text about creature sizes. Following pages in the chapter no double page spread is without art on one of the two pages, usually a full column but right near the end (page 196-7) is mostly text with a small illustration of a potion, and pestle and mortar, right by the text on stabilizing a character, so again related to the text.
Well kids of that age haven't seen an Ape or maybe even a Bee, so an illustration makes a visual link with the word. I don't know about you but I've never seen a troll in person, but I've seen several different interpretations of one over the years, but what does D&D consider a troll to look like? It is a lot easier to use artwork to illustrate what one looks like, that then leaves word count to be used to describe things like tactics, it's habits, cultural information, etc.
What does D&D consider a gnome to look like? As the only gnomes I've seen IRL look like this fella. Surely it makes sense to include an image so we are all sharing a similar imagined setting, not some people imagining something like Dobby from Harry Potter and others imaging the Smurfs?
I wonder what's the price of art in the whole product and its relation to the opinion on art. I am pretty sure everyone would agree that art is better no art, because people who doesn't need illustrations (or who just find the artist's style horrible) will just focus on the text anyway, so there is no reason for some to regret the presence of art. However, if an RPG adventure was say, 1.99 for the text and 7.99 for the art+text version, I could see people prefering the art-less version. If it was 5.99 and 6.99, it might not be worth buying the artless version even if one personally doesn't gives much interest to art.
(To contribute a personal opinion on the value of art in RPGs, it depends. If it is a map, being a battlemap or simply a map of the world that gives additional information not available in text, I'll value it a lot, even if it's not my style of art. If it's something semi-useful, like you created a novel monster called a Xzorg, then a picture of it might help (though a description in the bestiary section could do). In this case i'd value a well-done (ie, to my taste) art above no art. If you're giving the stats of the horse, or house cat, I am not sure even a cute well-done cat picture will add anything. Same with weapons illustration. I know what a club or a quarterstaff is. But if the art isn't adding anything (just filler art), even well done I'll value it very low.)
(To contribute a personal opinion on the value of art in RPGs, it depends. If it is a map, being a battlemap or simply a map of the world that gives additional information not available in text, I'll value it a lot, even if it's not my style of art. If it's something semi-useful, like you created a novel monster called a Xzorg, then a picture of it might help (though a description in the bestiary section could do). In this case i'd value a well-done (ie, to my taste) art above no art. If you're giving the stats of the horse, or house cat, I am not sure even a cute well-done cat picture will add anything. Same with weapons illustration. I know what a club or a quarterstaff is. But if the art isn't adding anything (just filler art), even well done I'll value it very low.)
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aia_2
Custom title
Well this is a crucial point: my questions, beyond the reasons are focusing at this aspect. I have a game i'd like to publish, i asked in another post here the potential impact of costs different than those related to the contents... The reply made me think if there is a strict rationale or an "habit" of this industry... Well, if we set aside the settings, the mere rules have not a clear explanation...
I agree at 110%
aia_2
Custom title
That sounds reasonable... But this doesn't work for stats, initiative, progression and any further rule you have in your book... Or, better: artworks can always be added, the point is that if there is no reason if not the habit of the industry, it does seems a faint explanation to my eyes... However my takeaway is that even if not necessary, some "good & clever" pieces of art are in any case needed!
Lol! I am just trying to figure out a fight between a troll and a group of these gnomes...
DrunkonDuty
he/him
Maybe some art will help you figure out what it looks like?
I'd like to offer an example of a game system that's big on walls-o-text and light on art: Hero System. Want to guess what almost everyone says about it? I'll tell you. The general gist is: "it's too dense and complicated." A perception of the game that is due in part to a lack of art.
aramis erak
Legend
The Japanese version of Tunnels and Trolls does. Several other Japanese games do as well. Not many in English.
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