The Many Faces of 8-Bit and 16-Bit Mario

From Gaming Steve:

Essay: I Always Wanted to Be A Game Designer

Every Wednesday, I have an essay on any topic that catches my fancy!

For me, game design was pretty much like writing: most of us do it but few call attention to it. I remember playing my first few games of Monopoly and my brother made a house rule that all money lost (whether from Income Tax or some card) would be placed in the Free Parking slot--to make that particular area more interesting. It's a small deviation from the rules yet for me, this is already game design. The moment you start tinkering with rules and making changes to the game, you're a game designer.

As much fun as board games were at the time--or those that I was familiar with--my first love came in the form of video games. I owned a Famicom (the Japanese equivalent of the NES) and I remember spending many fond hours playing with it. For me, the Famicom was an interesting device because you could play various games with it, as opposed to something like the Game and Watch, or even the arcade machines. However, the problem with video games is that you can't easily tinker with the rules. One needs to be a programmer in order to modify the game and for a brief period of time, I wanted to learn programming so that I would design the next big video game. I bought books on computer coding and I was even thought BASIC--but no game arose from it.

Nonetheless, at school, I still created games, usually on graph paper and involved mazes and high adventure. I was a fan of Street Fighter II at the time and I even made an ad-hoc game where each character had a different move that dealt a different amount of damage. The only ones who played with was my seatmate but creating those games felt wonderful for a ten-year old. I even remember spending one summer creating my own board game using stickers from Battle of the Planets. It was ridiculously simple and involved rolling dice and the like. My conceit was that the stickers on the board concealed an event underneath it (unfortunately, I wasn't yet antiquated with the use of cards in board games) so that one didn't necessarily know what one got into when you landed there.

In terms of game design, there are two games that really interests me. The first are tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons. The thing with such games is that the Game Master usually has their own set of house rules. In D&D, this is more pronounced, especially with seemingly mundane things like the ultimate critical hit (a special effect that happens when you roll a 20) or critical fumbles (when you roll a 1). The problem however with such RPGs is that game design is usually in the hands of the GM alone and leaves the players out. Sure, the players might have suggestions but the GM is not obligated to take into account their suggestion. But I've experienced collaborations on determining the setting, what the flavor will be and sometimes even rules mechanics of the world. It's a very different experience from what I was familiar with compared to video games where pretty much what you see is what you get. (Of course I might add that many PC games these days have changed--there are all sorts of mods and skins and maps and hacks that enable one to change the game or tell an entirely different story.)

The other game that encourages game design I think are card games. What I had in mind was Magic: The Gathering but it's not limited to just that. I mean the regular deck of cards is proof of game design: who came up with ideas for Blackjack and the variants of Poker? Even the Philippines has its own "card game" with Tong Eights (too complicated to describe here). Whoever proposed Strip Poker or losers guzzling down a mug of beer whenever one lost is a game designer--it's modifying the rules of the game! But going back to Magic: The Gathering, aside from coming up with variants on the game (especially with tournaments like Sealed Deck or Booster Drafts), I do think that every veteran player has at one point in time or another imagined designing a card for the game. It didn't have to be a revolutionary idea or a spanking new ability, it could be something as lowly as a 2/2 creature for one mana. It's just that some people actually went on and published their designs for the game, others merely spoofed it (as can be seen in some websites, blogs, and gaming magazines), while there's a segment that's probably frustrated game designers and simply decide to move on and remain as players.

I don't profess to be a professional game designer in the sense that I've published or sold any game design. But that doesn't mean the game designer in me has died. In D&D for example, I'm always imagining what would be a cool ability, a nifty feat, a unique monster, or an uncommon spell. In board games, there's always the house rule that'll add spice to the game. And perhaps the best thing about all of this is unlike a few decades ago, people now have a venue for their game design ideas. I mean part of Magic: The Gathering's success was dependent on the Internet (especially with all that errata) but one of the first spoof Magic cards came from Photoshopped images of existing cards and posting them on the web.

On Gleemax: Problems and Possible Solutions

Gleemax being in its alpha stage has a lot of problems, mostly dealing with navigation and user interface (UI). I'll be tackling what they are, suggestions how they can be improved, and what are "band-aids" or temporary solutions to them as of the present.

For the most part, Gleemax actually has a robust and unique programming behind it. Unfortunately, those two factors are insignificant if users can't navigate the site or utilize it to its full potential. The current Gleemax has two main sections: the forums and the blogs. The former is doing well as far as forums go. No breakthroughs in forum design but it's also perfectly servicable (and in fact is my preferred forum interface as far as tools are concerned). The blogs however is where everything collapses.

Navigation

The biggest problem of Gleemax is navigation. They can be described by the following:

1. Lack of aggregated posts aside from the front page. Honestly, aside from the main page where the general announcements are posted, how do I navigate the site or discover all the other blogs? It's not that Gleemax doesn't have good blogs but it has a problem of aggregating it.
2. The Monday - Friday Syndrome. This is a term I'm inventing. Right now, while there is some method of filtering posts (i.e. sorting them by board game, card game, reviews, etc.), what it lacks is a way to look at older posts: there is no "Older Posts" or "Previous" button. So theoretically, if I post an entry on Monday, somebody who checks the board only every Friday will never see my post because Gleemax only shows the 6 most recent posts in any one category (the only exception to this are the personal pages) and chances are, there are enough posts during Tuesday through Thursday so that by the time the Friday visitor checks, all traces of Monday posts are gone unless they're one of the chosen posts on the front page.
3. Lack of "Favorites List" support. Thankfully, Gleemax has a "Favorites List" to navigate and theoretically compile the blog entries that interests you. My main problem is that finding the "add to my favorites" button isn't readily apparent (and I can't seem to find it now) and finding my own favorites list is also quite a hassle (I just discovered I have to go to my own personal page to see it). (Edit: Found the Add Favorite button. Needs to be more visually apparent.)
4. Too many clicks. In most other blogs, it takes me anywhere from two to three clicks to get where I want to. In Livejournal, I just click on my Friends Page and I get to read all the blogs that I want. In other services like Wordpress or Blogger, I usually have a link on my blog and I click that link (click 1). I'm where I want to be. In some cases, if it's linking to an aggregation site like SF Signal, that's the second click arises. In Gleemax, from the main site, I have to click to my Personal Page (click 1). From there, click on somebody from my Favorites List (click 2). From the profile of anyone on my Favorites Lists, I have to choose a post and go to "Read More" (click 3). If I want to view his other blog entries, I'll have to go back and more clicking ensues. Honestly, some people are turned off with this as it takes too much effort than it needs to be.
5. Too many buttons in the wrong places. As I'm currently navigating through Gleemax, I'm finding that some of the solutions I want already exists in Gleemax. The problem is that the buttons that lead to those solutions are difficult to find and are scattered across different pages. A unified menu or navigation bar would be helpful, instead of finding a solution in page A, and then finding another solution in page B. Too many buttons also confuses users.

Current Solutions:

1. Because of the current problem with navigation, one of the more popular blogs are those that aggregate information. Users like Crazy_Monkey1956, Solice, and KJW are trying to compile a list of interesting blogs through entires like Monkey Monday News, Friday Favorites, and Great Reads respectively. Also, Wizards of the Coast has its own aggregated list of designer blogs and RSS feeds of the latest forum post but it's not on the Gleemax site: Community. This solves issues #1 - #4 but who's going to put up such blogs to expand those not covered by the already existing bloggers?
2. Stickied Table of Contents. It was Crazy_Monkey1956's idea to use this and it's a great idea. Make on sticky post on your blog and it links to all your other entries. This also solves the lack of readily apparent "Older Posts" on Gleemax. The bad news is that not every user will do this and worse, needs to be maintained (whenever you have a new post, you have to edit your sticky post). The truth of the matter is while this is a solution, this is more of damage control since dedicated blogging sites like Wordpress or Blogger does this automatically (they're called Archives, Tagging, etc.).

Patches to Hope for in the Future:

1. Place a link to the Community page at the front of the Gleemax site for God's sake. I mean you already have a working solution, you just need to integrate and promote it.
2. Add a "See Previous" button so that if I'm someone who checks the site only Fridays, I can actually find posts last Monday.
3. Better aggregation methods such as a Favorites List that mimics RSS Feeds or Friend's List (from Livejournal). (Edit: I found a similar feature in the Control Panel but this button needs to be more visible, not hidden!)
4. Ditch the "Read More" button in each member's profile page. Just show the posts in their entirety. Don't give us the trimmed-down version that forces us to hit the Read More button and takes us to a new page. Remember, the fewer clicks it takes to read something, the better.
5. Add a more visible "Add to My Favorites" button. Make it a mainstay in the menu, please! Make it big or an icon! There's already too much text on the personal profile pages that the Add Favorite link is camouflaged.
6. An RSS feed for the blogs. If people don't go to you, let your content go to them. Don't force them to go to your site and they'll naturally go to yours.

What They're Doing Right:

1. Recent Posts is actually a good section and enables users to discover and find new blogs. However, it is hampered by the fact that it only shows the most recent entries (giving birth to the Monday-Friday syndrome) and could use a better filtering system.
2. Sticky Posts are great since it gives at a glance the important entries a user wants to showcase.
3. Blog coding is done correctly. I can easily copy/paste my Blogger blog entry into my Gleemax blog entry.

What I'm Hoping for in the Future:

1. Better integration between the Forums and the Blogs (since they're still part of the Gleemax umbrella rather than a different section of the parent company). Having a Send Private Message button in one's Gleemax profile would be helpful for example instead of going to the forum and then clicking Private Messages. Also, finding the profile of a poster in the forums and finding the Add Favorite button to include them in my Favorites List for the blogs (remember, less clicks, better interface!).
2. A way to copy/paste my blog posts into forum posts and vice versa while retaining the formatting (links, font style, etc.). Granted, this is a tall order (since many have attempted this and none yet to perfect success) but it's something to aim for considering Gleemax is both a blogging and forums site.
3. Other blogging services such as the ability to upload photos, videos, sound clips, etc. without relying on external sites.

Blogging Content

In one of the message board threads, I mentioned one of the four possible blogs entries that will arise in Gleemax (if you have more to add, feel free to comment). I'll elaborate on them further here:

News/Aggregation Blogs:

These are blogs which typically links to other blogs/sites and reports on news. Examples of this are Monkey Monday News and my own Fiction/Writing and Tabletop RPG Podcasts. On one hand, "success" here is mentioned by how useful your news is, and how many people actually get to read it (mostly the former exists to draw in the latter). Feedback (i.e. comments) here isn't as readily important. I mean I really appreciate the "thank you for posting this" feedback but at the end of the day, that's probably the end of the discussion. People really won't debate why I am posting this or that or vehemently agree/disagree with my post. The most feedback one will probably get in such a site is why this news tidbit wasn't included or something. All News/Aggregation Blogs include some editorializing of some sort (in my case, the first paragraph of every post) but it is conceivable that some such blogs are hybrid blogs--that is they cover much editorial content. An example of this is a highly detailed tournament coverage blog. A strictly News/Aggregation Blog will just give you the score (i.e. Player X goes 2-1 against Player Y) but those that feature in-depth coverage usually throw in writing of their own and might generate feedback (i.e. "I don't think Player X should have done that..", etc.).

In the scale of popularity, News/Aggregation Blogs probably has the widest demographic as most people will have a use for it, even if they'll seldom comment on it. As far as interaction with the readers go, it's the least since it's not the type that generates debate (also the specific news/links it contains might generate debate). In Magic: The Gathering terms, News/Aggregation Blogs are like the Tutor cards or cards that retrieve cards from the Graveyard. In D&D terms, it's like the Limited Wish spell. They're not valuable in itself, but are valuable because of the subject matter they cover (rather than create). Without quality content from other sites, there is no point in having a News/Aggregation Blog because there is no such news to aggregate/cover.

Reviews Blog:

People usually tend to love reviews since it gives them a guideline as to whether to buy and support a product or not. What has changed with the Internet is that reviews aren't solely being written by people in the publishing industry but by anyone. Contrary to popular belief, I don't subscribe to the idea that there are inherently bad reviews and inherently good reviews (although I do believe in a well-written review and a not well-written review). There are simply reviews which are more similar or dissimilar to the tastes of the reader. So in many ways, the diversity of reviews works well. The problem will be finding a reviewer who has the closest approximation to your preferences and covers the particular product you're looking for (i.e. books, board games, card games, etc.). As far as demographic goes, in a perfect world, you'd have several reviewers each catering to a different niche in the market. For example, at ENWorld, we have John Cooper who gives "crunchy" bits in his RPG reviews, citing all the errors and unofficial errata he'd give to monster/NPC stats. Obviously, rules-intensive gamers will find such a review useful, while more streamlined or storytelling-orient ed gamers might prefer a different reviewer.

I'd think that each gamer will probably subscribe to one or two review blogs, but no one will really like read all the reviews that's published out there (although that is a possible idea for a News/Aggregation Blog). As far as interaction with readers go, it's flexible. I mean readers might ask questions to clarify certain opinions of the reviewer or flat-out praise him/her. On the other hand, if the reader has a different paradigm with the reviewer, he might complain about the review and antagonize the reviewer. (My advice there is that as a reader, find a reviewer that's more attuned to your tastes so that such debates don't occur! Or better yet, write your own review if you disagree so much.)

Game Report Blogs:

This is usually relegated to one's own personal experience, either a tournament they participated in or last Saturday's campaign session with your gaming group for the past 20 years. This is a precarious sort of blog because I think it's hard to get readers, at least as far as RPG sessions go. Have you ever heard of the statement that your campaign is interesting to you and your gaming group but not to other gaming groups? Well, that's true to a certain extent but that's not an absolute. Compelling writing or ideas might draw in other readers even if they're not part of your existing campaign (and might entice them to join yours). For example, I usually read Jeff's Gameblog and I think the guy carries the blog entries with his personality and unique preferences. Another time that Game Report Blogs might be popular is if you're covering a big event (i.e. D&D 4E Playtest, Pro Magic Tour, Gen Con, etc.) or if you're a celebrity (either a real celebrity, a game designer, or something interesting unique quality that keeps people hooked [The Wandering Men comes to mind]).

A segment of the gaming population that might be interested in such reading material are game designers who are interested in getting feedback with regards to playtesting about their games. Another hybrid might be Original Content that keeps the game report enticing. Examples of Original Content/Game Report hybrids are potential strategies one could have employed in D&D Miniatures. You're not only reporting about the tournament but giving feedback of your own on what should have been done or what could have been done. Aside from those factors, it's usually compelling writing, character, or some strange quality that will sustain your reading demographic. Otherwise, it's more of a private record for you and your gaming group.

Original Content Blogs:

This I think is why most people go to blogs--and generate much discussion (either positive or negative about them). Original Content I'll use very loosely. It can be anything from your own opinions on the industry (i.e. Ryan Dancey), musings on game design (or creating new "crunch" so to speak), or anything else in between (this very blog entry is an example). Honestly, the reason why I read blogs is for Original Content. And in many ways, most blogs incorporate Original Content in some way or the other--it's just that they're qualified by something. Reviews Blogs and Game Report Blogs are really narrow, focused Original Content Blogs with a particular theme or subject. I'd like to think however that the reason why people go to Gleemax is to find Original Content Blogs (and in fact many of the designer posts entries fall under this classification). This is also the most pivotal opportunity for blogger to interact with their readers. They can usually ask a question and receive feedback. Sometimes, they don't end with a question but readers will give them feedback either way, either agreeing/disagreein g with their point of view or point them to a related topic.

Gleemax has the potential to house gaming-related Original Content Blogs but the current problem that aside from the game designer blog entries, there's really no way of efficiently digging through the archives and finding the good original content blogs. It's not that I don't that they're not out there, but if one was ever written, it's damn difficult to sort them out from all the other posts.

Interactive Game Design

Lately, I don't have much time to surf (hence the lack of news of any sort) but I stumbled upon this website that tackles the Foundations of Interactive Game Design. It includes a directory of games created by the students of the course and a podcast feed of the lectures. Be sure to check out the Games of Distinction--the top 8 games that arose from the project.

Paizo Looking for the Next Game Designer

From Paizo

The competition starts October 31, 2007 on paizo.com

Paizo Publishing is proud to announce its new RPG design contest: RPG Superstar™. Starting at the end of October, paizo.com will host the first adventure game industry design contest voted on by the fans, aimed at finding the next hot new talent.

"With the end of the print editions of Dragon and Dungeon magazines, Paizo has lost a conduit to find new talent," said Lisa Stevens, CEO of Paizo Publishing, "so we decided to launch an RPG design contest similar to American Idol, giving unknown talent a chance to get noticed!"

Starting October 31, 2007, any eligible person will be able to submit an entry into the contest. For the open call, that entry will be a wondrous item using the 3.5 SRD. Each entry needs to be 200 words or less, and must include all of the proper mechanics and flavor. Judges will announce the top 32 entries on November 28; those contestants will advance to the first round of public voting, where they will be assigned a new design task, and their entries will be posted on paizo.com for the public to read, critique, and vote on. The designers garnering the most votes will continue to subsequent rounds, and the ultimate winner will earn a paid commission to write one of Paizo's upcoming GameMastery Modules!

Paizo has gathered together three judges to oversee the competition. Paizo's publisher, Erik Mona, will share the spotlight with fan–favorite author and Kobold Quarterly publisher Wolfgang Baur, and Necromancer Games' head honcho, Clark Peterson. Each round, the three judges will critique the entries before the public vote.

You heard that right—the fans themselves will decide which talented designers go on to the next round by casting a vote on paizo.com for their favorite contestant. Each round includes a 6–day window for fans to discuss the entries and cast their votes.

Complete rules are available at paizo.com/rpgsuperstar/rules. Answers to frequently asked questions about the competition, entering the contest and voting are at paizo.com/rpgsuperstar/faq.

Save or Die!

Every Wednesday, I post an essay or two that relates to anything from reading/writing to gaming to anime to life in general.

"Fiction should always make sense even if reality doesn't."

In the Dungeons & Dragons RPG, gamers have come up with the term "Save or Die" spells. Basically, it's a spell that can spell instant death for any character unless they roll particularly high on the dice. Now some gamers enjoy this part of the game (but then again, they're probably the demographic that enjoyed going through the Tomb of Horrors). I'm not one of them and I think this boils down to the elements of a story. Now I must clarify: playing tabletop RPGs is not the same as writing fiction. But there is some overlap in the sense that both are trying to tell stories.

In fiction, there should be no coincidences. Every word, every phrase is consciously planted by the author and every detail has to be significant, even if it's just to act as a red herring. It might be surprising to tell gamers that RPG games should have no coincidence (especially since a lot of game systems have a luck factor) but for the most part, I think that's what players are expecting. It's okay for characters to die as long as it was a meaningful death. Save or die spells have that feeling that it was mere coincidence that the character died... or that the players won. That's not to say that doesn't happen in real life. In reality, the most unexpected circumstances might occur for no reason at all. A coconut might fall on a person's head and kill them in an instant (in fact more people die by falling coconuts than by shark attacks). Or people simply get hit by lightning. But pulling off those events in either fiction or tabletop RPGs wreaks of deus ex machina, unless we're working with a genre convention (getting hit by lightning might be perfectly normal for a superhero origin story for example). Imagine encountering the main villain of the story and you've been building up this scene for quite some time. But instead of this epic battle between the heroes and the villain, a stray arrow from the nearby battle kills the villain without any planning or action on the part of the heroes. Suddenly, the plot crumbles. (Having said that, that particular scene would have worked if it was the beginning of your story rather than your climax.) In a game, it didn't make sense for the Game Master nor did it make sense for the players. In fiction, many readers will simply deem it unfair. Why take us for this entire roller coaster ride if it's not going to make sense?

Or put it in another way, what if lethal misfortune happens to our players that's not tied to the plot? A freak traffic accident might end up running down one of the characters. Or there's an explosion in front of one of the players and it's not a conspiracy. I've seen Game Masters use a lot of tables to generate lots of random effects but I don't think Game Masters are using a table of random lethal accidents that do nothing to push the story forward. And it's the same with fiction. You don't build up a character with several loose threads hanging only to abruptly kill them. You tackle their loose threads and then you kill them, not before. But quite frankly real life doesn't work that way. Many people die without relaying to their love ones what they truly fear, or perhaps what they've been working on for the past decade remains unfinished. And there are a lot of meaningless and random deaths in the world but that doesn't mean they have to be in your game or in your fiction.

Education and Gaming

The Shifted Librarian has a couple of links (and a funny video) on the impact of games (sorry, video games, not tabletop games) and education:

At Learning2007 later this month, they’re going to do a Rapid Learning Game Experiment. While the exercise itself is fascinating, it’s the last sentence that intrigues me most (emphasis is mine).

“We are going to push Gaming for Learning Development to the max in an upcoming experiment. Here are the ingredients:

• Take several undergraduate students from Champlain College’s Electronic Gaming & Interactive Development Program in Vermont and bring them to Orlando for Learning 2007.
• Give them an assignment to create a Learning Focused Game, defined by a group of companies at Learning 2007.
• Over the next 58 hours, in full view of 2,000 participants - with feedback every few hours - they will build an web based immersive learning game.
• This learning activity will then be reviewed, edited and released into Open Source for the entire global community to use.“

Everyone's a Designer

I was listening to the latest Sons of Kryos podcast and they were interviewing someone from the Ashcan Front (sorry, I forgot who). Anyone, the guy mentioned that everyone is a game designer and that statement reminded me of Matthew May's manifesto Elegant Solutions: Breakthrough Thinking the Toyota Way wherein he mentions that everyone is an innovator. Designers (not just game designers) and innovators both share one thing in common: they solve problems and attempt to make things better. And it's true, everyone is a designer or innovator in one way or another. In gaming for example, if you ever thought or implemented a house rule, that's game design! If you revamped or created a character sheet, that's also design. In the PC gaming community, the same goes for modders or even those who program 'bots. When you use (or invent) a variant rule for a board game, the same is true. Just tweaking your website and choosing what features to include and what not to include is a form of design. Professional designers are important but don't downplay your own contribution.

The Bastards of SF&F

I'm currently a lurker in a local RPG organization that's trying to promote RPGs. I've been part of it for more than five years now and one of the biggest hurdles the group has been facing is the lack of new blood. Sure, there are the occasional new faces but for the most part, whenever I attend an event, it's more or less the same people running the show. Ever since the big fandom boom in the country (which I'll associate with the popping up of The New Worlds Alliance), we've been trying to get more gamers from these other fandoms. Interested in Star Wars? We'll run a Star Wars tabletop game (alas, where were you Saga Edition two years ago?). Lord of the Rings fan? Decipher's got you covered. Pirates of the Carribean? We'll work something out with 7th Sea (-cough- Pirates of the Spanish Main -cough-). Anyway, the hobby gaming industry I think is a spot missed by many SF&F fans. The most obvious ones of course are the RPG supplements.

For example, one thing Glen Cook's The Black Company series always lacked was a decent map. Green Ronin's The Black Company Campaign Setting not only contains maps of the world but includes a geography lesson of the setting and a brief summary of all the novels. Guardians of Order previously released a campaign setting on George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire (the RPG license is now with Green Ronin) and it included not only artwork for the series but a history and timeline as well. During the recent cosplay competition at the Manila International Book Fair, one of the cosplayers dressed up as Ser Barrister Selmy. I didn't recall that he was dressed in such ornate armor but when the cosplayer showed me the source of his inspiration, it was from the Game of Thrones Collectible Card Game (CCG) from Fantasy Flight Games. The Wheel of Time RPG from Wizards of the Coast, while perhaps not as full of information as the two other RPG books mentioned, is nonetheless a good repository of Wheel of Time artwork and has an interesting bestiary and close-up maps of the city of Caemlyn and Illian to name a few.

It's not limited to just RPG books though. Various franchises have spawned numerous products that include board games, CCGs, video games, and comics. Not every writer gets a chance to publish a Silmarillion or The History of Middle-Earth but various material are released that expand and built upon the world. At the very least, works that are deceased (or on "hiatus" depending on your faith) such as Serenity might find new life in an RPG book or continued in a comic line which was the case with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. An example of an adaptation that made a big impact in its field was the video game Dune 2000, based on Frank Herbert's Dune. Dune 2000 was basically the inspiration for the ever-popular Warcraft franchise that came to dominate the RTS genre during the 90's. Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings arguably changed the way how movies are made and was a big boon to New Zealand (well, Lord of the Rings and Power Rangers). It's all interesting to witness how a novel or franchise can branch out to other mediums and make a huge impact.

The RPG Bookshelf Syndrome

Lately I've been pondering the nature of tabletop RPGs and its relation to books. On one hand, it's a game. On another, it's a book. Perhaps nothing best illustrates this better than what I call the RPG Bookshelf Syndrome. The premise is simple: you buy a RPG book, you read it, and then it goes to your bookshelf. For one reason or another, you don't use the book in your game. Veteran gamers have probably experienced this at least once in their life. (If you've actually played every single RPG book you own, consider yourself lucky. Especially if you're a GM and not a player.)

The gamer in me mourns whenever this syndrome occurs. A friend several years ago told me that was planning on getting d20 Modern. I was enthusiastic, especially since prior to his announcement, I didn't even know he was into tabletop RPGs. When I asked if he had fellow players, it was in the negative. He then told me that he's bought several RPG books prior to this such as the various White Wolf books and he loved to read it for flavor, even if he'll never play or run a game in his life. Again, the gamer in me sees this event as a tragedy. But these days, I'm thinking maybe this phenomenon is legitimate, that it's not as bad as it sounds.

Tabletop RPGs after all are books. Whether you're reading it for fluff (flavor) or snuff (game mechanics), it's still an interesting read. I mean on the side of flavor, you have fictional histories (does that make something like The Grand History of the Realms non-fiction fiction?), anthropological write-ups, and even short stories. I'm not a big fan of something like Tolkien's Simarillion but hey, some people found it an interesting read. World-building is actually encouraged in RPG books. As for game mechanics, some people might scoff at the idea of drawing inspiration from them but then again, there are people who are interested in math, in game design, and in game development. Game rules in many ways support the story a tabletop RPG has to tell. Reading game mechanics might not be for everyone but there's a gamer out there who was inspired thanks to a rule variant from Unearthed Arcana for example.

I honestly think it's the greatest if every person got to use a RPG they book in their game. But failing that, merely resorting to use it as reading material perhaps isn't so bad. At the end of the day, it's still a book after all.

Podcast for 2007/09/06

I've been listening to podcasts all week (just to be fair to the podcasters I'm plugging) and just when I've gone through 3/4 of the pile, now comes along a new load of podcasts! It's interesting to see Tor get into the podcasting business and if you're an etymology-fan like me, Podictionary is worth visiting.

Writing/Fiction:

• The Agony Column has a short interview with Alan Beatts of Borderland Books and another interview with Laura Furman as she talks about O. Henry. Last but not least is a relatively brief chat with Kim Stanley Robinson.
  
• Tor just launched a new Podcast program and their first episode features Tom Doherty himself and Patrick Nielsen Hayden on Nippon2007 Worldcon. (From SF Signal) They've also uploaded several new podcasts including chatting with Cory Doctorow, George Takei, Patrick Nielsen at winning best editor, Jay Lake, Robert Charles Wilson, and Charles Stross.
  
• The Signal interviews Martin Firrell and gives your regular dose of reviews.
• Podictionary Weekly explores the words library, ditto, dynamite, censorship, and abracadabra.
• The Bat Secundo Show (now that's a guy with personality) has an interview with William Gibson (never thought I'd get tired of typing the name William Gibson), Matthew Sharpe and Megan Sullivan, and Kate Christensen.
• It's Karen J. Fowler, author of The Jane Austen Book Club, over at Penguin Podcasts.
  

Gaming:

• Back in February, the D&D Podcast had a feature on Dead Gentlemen Production's Dorkness Rising (trailer up at their website). My typically male-gamer reaction was that Jen Page is hot! Guess who's Gamer Radio Zero's new co-host over at Gleemax (if my guess is right... also bonus points for OD&D fans as she doesn't play 3.0!)? They also interview Jamie Chambers (actual link to the show!) of Margaret Weis Productions and talk about their new Battlestar Galactica game, an upcoming Supernatural game, and more Dead Gentlemen Productions.
• More useful recordings from Pulp Gamer, there's Podcasting 101 from Gen Con and is probably a good listen if you're interested in trying your hand at podcasting (irregardless if it's gaming-related or not). They they have their Out of Character segment in which they interview Wesley Schneider of Paizo and a recording of Polymancer Studios's advice on setting up a booth at conventions, among other things. Last but not least is another recording from Gen Con, this time talking about the equipment and programs used for podcasting. (So should I get into podcasting now?)
  
• All Games Considered talks about their Gen Con experience (sensing a trend here for the past three weeks?).
• Dragons Landing is back! They foray into a new series on Campaign Creation.
• Sons of Kryos has their new podcast up which talks about their experiences during Gen Con.
• Fear the Boot's latest episode is entitled Introducing Players to New Settings.
• Master Plan addresses some comments from Paul Tevis.
• One podcast people should look into even if you're not into gaming is The Digital Front as they talk about electronically-distributed games (which in turn are books/publications). Episode 2 is a recording of the Open Gaming License/d20 panel during Gen Con.
• Bear's Grove Podcast talks about how he likes to design modules and his plans for Dragon Con.
• Carpe GM covers D&D 4th Ed.
• The Durham 3 discuss when it's time to end a game.
• New episode up from Fell Calls.
• The Game Master Show has their Gen Con wrap-up.
• Geek Label Radio has their Gen Con wrap-up as well.
• The House of the Harping Monkey has posted part 1 and part 2 of their Gen Con coverage.

Keith Strohm and 3E

Keith Strohm shares his thoughts on upcoming 4E D&D and reminisces working with 3E:

I believe the biggest challenge to the launch of 4E was the launch of D&D 3.5. In our original strategy, an update to 3rd Edition wasn't scheduled until 2005. In my opinion, based on what I know of the business and the customer base, I believe that 3.5 was launched too early, divided the network of D&D players, and may make a substantial portion of that network hesitant to upgrade their books again. A truly compelling 4th Edition will help minimize the negative effect of 3.5, however.

Game Design Tips

Author/game designer Matt Forbeck has compiled 33 no-no's of game design from himself, Mike Gray, Richard Garfield and Reinier Knizia, inspired from the 10 No-No's in Game Design at Gen Con.

1. No derivatives – be original. Be unique. Something new. Innovative. Know your market. What originality or innovation are they looking for?
2. No unclear, incomplete, illogical rules. Know who you are writing the rules for.
3. Don’t offer your design to several publishers at the same time. Build the relationship with the publisher.
4. Don’t stop having fun.
5. No sacred cows. If the game is not working be willing to sacrifice the part that isn’t working.

Podcasts for 2007/08/30

Because of the fickle whims of fate (I just thought of this up last Thursday), every Thursday I'll be giving podcast updates on the world of fiction/writing and tabletop RPGs. (And no, there's too much of those that I haven't had the time to listen to all of them!)

Fiction/Writing:

• The Agony Column has several news reports up: a short interview with bookseller Mark V. Ziesing and his wife on the business of bookselling (are books gathering dust?), another short interview with SF author Peter H. Hamilton and why he set up a commonwealth when he already had a perfectly good confederation, a conversation with Seana Graham, a contributor to Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet (a publication from Small Beer Press), and another quickie with Xialou Guo.
• Amazon.com's Wire Blog has an interview with William Gibson on Spook Country. (From SF Signal )
  
• More Agony Column interviews as Rick Kleffel talks with Kaui Hart Hemmings and Dr. Adrianne Ahern.
• The Survival Guide to Writing Fantasy has a repeat broadcast of DragonCon 2006 in preparation for DragonCon 2007 as well as their latest podcast entitled "Tough Love" which talks about receiving criticism.
• I Should Be Writing not only has her latest podcast up (which talks about writing advice) but also has an interview with Mercedes Lackey and Steve Libbey.
• The Penguin Podcast has an interview with Alexandra Koslow (Slacker Girl) and Ron Bliwas (The C Student's Guide to Success).
• Michael Stackpole has uploaded chapters fifteen and sixteen of Fortress Draconis.
  

Gaming:

• Gleemax has a post-Gen Con discussion as they interview Lisa Stevens and Erik Mona of Paizo Publishing and the Ultimate Gamer Test winners.
• Pulp Gamer has a live Gen Con podcast and they talk about the reception of podcasting during the con among other things. They also have an interview with Peter Adkison, and a recording of one of the Game Trade Show 2007 seminars as they give tips on how retailers can survive and thrive in the business.
• Various post-Gen Con news at Accidental Survivors but a good amount of time is spent on discussing mapmaking.
  
• More post-gen Con podcasting and a quick interview with Randy Beuhler and Gleemax himself (so that's what he sounds like!) over at Groovecast.
• Green Ronin interviews Russ Morrissey of Enworld and hosts a round-table discussion with various Mutants and Masterminds writers (bonus points if you get all the comic references!).
• The Tome interviews Wolfgang Baur.
• Canonpuncture has the first part of their post-Gen Con podcast.
• Gamer's Haven has a recording of Goodman Games's seminar (during Gen Con) How to Make Adventures that Don't Suck.
• The Gamer Traveler reminisces on the recently concluded Gen Con.
• Did I mention that that Have Games Will Travel won the golden Ennie for best podcasting? You know where this link leads to.
• Midnight's Lair has comments on various games.
• Son of Kryos interviews Paul Tevis, an Ennie winner.
• Theory from the Closet also has an interview with Paul Tevis and another one with Ryan Macklin of Master Plan (psst, you should stop interviewing your rivals! Unless it's an excuse to assassinate them!).
• All Games Considered covers MichCon.
• The Digital Front is a newly-established podcast and in their first episode, they give an introduction as well as an interview with Steve Wieck, co-owner of OneBookShelf.
• Fear the Boot rants and raves about a lot of things, including Gen Con.
• HeadGames Podcast has Origins interview with Mark Anticole and Aaron Kreader.
• Edit: Here's one tidbit I missed. The Voice of the Revolution tackles a post-Gen Con 2007 gaming world.
  

Check out last week's podcasts.

Uncivilized: The Goblin Game

Ever wanted to be a beta-tester for an online game? Well, Randy Beuhler has posted the sign-ups for Uncivilized: The Goblin Game, a turn-based Flash game from Wizards of the Coast.

Rolling Dice is Half the Fun

My bibliophile blog entries done (it's hard when you don't have Internet), I'll be indulgent now and talk about tabletop RPGs. Now Dungeons & Dragons draws its roots from war gaming. Thus it's no surprise that a lot of D&D elements revolve around combat. That's not to say all games should follow that method. Last week we had an L5R session and there was absolutely no combat at all and I've played D&D games where we spend five hours role-playing and one-hour finishing a six-round combat encounter.

Of course one element many MMORPGs lack is that it's usually more focused on combat and less on roleplaying. Does that mean MMMORPGs trumps out tabletop RPGs when it comes to combat?

My personal take on it is that it's not. Tabletop combat is different from video game combat, and it's not just the myriad of options you have in the former (i.e. jumping off a ledge, grabbing the chandelier, and landing behind the enemy to stab him with Sneak Attack +4d6). I'm a video game enthusiast by heart. But it's a different experience when you're pressing controller buttons or clicking on the mouse. It's almost expected what the character's response is. Rolling dice, on the other hand, isn't just about luck but it gives players the illusion that they determine their fate. It's why some D&D gamers are so paranoid when it comes to their dice: they label them (i.e. "my lucky dice"), store them in "magic" bags, and don't allow other people to use their die. It's also why given the chance, players would rather roll the dice themselves to determine their fate rather than let the GM make the roll (of course given the choice between no dice roll or letting the GM roll, they'd choose the latter).

Let me tell you now: part of the fun in D&D combat is rolling dice. There's more activity in players than a simple mouse click. Personally, the best experience would probably be swinging the sword yourself (because I'm a sword guy... you can insert your weapon of choice whether it's a hammer, a bow, or a gun). Falling short of that, swinging a substitute (LARP and the Nintendo Wii controller comes to mind). When that's not possible, we go to another substitute which simulates the fickleness of combat, and that's usually dice (but there are other substitutes such as a spinwheel, a game of rock-paper-scissors, etc.). Only when that's not available do people settle for something virtual such as MMORPGs.

I think the best example to show this is the difference in critical hits. In a tabletop game, critical hits (unless made on creatures immune to critical hits but even then, the joy of rolling a 20!) is cause for much celebration and excitement. There's shouting involved and even after say, ten years of gaming, it's still there. In World of Warcraft, the game still has critical hits. Perhaps you'll silently say a prayer of thanks when it happens. Eventually though, it becomes mundane. You're half expecting it whenever you make an attack. The opposite is also true. When you "miss" in World of Warcraft, you're thinking it's the miss chance or evasion. In D&D, gamers have a different experience when they roll a 1 compared to rolling a 5 on the d20, even if both would result in failure. The latter is tolerable while the former is just ghastly (so much so that many GMs have rules for critical failure).

Now in reality, the chances of critical hits or failures might be the same but it's all about the illusion of control. When you're playing tabletop games, players have a distinct feeling that they determine their fate. That's still the case when it comes to video games (and it is a matter of skill) but it's filtered through your keyboard/mouse/control pad. It's like the difference between experiencing an event yourself and hearing about it--both might relate the same story but it's definitely a different experience. Then again, it just might be the frequency. MMMORPGs are essentially gaming-on-demand while tabletop RPGs require more planning and scheduling and doesn't necessarily last as long.

Robinsons Galleria Sale Next Week

What gets me excited about mall-wide sales despite not being a shopper by nature is that all the shops are (perhaps unfairly) required to go on sale as well (of course there's usually more foot traffic in the mall during sales). So Robinsons Galleria will be on sale next weekend (Aug. 31 - Sept. 2) and that means shops like Neutral Grounds (hello RPG and CCG stuff!) and Comic Odyssey (comics and manga!) will be on sale as well. The only bad thing about all of this is that it's coinciding with the Manila International Book Fair. So do I buy books or do I buy manga?

Podcasts Weekly 2007/08/23

In the strange way my mind works, Wade Rockett made a comment to my plug and it got me thinking: is there a site that compiles the various Podcasts? I'm not talking about iTunes in which you're subscribed to Podcasts but more like SF Signal or even Enworld in which they have a regular list of links and a brief description of them pertaining to their particular field... except it's podcasts.

For example, if I were to summarize this week's podcasts, it'd go something like this (of course in no way am I an expert in Podcasting):

Writing/Fiction:

• Rick Kleffel of The Agony Column interviews William Gibson and talks about his new book, Spook Country.
• The Penguin Podcast likewise has an interview with William Gibson (from SF Signal).
• EDIT: More Gibson at Boing Boing (from SF Signal)..
  
• Ben Vincent from Storytellers Unplugged talks about critique groups and how it's helped him (and not helped him) write.
• Mur Lafferty of I Should Be Writing gives us his regular dose.
• The Survival Guide to Writing Fantasy breaks from its norm with Flash Gordon.
• Writers Talking discuss setting up schedules and rituals.
• Writing for Pay has part 2 with Wolfgang Baur who talks about a different kind of self-publishing.

RPG Gaming

• Gamer Radio Zero at Gleemax gives us the inside scoop about 4th Ed as he talks with some of the game's designers.
• The Tome gives us the initial announcement of 4th Ed during GenCon.
• Dave Noonan and Mike Mearls at the D&D Podcast talk about 4th Ed without discussing the mechanics of the game.
• Writing for Pay has part 2 with Wolfgang Baur who talks more about Open Design, Kobold Quarterly, and breaking into the gaming industry.
  
• As expected, more 4th Ed coverage from Pulp Gamer as they interview Scott Rouse and Bill Slavicsek.
  

Post Gen Con 4th Ed Musings

I wish I was at Gen Con last weeks but alas, I'm truly a third-world citizen. Anyway, the biggest news is that 4th Edition will be out next year and as can be expected, there have been mixed reactions. When I told my gaming group the news last weekend, I got everything from "you're kidding me?" to "I'm keeping 3.5!". One even told me that was quick but I rebutted that 3.0 was released in 2000 so it's much more of "we're old and time flies quickly" rather than something akin to a patch update of a MMORPG. But what does the future have in store for D&D?

Perhaps I qualify my musings with post-Gen Con because the actual product is not yet out and while there are promises of what features will be included and what won't be included, only time will tell if these promises meet expectations, and I expect there'll be some take-backs and modifications as we get closer to the release date.

For the most part, I see the new edition as a positive change. I'm not adverse to changing editions as long as there's a significant improvement. I don't think you can build the perfect game but I do think you can always improve on what's been done before.

I think the online interface is great. I think most people assume that D&D will now require online access but that's not really the case. As revolutionary as integrating D&D with online gaming (in general, rather than MMORPGs) is, it's happened before, everything from play-by-emails to to play-by-posts to a simple chat program. What it does right however is that it makes it easier to do so, providing all the tools in one place and even a virtual battle mat. Don't think of it as the game requiring computers but rather if you have a computer, you can play the game. Board games have had this model for quite some time, with some games like Settlers of Catan and Ticket to Ride or hell, Monopoly, having online incarnations. By no means does it spell the doom of the tabletop board game and even when playing online, it essentially remains the same game as if you'd play it on the tabletop. More importantly, I think the best part of all of this is that it brings in new blood (more so than retaining the old one which is a part many traditional RPG gamers are more concerned about) as well as giving an opportunity for old ones to reunite with old gaming groups (no more settling for play-by-emails!). I think Ryan Dancey said it best in his recent essays of redefining the genre:

(As always, I note that there will be a community of people who will play their favorite game exactly as they played it when they learned it, regardless of what happens to the rest of the world. As time progresses, those people tend to disconnect from the larger player network, becoming isolated islands. The ability of such groups to survive revolves around their ability to recruit new members as attrition causes older members to leave; so do, some do not. Those people and those groups won’t be much affected by anything that I’ve described in this series of posts, or anything that happens elsewhere in the hobby either. Please don’t take offense if you’re one of these people or play in one of these groups -- I think there’s nothing wrong with doing what you’re doing so long as you enjoy it.)

Personally, I think the Digital Initiative is great on the business side of things. It adds an financial element that wasn't pre-dominant in the old RPG model of business: consistent cashflow. Many games follow the formula of deriving income from products sold. MMORPGs have the advantage of aside from selling the actual product, they also receive income from subscriptions which in turn fuel future development and maintaining the servers. We also see that business paradigm in many modern commodities such as food (you're not going to buy food just once in your life after all), toiletries, and even printer inks. For quite some time, RPGs lacked that product vehicle which miniatures and Dungeon Tiles addressed (well, that and dice).

Of course many gamers tout that the biggest advantage of tabletop RPGs is that all you need to play the game are the books and your imagination. In many ways, that's still true. But the Digital Initiative, I think, gives you additional value in the event that you do want to spend more money on the game. And I think anything past 3rd Edition behaves quite differently from the previous editions simply because there was continuous support of the game beyond the conventions (which has its own money-generating mechanisms in play) or the magazines (which costs money too) such as the Wizards of the Coast website and forums (which honestly doesn't cost you anything and isn't asking you for contributions). So in many ways, I do think 4th Edition is a business solution as much as it is a gamer solution.

That's not to say everything in 4th Ed is perfect on the side of gamers. I think the character generator is a great idea, especially the ability to create your own personal avatars. However, I don't think it'll be as popular as say, the avatars generated from The Simpsons Movie website, mainly because they're quite generic and lack that distinctive art of someone like say, Kyle Hunter (now I'm not saying Wizards of the Coast should hire Kyle Hunter--as much as I love the guy's art, I don't think every gamer much less every person will want D&D to be synonymous with his artwork and there's just that lack of cultural acceptance that pervades something as huge as The Simpsons). I like the fact that you can input a specific code into the site so that when you buy the book, you have access to an online version of the book and more importantly, add the book's data into your set of online options. Unfortunately, it also means that if you're going to use the online tools of the Digital Initiative, you need to own the book. The "one guy in the gaming group owns the book" mentality is gone, at least if you're using the online tools. But then again, there's similarly no real remedy for that mainly because I think to maximize the Digital Initiative, that means playing with various gaming groups online and obviously, not everyone will have access to the books one gaming group has. So the best solution really is that if you want to use this option, you have to own the book (of course it similarly brings up problems that if the player owns the book but the GM doesn't but can easily be remedied by the GM not allowing that particular gaming option). There's also the price point of the DND Insider--$9.99 is actually great value for what it's providing but obviously, not everyone will be utilizing its services. Sure, players might love the online Dragon magazine but will they similarly be interested in Dungeon (or should they be reading it in the first place)? Are the other features such as online play be enough to part with $9.99 a month?

What I like about 4th Ed however is that it is definitely learning from its mistakes and building a better machine. The Player's Handbook for example looks interesting, not just because it's a new edition but it actually has the magic items in it. I mean I've seen many players purchase The Dungeon Master's Guide in addition to The Player's Handbook simply because all the loot they want to equip their characters with is in the former book. At least as far as 4th Ed is concerned, if you're the player, it looks like the only investment you'll really need is The Player's Handbook.

I also like how they're rebuilding spellcasting in general. The need to "rest and recharge" I think is a holdover from the previous editions and while more traditional gamers will eschew the new system that might be implemented, I think the newer system is superior in terms of sustaining the spirit of adventure and exploration. The same goes for giving non-spellcasters a different power source, giving Fighters more than just the option to attack. And that's just the tip of the iceberg: there's ditching the XP magic-item creation system, racial levels that coincide with regular levels, lack of dead levels, etc.

One definite concern I do have is how far along the development is the game. I mean if it's going to be released in May 2008, everything should be hammered down by the end of the year (you have to take into account the printing schedule). If everything isn't completed yet, I'd want a Blizzard more than any other game company. I mean I think a weakness of 3.0 Player's Handbook was that it was released before it was fully playtested or incorporated the two other books (Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster's Manual). Perhaps given a few more months, all three books might have been tighter (and some might theorize we wouldn't even have 3.5 but I think 3.5 would have arisen anyway, either as 4th Edition or its current mid-transition release). So hopefully when the 4th Ed books do get released, I hope it's cleaner than what was done in the previous edition.

At the very least, 4th Ed is an interesting phenomenon to me not only as a gamer, but as a bibliophile. The merging of print and online technology for example has yet to be fully realized and Wizards of the Coast is definitely taking one of the pioneering steps.

D&D 4th Ed. Videos

• Part 1
• Part 2
• D&D Insider
• Humorous History of D&D
• Bonus: InQuest Gamer feature