Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 3334884" data-attributes="member: 10079">What is your opinion on materials produced for OOP games?I think its great. How much of this would be seen entered to be judged I honestly have no idea of, but as I've said more than once...I'm a huge Star Wars fan, and even though I love the new d20 game, I still have players that won't play anything but the old d6 system. So even though that's long OOP, new things to help out are just great(and definitely around if one can scour the internet well enough).How would you evaluate material for systems in which you have zero experience?  What if any of those systems are highly complex?  That is, the rulebooks are very dense and there may be many supplements.  This can be the case for games with a long history, as in 15+ years.When it comes to things with which I have no experience, the only way I can see to truly fix this to evaluate is to learn the system. This isn't too hard for me, as I'm a bit of a system whore and love to get setting and rules books for things that I'll probably never play anyway, just to see how they work and for a good read. I'm also pretty good at picking up on concepts and rules at a quick pace so it wouldn't be taking up a huge amount of time.If you do not like a particular system, how will you evaluate supplements/adventures/whatever submitted for that system?  Do you think there can be a good adventure for a bad system?There aren't too many systems I don't like, but if there is something I don't like, I can only try to evaluate any supporting products as best as possible. There are gems in mechanics in most all systems if you pay attention. When it comes to adventures, well...to me, those aren't at all system specific, even if they say they are. I've never had a problem adapting adventures to a completely different system, so yes, I do think bad systems can have good adventures.What barriers are you anticipating in play testing submissions?  Are you thinking ahead to come up with contingencies?The biggest barrier is time, with the second being my gaming group. There is only so much that can be playtested, and it would be a lie to say everything submitted could be in the time given. My game groups have been warned of this possibility and are ready to try out new things if it comes to it, but it definitely won't be everything as that's just not possible.* What do you consider your strong point(s) as a judge? Weak point(s)?I consider my experience with multiple systems and my openess to new things to be a very strong point.At the same time, it could be said that my openess is also a weak point as I have no problem floating from one game system to another.* What one characteristic as a judge do you bring to the table that differentiates you from the other potential judges?I think my age, being younger than most of the other judges, gives me a different perspective. I don't have a strong attachment to a particular system through nostalgia and, while I've played older versions of games like D&D, definitely wasn't playing it at the time. Not everyone's been playing RPGs for 20+ years, and that isn't always represented in the judges selected.* What cultural interests do you have outside of gaming (i.e reading, comics, parenting, scuba diving, anything), that make you a better judge and why?I'm a huge comics fan(mostly Marvel), play a ton of video games(yay, Wii), and I read far too much(just started my yearly reading of Dune this week).I'd say all of these have provided me with a very broad selection of ideas and inspirations to bring into my gaming. While some use it as an insult, there are, in fact, some things tabletop gaming CAN take from video games(not all, of course, but some). And a broad exposure to other geek pop culture aspects can help to identify the inspirations for certain aspects of new tabletop games and supplements.* How important a factor is artwork (cover, illustrations, cartography) in your overall impression of judging products? As I've said before, I'm still a college student. My Major is Fine Art, and I've been drawing and painting for longer than I've been playing RPGs. One of the big things that drew me into D&D, in particular, was the artwork, which still inspires me and amazes me beyond just what could be done in game, but with turning myself into a better artist.So, to me, art is a major factor. Art isn't the only factor, of course, and a book with horrible art and wonderful ideas or mechanics wouldn't necessarily be snubbed by me(the reverse is also true), but I definitely keep a keen eye towards the artistic edge of most all products.</blockquote>

Verification