[1st Draft] Understanding RPGs, Essay 2

[mythusmage]

UNDERSTANDING ROLEPLAYING GAMES

WHY THIS BOOK?

It seemed about time. The hobby has been around close to thirty years, at the time of writing, and I felt it was about time a book on what roleplaying games are all about hit the streets. Thus, this effort.

Understand that roleplaying games are new. There has been nothing like this before in the history of humanity. The elements have been around for a long time, but not until 1972 (western reckoning) were those elements put together in what we could call an RPG. And not until 1974 was the first RPG made available to the general public.

There have been books published before this on RPGs, but each concentrated on subjects such as; why people played, how to play better, or how to be a better Game Master. This is, as far as I know, the first book on what RPGs are, and to concern itself with understanding the pastime.

This book is for both the new comer to RPGs and the old-timer. It's purpose is to provide a solid foundation for play and design, in the hopes this will lead to an improvement in the products produced, both for previously released systems and for games yet to come. It is my hope that Understanding Roleplaying Games will lead to better, more solid efforts and aid in introducing an expanded audience to the hobby.

That is why I've written this book. To help people understand what RPGs are all about, and to help make RPGs better than they have been before. Contact information is in the back, so you can get in touch and express your opinions. I will read the ones that are well written at the very least. Good grammar and spelling will give you a better chance.

Forwards, good reader, to a world unlike any other most of you have ever seen before.

 

[mythusmage]

I really must be less controversial, nobody's replying.

BUMP!

 

[Altin]

What sort of feedback are you looking for, exactly?

If it is stylistic commentary you're after, I would venture that the "(western reckoning)" doesn't really need to be there and, in fact, jars somewhat without serving any readily observable purpose.

Also, the whole thing seems a little dry. Sentences like "It's purpose is to provide a solid foundation for play and design, in the hopes this will lead to an improvement in the products produced, both for previously released systems and for games yet to come." create a fairly formal and dispassionate tone which recalls doctoral dissertations more than it does folks messing about with dice. This may be what you are looking for but doesn't really seem to be a good fit for your subject (nor is it particularly welcoming to the casual reader. Academics write that way partly to convince themselves of their own importance and status as an exclusive group).

To take a more thematic approach, I would question the premise that roleplaying games are fundamentally anything new. Certainly, the form(s) of the hobby as it exists today are for the most part without precedent but the sort of activities engaged in and the motivations for them (which surely is what must be addressed if one is to have a shot at 'understanding RPGS') is as old as human culture. In fact, I would argue that any solid understanding of why people play the way they play (and why they play at all) must be grounded in an understanding of what it appropriates -- and, indeed, does not appropriate -- from the various traditions of play ("let's pretend", boardgames, storytelling, ect.) which it has grown out from. I realise you partly recognise this in your foreword but you seem keen to marginalise these influences whereas I think they ought to be central to your proposed project.

By the by, is there an actual book-in-the-making to go with this or is this merely a hypothetical discussion? Because it does seem an interesting project and it would be quite cool if someone did put out something like it.

Yours,
Altin

 

[mythusmage]

Yes, it is a book in progress.

Yes, RPGs as RPGs are new. While the elements have been around for a long time, it wasn't until fairly recently that they were combined into the form we now call RPGs.

Yes, I should make the opening chapter more personal and personable.

 

[jmucchiello]

Who is this book for? What is your target audiance? The last line in the first post indicates a world I've never seen before. Well, I am an RPGer. I have seen that world before. There will be no revalations of fact in your book to me.

If the book is for non-gamers, why are they reading it? Where did they find it? I guess I don't understand your purpose with this stuff.

Until I see the stuff that will supposedly improve my game, I cannot see how this book is useful based on that short set of paragraphs.

 

[MThibault]

"Forwards, good reader, to a world unlike any other most of you have ever seen before."

I would use "gentle reader" as an homage to EGG.

Otherwise, it looks like this book is sort of caught between two worlds: 1) An advice book for gamers, and 2) a general interest book on RPGs. If you set up both expectations then you'll probably fall short in both -- and the readers who miss the point that it is supposed to be both will think that you've fallen seriously short on the aspect they came looking for.

I would split it into two projects. It will, ironically, give you more room to roam and more opportunity to narrow the focus. As an advice book, it could get more statistical and technical than a general interest book could even approach. You could talk about fundamental principles of running an RPG, or the underlying mathematics of a complex RPG, without losing the casual reader. As a general interest book you could wander off and talk about other games, systems and hobbies that influenced RPGs through the years -- minis games, LARPs, card games, etc. -- and do so in relative depth without worrying about getting back to the practical advice for RPG players at the end of the section.

Just my 2 cents.

Cheers.

 

[Voobaha]

dicing with dragons

Actually, I have a book like the one you're writing (aside from reading Uncle Figgy's Guide to RPGs here on the net). It's called "Dicing With Dragons" by Ian Livingstone, of early Games Workshop and Fighting Fantasy Gamebook fame.

The book serves as an introduction and guide to RPGs, mostly aimed at getting new players involved in the hobby. An decent reference section on published RPGs and manufacturers in the back (including a list of every game in print at the time of the book's publishing) is included for veteran gamers.

It's very personable, and not very academic. The first chapter has a dramatic story of a bunch of squabbling characters involved in a dungeon crawl. The same story is then retold as an example of play--written in script format like countless other such examples in RPG rulebooks. This chapter follows the principle of "a picture is worth a thousand words" and so starts right off with an example of play to show how RPGs work. There are descriptive chapters on the history and nature of RPGs. Four chapters focus on four popular games: D&D, Traveller, Runequest & Tunnels and Trolls.

The rest of the book talks about primitive computer RPGs, Live Action Role Playing, lists of magazines, zines, games and manufactuers, and finally a simple guide to miniatures and painting.

It was published 20 years ago, so the information is dated and written as if RPGs are still a new thing. Ian Livingstone's writing style is very natural and personable, and the book is fun to read. It's really a very good intro to the hobby, but lacks extensive analysis of things like game theory and history. Reading feels like a very good GM is sitting down with you one-on-one and teaching you all about the games. It might be worth you picking up a copy for reference, if you can find it.