Modules: Made to Read vs Made to Run?

[Bill Zebub]

I don't know how this thread got from "easy to read/prep" to "lazy GM". Maybe I missed the progression.

But it does occur to me that what we are calling "preference" might be more about wiring differences. In the old MapQuest days I used to ask people if they could only take half of the instructions, the written steps or the map with the route drawn on it, which would they take? NOBODY that I asked had trouble choosing; they knew which one they actually used to navigate. (I'm 100% in the Map category; I would not even look at the written part.)

Similarly, I really struggle with written recipes. I will look back and forth between my cooking and the recipe multiple times for each step. Then somebody pointed me at cookingforengineers.com, and I could glance at one of their recipe diagrams and think, "Oh, ok. Got it."

As a programmer I still really like flow charts. Even if I don't draw them anymore, I still "see" them while coding. And, for that matter, I pretty much learned to program by writing a graphics library for data visualizations because I would rather see data than read it.

So while I still enjoy reading a great story, or great writing in general, if I want to wrap my head around a complex adventure module, I want it in a highly structured format that strips out unnecessary text.

 

[zakael19]

As a programmer I still really like flow charts.

I was just reading some reviews of the newer Enemy Within modules where the reviewer was lamenting the lack of flow-charts showing expected party progression and where events trigger others etc. Even if you dont want to drop down to dungeon-key style writing, modules with complex parts should still be written with some eye towards helping the GM's processing and preparation.

 

[amethal]

I've got the original version of the Halls of Arden Vul, but I've also been picking up the new "bullet point" version PDFs as they come out.

I'm finding the bullet point layout much easier to follow, so much so that I've (almost) got over my resentment at paying twice for the same adventure. (I know that the bullet point PDFs require extra work, which comes with a cost attached, it's just a shame it wasn't laid out like that in the first place.)

Anyone else appreciating the bullet point option?

 

[Bill Zebub]

I was just reading some reviews of the newer Enemy Within modules where the reviewer was lamenting the lack of flow-charts showing expected party progression and where events trigger others etc. Even if you dont want to drop down to dungeon-key style writing, modules with complex parts should still be written with some eye towards helping the GM's processing and preparation.

I'd love to have a big adventure in spiral-bound format, with a single area on each pair of pages (artwork could be added to the areas that don't require much space) and each exit tells you which page to turn to.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I'd love to have a big adventure in spiral-bound format, with a single area on each pair of pages (artwork could be added to the areas that don't require much space) and each exit tells you which page to turn to.

So...a Choose Your Own Adventure book for RPGs? Sounds like it might appeal to some folks.

 

[zakael19]

I'd love to have a big adventure in spiral-bound format, with a single area on each pair of pages (artwork could be added to the areas that don't require much space) and each exit tells you which page to turn to.

I mean, this is the joy of a properly hyperlinked PDF.

 

[Bill Zebub]

So...a Choose Your Own Adventure book for RPGs? Sounds like it might appeal to some folks.

That's a weird comment. Unless I'm mis-parsing that, it comes across a dig, similar to "...turn it into a board game" kind of comments. Which is strange, considering that I was just talking about layout/format.

And really the archetype I had in mind is the old "Maine Atlas" I had in the 80s, in which the edge of each map told you which page to turn to if you were following a road that went off the page you were on.

 

[Celebrim]

@Bill Zebub: I think we can all agree that there are some recipes written primarily to cook and some recipes written primarily to read. The usual internet practice is to bury the recipe itself down below 3000 words of introduction.

As for your MapQuest test, I'm 100% the written instructions despite being a visual thinker, because while driving I'm not looking at the map. I have a navigator reading instructions to me because while driving I can't look at a map.

 

[Bill Zebub]

I mean, this is the joy of a properly hyperlinked PDF.

That is true, but I usually like to keep electronics away from the table.

 

[Bill Zebub]

As for your MapQuest test, I'm 100% the written instructions despite being a visual thinker, because while driving I'm not looking at the map. I have a navigator reading instructions to me because while driving I can't look at a map.

I used to not even take the map with me. Just study it for a minute and then drive from memory.