Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Doctor Futurity" data-source="post: 7714545" data-attributes="member: 10738">It seems to me that &quot;complexity&quot; and &quot;choice&quot; often get conflated in discussions like this. With D&amp;D 5E, for example, it is (to me) inarguable that the game is low complexity: but it has a high degree of choice, most of which is divorced to some degree from the complexity factor. 3rd edition and Pathfinder by contrast often added complexity through choice as part of the design decision....so what 5E did in this regard was figure out a way to continue to offer a wealth of options for people without ramping up the complexity in the process. Adding a new class in 5E shouldn't make the underlying design/mechanics more complex in 5E...and if it does, then you're doing it wrong.This is one of the reasons I feel 5E is doing so well. Sure, it doesn't have as much choice as 3rd edition did.....but it does offer you a really compelling range of options in a smaller package, with the guarantee (so far) that those options won't increase the overall complexity of the experience.I also think Savage Worlds is the same way, with a core experience that (in play) demonstrates how damned smooth and easy the game is. It's learning curve is very slightly higher than D&amp;D 5E, but once learned it is like learning to ride a bike: you never forget. That plus the appeal of an &quot;all in one&quot; experience for $10 is kind of amazing.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Doctor Futurity, post: 7714545, member: 10738"] It seems to me that "complexity" and "choice" often get conflated in discussions like this. With D&D 5E, for example, it is (to me) inarguable that the game is low complexity: but it has a high degree of choice, most of which is divorced to some degree from the complexity factor. 3rd edition and Pathfinder by contrast often added complexity through choice as part of the design decision....so what 5E did in this regard was figure out a way to continue to offer a wealth of options for people without ramping up the complexity in the process. Adding a new class in 5E shouldn't make the underlying design/mechanics more complex in 5E...and if it does, then you're doing it wrong. This is one of the reasons I feel 5E is doing so well. Sure, it doesn't have as much choice as 3rd edition did.....but it does offer you a really compelling range of options in a smaller package, with the guarantee (so far) that those options won't increase the overall complexity of the experience. I also think Savage Worlds is the same way, with a core experience that (in play) demonstrates how damned smooth and easy the game is. It's learning curve is very slightly higher than D&D 5E, but once learned it is like learning to ride a bike: you never forget. That plus the appeal of an "all in one" experience for $10 is kind of amazing. [/QUOTE]

Verification