Search results

It's striking that much of the information about new game releases focuses on the story, not what actually happens in the game. This is reinforced by looking at the back of game boxes at a shop, information about actual play is limited to non-existent. Evidently, people buy based on story, even...

Well, while not trying to pick out all of the really long comments, I've seen 603, 605, 713, and 1,320 word comments, all longer than my original post. I think the fundamental roles in RPGs are wizard, divine (cleric), and fighter. With fighters having various combinations of strength and...

People writing new RPGs are often perfectionists. The old games aren't perfect, so they want to write a new one. Unfortunately for them, even if they create something they think is perfect, their preferences will change over years and it will no longer seem perfect. Game design is always...

Thanks for the comments. Keep in mind, folks, I am editorially constrained to 500 words. If I had a thousand, I’d have more thoroughly addressed/explained many of the points people are making or questioning (or explaining, thanks). Of course. It would be interesting to know what proportion of...

In my experience with contemporary college game clubs, there are many younger people who have not yet tried tabletop RPGs. I was also told that many of the players coming to the evening games at a local shop have been new to tabletop RPGs. This is different from my pre-Internet, pre-video...

More recent points of view Always interesting to read something I wrote more than 30 years ago. These days I wonder whether I'll agree with stuff from my "Game Design" book published in 2012 when I read it again, let alone the 30+ year stuff. Some styles are certainly at odds. For example...

Hobby games, not just RPGs ruin explorer: You've posed your answer largely in terms of (tabletop) RPGs. My statement encompasses all kinds of hobby gamers, and recognizes that video games and gamers are far more pervasive than tabletop. Of course, Tabletop RPGs are now just one of many...

30-some years see lots of changes Two and a half years ago I completed my book "Game Design: How to Create Video and Tabletop Games, Start to Finish" (McFarland, 2012). Whenever I have occasion to look up something in it, I've been happy to find that I still agree with myself! But agree...

I have a prototype that's a boardgame in which players make up very simple RPG characters (skill/module based, more or less) and either a referee or a set of cards (that's the tough part) control the opposition. I'm not sure it will ever amount to anything, even if I figure out the...

The economy? No, the collapse of the RPG market considerably predates the collapse of the economy. Boardgames are selling very well, because in economic bad times people move to forms of entertainment that are big value for money, but RPGs still suffer... The majority of young people *are*...

Hi Mark, The problem is that tabletop RPG sales SUCK. And have for several years, perhaps excepting sales of the very largest companies. Most young people, even those who play video games a lot, have not played tabletop RPGs. The point of my original response was, I guess, that there isn't...

Fair enough. The really good refs will usually find/make a good group. But the marginally good ones might not be able to arrange it all on their own.

Interesting discussion. Tabletop RPGs aren't popular compared to computer RPGs because: 1) people don't need to read the computer RPG rules 2) you can play a computer RPG solo, can't do that with tabletop 3) while tabletop is generally more fun with a good referee, most referees aren't so good...

Someday... I, too, have thought about redoing that article, but my problem is the same one that caused me to quit writing for Dragon 20-some years ago: they insist on buying all rights, and that is just plain wrong. Perhaps sometime I'll do it, having been encouraged by this comment. Right now...