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How important is game balance to you?
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<blockquote data-quote="Campbell" data-source="post: 7017642" data-attributes="member: 16586"><p>I am very suspicious of spotlight balance. As a concept it has implications on game design that I am not overly fond of. First, it assumes that players are primarily driven by the limelight. This is not the case for me - I am primarily driven by opportunities that allow me to make a decision that will have an impact on the fiction. Second, it assumes that spotlight is a thing that is given rather than earned. The idea is that the GM will manipulate the fiction and sometimes the rules of the game to provide players with special moments regardless of the decisions players make. That is not my jam on either side of the screen. As a player I do not want the impact of our decisions to be held hostage by a GM imperative to showcase given PCs. As a GM I do not feel it is my responsibility to manage the game. I want things to snowball so I am just as surprised by the fiction as the players are. I am there to provide opportunities for the players to make decisions and see where things lead.</p><p></p><p>I am not really arguing against asymmetric character types. I am arguing that a game should be designed so that it is on the players to bring their resources to bear. Here's what John Harper has to say in Blades in the Dark (emphasis mine):</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Campbell, post: 7017642, member: 16586"] I am very suspicious of spotlight balance. As a concept it has implications on game design that I am not overly fond of. First, it assumes that players are primarily driven by the limelight. This is not the case for me - I am primarily driven by opportunities that allow me to make a decision that will have an impact on the fiction. Second, it assumes that spotlight is a thing that is given rather than earned. The idea is that the GM will manipulate the fiction and sometimes the rules of the game to provide players with special moments regardless of the decisions players make. That is not my jam on either side of the screen. As a player I do not want the impact of our decisions to be held hostage by a GM imperative to showcase given PCs. As a GM I do not feel it is my responsibility to manage the game. I want things to snowball so I am just as surprised by the fiction as the players are. I am there to provide opportunities for the players to make decisions and see where things lead. I am not really arguing against asymmetric character types. I am arguing that a game should be designed so that it is on the players to bring their resources to bear. Here's what John Harper has to say in Blades in the Dark (emphasis mine): [/QUOTE]
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