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<blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 9259253" data-attributes="member: 29398">Popularity is what you get if you have a good PR department.&nbsp; Good design often has little or nothing to do with it.If the simple = popular equation actually held true, everybody would be using Apple products.But that's not the case; as (for computers and phones, anyway) Apple have for ages been stuck at about a 10-15% market share.&nbsp; And why is that?&nbsp; Monetary cost aside, it's because that simplicity comes at another price: a loss of control over how the product functions.&nbsp; The user has to bend to suit the product (and accept being locked in a closed ecosystem), rather than being able to make the product adapt to the user's needs (sometimes via 3rd-party add-ons).The same applies to RPG design.&nbsp; A rule-set made up of numerous discrete subsystems is far easier for a DM to kitbash into what she wants it to be than is a rule-set that hinges on just one or two unified mechanics; because a discrete subsystem can be changed (or, sometimes, eliminated) without affecting too much of the rest of the game while changing a unified mechanic affects the whole game rather than just what you want it to affect.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Lanefan, post: 9259253, member: 29398"] Popularity is what you get if you have a good PR department. Good design often has little or nothing to do with it. If the simple = popular equation actually held true, everybody would be using Apple products. But that's not the case; as (for computers and phones, anyway) Apple have for ages been stuck at about a 10-15% market share. And why is that? Monetary cost aside, it's because that simplicity comes at another price: a loss of control over how the product functions. The user has to bend to suit the product (and accept being locked in a closed ecosystem), rather than being able to make the product adapt to the user's needs (sometimes via 3rd-party add-ons). The same applies to RPG design. A rule-set made up of numerous discrete subsystems is far easier for a DM to kitbash into what she wants it to be than is a rule-set that hinges on just one or two unified mechanics; because a discrete subsystem can be changed (or, sometimes, eliminated) without affecting too much of the rest of the game while changing a unified mechanic affects the whole game rather than just what you want it to affect. [/QUOTE]

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