Whenever a GM goes to run a game, one of the things that is pretty much a universal measure of success or failure is the amount of important NPC’s and their role in the game. Having no significant NPC’s means there’s no context for the players’ actions, while having too many will detract from the player characters’ abilities to stand on their own in the world. Similarly, it’s important that NPC’s be responsive and placed on the same level as the players, at least on a narrative scale. Continue reading “Table Reflection: Running Responsive Non-Player Characters”
Author: homoeoteleutonadmin
Thursday Review: Dishonored
I went into Dishonored with high expectations, and found them matched. However, I discovered quickly that while I truly enjoyed the game, it ran into some pretty major issues before too long in. Quite frankly, when I made it through the first three levels, I was thinking “This game reminds me a lot of Deus Ex, in a good way.” and by the time I got to the last my thoughts had been shifted to “Well, some of these textures do look like they’re from 2000″. Continue reading “Thursday Review: Dishonored”
Project Update: So You Want To Play’s Progress
Right now, I’m working on So You Want To Play, a nine-part course on running a tabletop roleplaying game intended for complete novices to the hobby. One of my major goals is to try to condense as much of my experience and passion as possible into a small, online package that delivers a substantial amount of value and serves as a jumping off point for others to get into a hobby that I really enjoy. Continue reading “Project Update: So You Want To Play’s Progress”
Game Design: Creating Discoverable Experiences
Nonlinear and emergent gameplay is a goal that generally benefits game design, should the developers have the necessary resources. Making an open, vivacious world presents players with a lot of options and opportunities to find ways to enjoy the game, as well as letting them experience the joy of discovery without needing constant guidance. Continue reading “Game Design: Creating Discoverable Experiences”
Table Reflection: Handling Player Character Death
Most tabletop games take place in a world where death is a daily or weekly risk; they are glimpses of adventure, action, and risk rather than merely consisting of experiences with safety and security of an organized and regimented society. As such, characters tend to die, and many of these characters will be important. Some are meant to die, and others are not, but there’s a few general rules for the death of player characters that will keep GM’s and players happy. Continue reading “Table Reflection: Handling Player Character Death”
Thursday Review: Tomb Raider (2013)
Tomb Raider is always one of those franchises I’ve avoided because of its perception; Lara Croft prior to recent developments had always been a video game sex symbol, but was handled in a way that I found somewhat offensive. She’d become an object of a brand rather than a living breathing character, and while she certainly wasn’t the worst example of how women are treated in video games, she wasn’t a character so much as an image. However, having heard good things about Lara’s new direction in character development, and the general gameplay of the series reboot, I picked it up and gave it a shot. Continue reading “Thursday Review: Tomb Raider (2013)”
Project Update: Utilizing Moodle
One of the things I’ve been working on recently is utilizing Moodle to its utmost. Since I do want to charge for class access, albeit more for the time I’ll spend interacting with course members than for the actual content, I need to be absolutely certain that I am delivering the maximum amount of quality for the largest possible audience, utilizing as much of Moodle as I have the assets to. Continue reading “Project Update: Utilizing Moodle”
Game Design: Utilizing Randomness
One of the largest issues I’ve seen with games is when they come down to a formula. Sometimes, this is important, like in competitive play, but other times this is actually detrimental to the experience; a single-player game, for instance, in which every foe is exactly the same whenever the player walks a “dangerous” road between two major areas. This is the sort of thing that can be changed easily to make a more engaging experience through adding randomness. Continue reading “Game Design: Utilizing Randomness”
Sunday Extra: Why Creative Commons Can Be Awesome (Or Fail)
So one of the things that I love about Creative Commons is how it’s really brought certain things to light. Stuff like Eclipse Phase has proven that you can give away products for free and still sell copies based on people’s enjoyment of your work; it’s a platinum seller at DriveThruRPG (disclaimer: I’m a reviewer there), but it’s also available for free from anyone who cares to send you a copy; the developer even has download links on his blog! Still, Creative Commons has some problems with it. Continue reading “Sunday Extra: Why Creative Commons Can Be Awesome (Or Fail)”
Table Reflection: Narrative Versus System
One of the major challenges that most GM’s will run into is the fact that tabletop roleplaying gaming has both mechanical and narrative elements, and while this is intended to be a resource for storytelling the two can often trample on top of each other and lead to a gaming experience which is frustrating and annoying for players and the GM alike, requiring careful intervention to save the narrative. Continue reading “Table Reflection: Narrative Versus System”