Amount of Text and Book Layout

[[OMENRPG]Ben]

Over the years I've seen a fairly consistent style of presentation for most of the "major" RPG rulebooks out there: large blocks of text, a cool illustration here or there, and tables to more easily convey the crunchier bits (such as powers, classes, what have you.)

As players from a new generation are growing up, and with the popularity of Twitter and other micro-text media, what if a rulebook was designed with the least amount of text possible?

Obviously this would have implications for clarity, cost of printing, and quality of the overall product, but I've found a lot of the best text-books I've had during my lifetime are light on giant paragraphs of text, and use more diagrams and examples.

So, I put it out to the illustrious boardmembers here at EN World. What do you think is the sweet spot for text, diagrams, illustrations, and explanation in an RPG book? And, it is obvious the answer is "whatever is necessary for the system," but I mean if it could be shown as a diagram as opposed to any text at all, would you prefer it one way or the other?

 

[RedTonic]

Depends on the fluff to crunch ratio you are working with. If you're presenting a system that's crunchier than a bowl full of Portlandia Birkenstock wearers, diagram it up and use art as a filler.

Years ago, I used to really dig the fluff. Now I find myself reskinning and divesting packaged fluff in ever-greater volume.

I can get by without art; it tends to raise the price-tag. It's a nice extra, just like fluff, but it's an extra, and I don't need it.

 

[Herremann the Wise]

Diagram or Text or Illustration?
I think all three together are important; and when one is missing, it then may become a potential problem.

• Diagrams help explain the relationship between complex ideas much more quickly than a wall of text.

• Text still presents ideas with nuance and clarity that a diagram can't convey.

• Illustrations take you directly into the fantasy world and out of our own more immediately than text (or at least the good illustrations do that feature creatures and landscape).

The thing is text is easy, cheap and can cover for the other two even if only somewhat poorly and thus it gets used when one of the others would be better (and perhaps significantly so).

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

 

[howandwhy99]

What do you think is the sweet spot for text, diagrams, illustrations, and explanation in an RPG book?

And, it is obvious the answer is "whatever is necessary for the system," but I mean if it could be shown as a diagram as opposed to any text at all, would you prefer it one way or the other?

I think clarity of the rules is first and foremost. If I read the game and can't make heads or tails of what the writer is talking about, then I'm not going to be playing it.

Brevity and conciseness is nice and if it can be explained via a chart or table, then I'd prefer it. But those have keys to them or they're not worth putting in.

A good game text is in part a mix of writing skills. It includes the rules, which stress good technical writing. But creative writing examples of those rules in play gives life to the work and inspiration to the reader. All of the other textual aspects come into play as well. If it is a hardcopy, the cover, ink, paper, etc. all matter. If it is an electronic copy, they should use all of the benefits that medium offers (e.g. hypertext to within the copy and WWW links, sorting by topic or index, reader notations, etc.)

Art also plays a big role, but I think it works just like the technical / creative split above. Some should be examples of what could happen in play. Other art may demonstrate a rule element (like 3E's AoO's were).