Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Felon" data-source="post: 5776601" data-attributes="member: 8158">Here's the major hurdle to appeasing even 80% of gamers:There are all kinds of RPG players, but there are two major camps that are almost inimcal in nature. The can be broadly categorized as "right-brained" gamers and "left-brained" gamers. In RPG design, it is vital to acknowledge that these two have vastly different approaches and standards, up to the point of being in direct conflict. Righ-brained gamers value imagination and sense of immersion. Thus, they want a rules-light game that is as uncomplicated and intuitive as possible. Memorizing a book full of rules is a necessary evil at best. They like rolling dice as long as it doesn't entail number-crunching; high rolls = good and low rolls = bad. They want an RPG that is not so much a game, but more of a framework for improvisational theater. Examples of non-D&D games that cater to right-brained gamers are Castles & Crusades and FATE RPG.Left-brained gamers value structure and forethought. They are objective-oriented and throw themselves into making preparations to accomplish those objectives. They want a game that provides lots of options and covers many different contingencies. Many have competitive tendencies and find vindication in catching the unprepared off-guard. Examples of non-D&D games that cater to left-brained gamers are Hero System and GURPS.Because D&D is the elephant in the room, it attracts and struggles to appeal to both camps. When players from these two camps wind up at the same table, conflicts are common because they are looking for fundamentally different experiences. When in these forums you see talk of power-gamers, munchkins, role-playing versus roll-playing, and so forth, you are seeing the disconnect between a left-brainer and a right-brainer style of play.</blockquote>

Verification