tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post3823657554534705342..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: The ButtonAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-31331937242557332302017-08-22T18:19:09.801-06:002017-08-22T18:19:09.801-06:00I've erred many times on a lot of these redlin...I've erred many times on a lot of these redlines over the years. Formative stuff, important for growth.<br /><br />But it is true, a running that is wobbly on a lot of particulars, with the bells rusted and the whistles clogged can still be remembered as being pretty great as long as a certain uncertainty is maintained (along with the liberty to make grounded choices that tackle that very same uncertainty).Drainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09724863160300686402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-52863167390783958572017-08-18T14:46:36.704-06:002017-08-18T14:46:36.704-06:00Thank you all for this feedback. It matters a gre...Thank you all for this feedback. It matters a great deal to me.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-7929859073535411342017-08-18T14:39:08.008-06:002017-08-18T14:39:08.008-06:00Now that I can read in English again, I want to af...Now that I can read in English again, I want to affirm what others have said about these posts on game design. The framework you have adapted provides such a cleaner, more concrete way of thinking about design in the context of D&D. As I prepare to start a campaign with a brand-new group, this series has given me a lot to think about. Thank you.Embla Strandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07637213677781541500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-25178242548989701092017-08-15T01:25:27.993-06:002017-08-15T01:25:27.993-06:00Addendum, Kierkegaard would have hated Alignment i...Addendum, Kierkegaard would have hated Alignment in D&D.kimbohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12961382206655820923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-36848373154829933772017-08-15T01:18:55.901-06:002017-08-15T01:18:55.901-06:00Great series of posts Alexis.
From my recent read...Great series of posts Alexis.<br /><br />From my recent readings, you are on the same page as Kierkegaard...<br />From wikipedia on existentialism.<br /><br />Subordinate character, setting, etc., which belong to the well balanced character of the esthetic production, are in themselves breadth; the subjective thinker has only one setting—existence—and has nothing to do with localities and such things. The setting is not the fairyland of the imagination, where poetry produces consummation, nor is the setting laid in England, and historical accuracy is not a concern. The setting is inwardness in existing as a human being; the concretion is the relation of the existence-categories to one another. Historical accuracy and historical actuality are breadth." Søren Kierkegaard<br /><br /><br />From this i would see the typical rpg game product and blog regurgitation as trying to increase breadth of the experience while you are talking about designing for depth and DMing for player Authenticity even if it creates occasional Angst. Without authenticty (existance by creating self through own freedom of action) there is Despair. <br /><br />Kkimbohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12961382206655820923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-90525694871328775122017-08-12T12:28:52.152-06:002017-08-12T12:28:52.152-06:00You've been very prolific recently, and it'...You've been very prolific recently, and it's had me feel like I'm falling behind on all the ideas. I'm running a game tonight (for the first time in many months) and the blog has as usual helped me to relax, take stock and think strategically about how to prepare for tonight. Thanks for that.<br /><br />I echo the points others have been making that this focus on game design is extraordinarily fruitful and really helps get to the heart of what is missing from many D&D games in my eyes. As well, the connections to other media make for a fascinatingly vast series of nodes we can explore to learn more about these ideas and concepts.<br /><br />Honestly, I would think that this kind of material, because of its applicability, would sell like hot cakes with any field which discusses game design, without the usual academic jargon that makes in-depth analysis like this hard for readers to approach. Another <i>How to Run</i> formulated as a <i>How to Design</i> could do very well! (I certainly know more people who identify as designers rather than DMs)<br /><br />I'll be looking over my notes and thinking of this advice later. Cheers.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03496502173819113887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-84654754706848540392017-08-12T06:56:42.830-06:002017-08-12T06:56:42.830-06:00You may not feel you've accomplished something...You may not feel you've accomplished something on your end other than to define what you've always known/done. On my end - and presumably it's the same for other readers - you've provided insight into the game that will profoundly affect our runnings for years to come. Just now, in fact, I'm starting up my game after many years and a lot of my work is heavily based on your analysis and advice.<br /><br />I, too, would pay for a published version of this advice.Ozymandiashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01065642299277380465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-41874829894651765732017-08-11T14:59:04.981-06:002017-08-11T14:59:04.981-06:00I'm not sure anything concrete is different fo...I'm not sure anything concrete is different for me after having read these posts, but I can feel it percolating through the back of my brain like only good ideas do. The definition of play you're using is an excellent lens to view the game through, as is the related notion of rigidity. I think it's important that you're doing the work to put this down on paper and think it through as it applies to RPGs. I can feel the "right"-ness of this way of thinking about things.<br /><br />"Success is in understanding, yourself, how to find a way to make the players feel that they might not succeed but that they might succeed at the same time."<br /><br />This is a critical insight. That uncertainty is key. The absence of it is one reason I can't play computer games anymore (except the occasional PvP strategy game online, or maybe Dark Souls) - there's no uncertainty. Modern games have lost sight of that tension. <br /><br />I feel like this is dovetailing nicely with the insight you recorded in "How to Run" that the game and the DM must *elicit an emotional reaction* from the players.<br /><br />FWIW, I would buy a book about the fundamentals of game design as applied to RPGs. I think it would be a worthy successor to "How to Run".Charles Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00941603544547428940noreply@blogger.com