Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Blog Post by Robert J. Schwalb
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Campbell" data-source="post: 6327798" data-attributes="member: 16586"><p>In this post I'm going to ignore the comments he made about 4e - that's not really my personal bugaboo these days. The writing had been on the wall for awhile there. What I find disheartening about his blog post is the contention on that math and rigorous analysis are directly opposed to creativity and expression. As a software developer with a background in military service and a business education, over the course of my adult life have I continually made decisions that are backed up by data analysis, mathematical models, and a contextual understanding of the processes that make up people's daily lives. The contention that creativity goes out the window the second any analytic skills are applied is particularly harmful to the way we understand and work within the world. All forms of nontrivial problem solving require creativity. To suggest otherwise is to reinforce the harmful belief that engineers, architects, scientists, software developers, and business professionals are simply applying a rote process, rather than applying their judgment to unique and changing circumstances.</p><p></p><p>This attitude seems particularly worrying to me coming from someone whose job it is to create a game which fundamentally involves numbers that have a significant effect on outcomes. You can ignore this all you want, but it will not change the facts. It will have an effect. If its not dealt with at the design phase it will have to be dealt with by individual groups.</p><p></p><p>On an unrelated note, [MENTION=6688858]Libramarian[/MENTION] I am with you on the GM not being there as primarily a source of entertainment for the other players. I think it would do the culture surrounding the game a great deal of good if we started to emphasis the responsibility players have to one another for a quality game experience rather than just depending on the GM to police inconsiderate players (not characters) who work at cross purposes. I expect players to be engaging, thoughtful, and considerate of one another. I also view my role when I GM as a player with slightly different responsibilities. That's part of the reason why I find the implicit suggestion that GMs are required to spend hours outside of gaming preparing setting material disruptive. It does not improve my experience of the game or encourage the sort of play I value at the table. Mileage may of course vary on this point.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Campbell, post: 6327798, member: 16586"] In this post I'm going to ignore the comments he made about 4e - that's not really my personal bugaboo these days. The writing had been on the wall for awhile there. What I find disheartening about his blog post is the contention on that math and rigorous analysis are directly opposed to creativity and expression. As a software developer with a background in military service and a business education, over the course of my adult life have I continually made decisions that are backed up by data analysis, mathematical models, and a contextual understanding of the processes that make up people's daily lives. The contention that creativity goes out the window the second any analytic skills are applied is particularly harmful to the way we understand and work within the world. All forms of nontrivial problem solving require creativity. To suggest otherwise is to reinforce the harmful belief that engineers, architects, scientists, software developers, and business professionals are simply applying a rote process, rather than applying their judgment to unique and changing circumstances. This attitude seems particularly worrying to me coming from someone whose job it is to create a game which fundamentally involves numbers that have a significant effect on outcomes. You can ignore this all you want, but it will not change the facts. It will have an effect. If its not dealt with at the design phase it will have to be dealt with by individual groups. On an unrelated note, [MENTION=6688858]Libramarian[/MENTION] I am with you on the GM not being there as primarily a source of entertainment for the other players. I think it would do the culture surrounding the game a great deal of good if we started to emphasis the responsibility players have to one another for a quality game experience rather than just depending on the GM to police inconsiderate players (not characters) who work at cross purposes. I expect players to be engaging, thoughtful, and considerate of one another. I also view my role when I GM as a player with slightly different responsibilities. That's part of the reason why I find the implicit suggestion that GMs are required to spend hours outside of gaming preparing setting material disruptive. It does not improve my experience of the game or encourage the sort of play I value at the table. Mileage may of course vary on this point. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Blog Post by Robert J. Schwalb
Top