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This is a pretty big nonsequitur to what I said, and the grasped straws here completely miss that the point is that games aren't dictionaries and don't serve the same purpose. 1. The hanging ellipsis just makes you come off as incredibly annoying. You're not actually gaining anything...

The authentic is usually what I think is worthwhile to explore with realism in games versus realism in the sense of being literal to real thing. Authenticity here meaning its informed by the real thing and models its logic, but doesn't worry about exaggerations for the sake of entertainment. In...

Exactly what it says it's modelling. This misunderstanding is understandable given I don't elaborate on it in the page; Movement in these mechanics do not correspond to speed. Recall that combat takes place on abstracted maps that look like this: While these grids can be mapped to a...

Well, I think the dictionary comparison is weak given its explicit purpose as an educational tool, and RPGs in the 80s were only 7 years out from the genesis of the hobby as we know it. Chances are, given the state of the hobby, unless you know your book is going to be available on a shelf at...

Has one ever wondered why boardgames don't go out of their way to explain what boardgames are in every rulebook? Thats a rhetorical question, as they don't because people understand that common knowledge. Hence the general advice that this kind of page space is better spent defining the object...

I think if you want to define this idea better, I'd go with the term ludomechanical dissonance, as defined by In this blog. A lot of whats discussed in the OP though is also just your standard ludonarrative discourse. I think the whole thing about ludomechanical design choices, different from...

@GMMichael One Page, 12pt for most of it 😄 To be clear here, this wouldn't be a full reference. You'd also have your Character Sheet and, probably, Item Cards, and this is where all of your Content References would go, tailored only to what you specifically care to use. So, things like...

In a very zoomed out sense Birthsigns could be thought of that way, though in practice story spines are directly emulated through Quest Blocks and Questlines; basically stat blocks that give you different story spines to employ throughout play. Birthsigns are much less specific and concise. I...

Well, what was written is essentially just an essay that explains the system and the context it exists in, but also the design context for why it was designed that way. So, I'd say it'd be a bit of a misstep to treat this as though its a rulebook, particularly when at the time of writing it was...

I would say the issue is that you're approaching it from perspective of trying to tell a story. You might not believe you are, but thats what's resulting in how you're engaging these systems. You're thinking up a story, breaking off a chunk of it, and throwing it into the system. Which...

If there's one thing that could explain why I run into so many issues its probably my bad habit of not caring enough to revise and edit when it comes to posting online, even when it comes to something more intentionally formal rather than conversational. You can improvise in the third person...

Yeah so if we take to those assumptions, then yes the prank idea wouldn't be right. But I think that also goes down to a couple things that might have contributed to this hiccup we'll call it. As already spoken to, the issue could still just be a vibe issue, not on your part but mine. Under...

Not really, because its a collaborative effort, and it doesn't just stop for no reason. Keep in mind the best maxim here: follow the follower. They should be following your lead and you follow theirs, and that goes for everyone who gets involved. If they're introducing the idea that it was a...

Like I said, I'm not interested in getting sucked into a debate over that. Doesn't end well. It may seem like an out of left field tangent, but this does remind me a lot of the nature of musicals and how one can argue that action films are just musicals where the song and dance is replaced...

Aesthetically, Id peg the issue on what Moves are called and themed as and how that relates to the outcomes they generate. To my understanding thats always been a contentious issue within the PBTA communities, with many games being made or broken on how they do them, but naturally I think the...

I think a concise way to put it, if vague, is that the ideal I see is a game that utilizes its two halves to their best potential, whilst interwining them in a way that elevates them both. I think it was actually only natural that throughout my design work and research I ended up gravitating...

I think you're conflating whats being pointed out with just not liking consequences. Consequences are fine and to be expected. Having my character's actions dictated by anyone or anything other than me isn't, however. This isn't about not wanting my character to go through hardship or whatever...

Its both. You are correct, I did not at any point establish that RPGs require an open-ended possibility space. (Aka, I didn't say that in the first place)