Who are the most inventive game designers?
- Thread starter DMH
- Start date
shady
Explorer
Assuming the question means D20:
Mike Mearls
Monte Cook
Keith Baker
For the WotC stuff, it's difficult to tell since the work is mostly done by a fairly large team. David Noonan is a name I look out for, based on the mini games in Dungeon (having said which, he's a contributor to Races of Destiny ...).
Given that D20 games design IS by and large a team effort, I would tend to favour publishers:
(sometimes) WotC - recently Eberron, some of Unearthed Arcana
Malhavoc
Green Ronin - most recently I thought Advanced Bestiary was excellent, not necessarily innovative but taking maximum advantage of existing 3E rules
Fantasy Flight (or until recently, more for the minigames than for the Legends and Lairs stuff which was only really consistent when Mearls wrote it)
Paizo have to be given some credit for the Poly stuff
Outside D20 RPG, but in closely related areas:
WotC again - I think they do very well to maintain interest on MtG, plus the mini game
Wizkids - Monte Cook was, as I remember, the designer on Heroclix
Fantasy Flight - got War of the Ring at Christmas - this and Doom are fantastic games
Games Workshop
And then further out, there are genuine solo designers working on great new stuff on the "German" style games - Reiner Knizia, Klaus Teuber, Alan Moon etc.
Mike Mearls
Monte Cook
Keith Baker
For the WotC stuff, it's difficult to tell since the work is mostly done by a fairly large team. David Noonan is a name I look out for, based on the mini games in Dungeon (having said which, he's a contributor to Races of Destiny ...).
Given that D20 games design IS by and large a team effort, I would tend to favour publishers:
(sometimes) WotC - recently Eberron, some of Unearthed Arcana
Malhavoc
Green Ronin - most recently I thought Advanced Bestiary was excellent, not necessarily innovative but taking maximum advantage of existing 3E rules
Fantasy Flight (or until recently, more for the minigames than for the Legends and Lairs stuff which was only really consistent when Mearls wrote it)
Paizo have to be given some credit for the Poly stuff
Outside D20 RPG, but in closely related areas:
WotC again - I think they do very well to maintain interest on MtG, plus the mini game
Wizkids - Monte Cook was, as I remember, the designer on Heroclix
Fantasy Flight - got War of the Ring at Christmas - this and Doom are fantastic games
Games Workshop
And then further out, there are genuine solo designers working on great new stuff on the "German" style games - Reiner Knizia, Klaus Teuber, Alan Moon etc.
2WS-Steve said:
DITTO! Check out Omega World for what is one fo the best d20 games ever.
He's also on the team for Star Wars minis, which is a great, simplified version of SW RPG (d20) rules.
EDIT: doube and triple ditto to the others who mentioned Jonathan Tweet.
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woodelf said:
If GW d20 is indicative of his work, then he is one of the worst designers in my book.
EDIT & DISCLAIMER: This is not a personal attack on Bruce Baugh. Please DO NOT misread this as a personal attack on this person. It has already happened to me once today. I don't know the man. I just hated Gamma World d20, and I have the audacity to say it publicly. And if you love it, then I'm happy for you. Don't flame me for expressing an opinion on a product.
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Doug McCrae
Legend
Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson are clearly the most inventive as they invented roleplaying games.
Runner-up prizes go to:
Greg Stafford for the Basic Role-Playing System and Pendragon
George Macdonald and Steve Peterson for Champions
Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet and Monte Cook for 3rd edition
Runner-up prizes go to:
Greg Stafford for the Basic Role-Playing System and Pendragon
George Macdonald and Steve Peterson for Champions
Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet and Monte Cook for 3rd edition
Doug McCrae
Legend
He published the first set of wargames rules, Little Wars.DMH said:
shady
Explorer
BRP came out of Runequest 1, the credits for which went to Steve Perrin and Ray Turney, with Steve Henderson, Warren James and Greg Stafford.Doug McCrae said:
I think if it gets into "who have been" rather than "who are", then the hall of fame goes from Gygax and Arneson through Ken St. Andre (T&T) and then the designers of Runequest, CoC, Champions/Hero, GURPS, Rolemaster, Traveller and probably a few other individuals and teams before getting to the 3E group; particularly if you weight the scores for how influential some of those systems have been on later designers.
Michael Tree
First Post
My favorites are Steve Kenson, Monte Cook, and Keith Baker.
Steve Kenson has written the best modifications of the D20 system, in M&M, the Psychic's handbook, and the upcoming Blue Rose. But mostly I like his work because his writings on magic feel genuinely magical. The Shaman's, Witch's, and Psychics' handbooks, and his previous work with Shadowrun's Grimoire have a feel of mythology and real world magical lore unlike the typical D&D "Magic as big flashy special effects" paradigm.
I don't like all of Monte Cook's work, but what I do like I like a lot. I love AU, especially the magic system, which manages to get rid of all the aspects of D&D magic that I find irritating and counter to good roleplaying, while still keeping the same basic feel as D&D magic.
I don't know which parts of Eberron are Keith's and which are from the other designers, but his writing in his Dragonshards column alone is enough to make me respect him immensely. His takes on the D&D races are extremely original and cool, while still feeling like the same basic racial archetypes. Dark Sun desert nomad elves aren't really elves, but the Valenar and Aerenal are still elves despite their new focus.
Steve Kenson has written the best modifications of the D20 system, in M&M, the Psychic's handbook, and the upcoming Blue Rose. But mostly I like his work because his writings on magic feel genuinely magical. The Shaman's, Witch's, and Psychics' handbooks, and his previous work with Shadowrun's Grimoire have a feel of mythology and real world magical lore unlike the typical D&D "Magic as big flashy special effects" paradigm.
I don't like all of Monte Cook's work, but what I do like I like a lot. I love AU, especially the magic system, which manages to get rid of all the aspects of D&D magic that I find irritating and counter to good roleplaying, while still keeping the same basic feel as D&D magic.
I don't know which parts of Eberron are Keith's and which are from the other designers, but his writing in his Dragonshards column alone is enough to make me respect him immensely. His takes on the D&D races are extremely original and cool, while still feeling like the same basic racial archetypes. Dark Sun desert nomad elves aren't really elves, but the Valenar and Aerenal are still elves despite their new focus.
Dr. Strangemonkey
First Post
I have to put in another shout for Rebecca Borgstrom, not very DnD but very inventive nonetheless.
Within the fold it's harder for me to call, but barring further research I might go with Monte Cook.
Within the fold it's harder for me to call, but barring further research I might go with Monte Cook.
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