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Message: <blockquote data-quote="clearstream" data-source="post: 8305814" data-attributes="member: 71699">What do you think of the thought-worm in Earthdawn as an example of compelling design? Not related to the modes of play we have been discussing, but rather to the job of getting players to live the sinister manipulation that horrors ought to be capable of. Another example might be Wrath of God in MtG. It's symmetrical, destructive design puts in play an idea of divine justice. Again, I'm not thinking here about modes of play specifically, more about motivated designs.Were prototypes of Valiant Strike different from the published version? I wonder, because one can see that the published version is manageable in play (4e pushes toward miniatures and grids, so simply - count adjacent enemies.) But say we are surrounded by minions - they're not really a threat - ideally one might prefer not to scale the at-will. On the other hand, each published mechanic has a cost. I would guess that the effort to prototype, test, refine and balance this one made the payoff worth it. It is easy to parse and the effect is unlikely to get crazy. It reminds me of Virus (CE) for some reason.In another thread I used the term gameful narrative (much to the mystification of others). The atoms of gameful narrative are these designs that pull you into a world-concept that their designer has grasped and formed into the mechanic. Collectively - the chosen set of mechanics - forms a marvelous machine: an author of a department in Borges' Library of Babel.</blockquote>

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