The Spectrum of Game Design

Ask anyone who speaks with me and I likely have at some time lavished them with a discussion of design of RPGs.  Well, likely I bored them and they happily suffered through it because the opportunity were favorable.  So aside from my dreams of world domination and my ten million novel ideas, it is safe to say I have a thought or two on game design. A recent article over at EN World dredged up these thoughts and  I came to some conclusions.

I will offer my response to the article as it appears over at EN World and then expand on it.

A few short thoughts.

RPG Game design and by extension some computer and "board" game design are a reaction to the point of origin. That would be the strange singularity where Kriegspiel melded into rpg (technically this happened twice and or was a longer process than we think). All role playing games even the first are a blue shift or red shift in reaction to that point of origin. In my mind the PoO is not a specific game, but a specific question needing answered:

"Why do I need to make an rpg?"

In a world of needs and wants, with a million ways a Gygax or Arneson or Stafford or St. Andre might decide what they want, the "need" to make an rpg, whether conscious or unconscious, was imperative. The first time I designed a game was when I was 10. The game (which I am reworking into a modern OSR) was a reaction to D&D. The first draft done I toyed with it and I answered the question "Why did I need to make this?" with the answer "I didn't". The reason? The Red Shift from D&D was not significant enough. It did not meet any real needs.

We get so caught up in mechanics and story and to dice or not to dice, that we sometimes forget to answer that basic question: Why do I need to make this game? Profit? A need in the greater community? I have my own vision or version? What makes this game different from just some house rules? 

Additionally I think there is a desire in gamers and game designers to impose a certain amount of order on their games, with some wanting more and some less (again another spectrum) through probability or Improv (or a combination of both). This manifests itself in another question: "What would I have done, if...?" The question pertaining to other stories we hear and our reaction to them and whether they ended the "right" way. 

Just my thoughts.

The Point of Origin

Young children, mostly boys but girls as well, have been playing with toy soldiers for a long time. Branwell Bronte' and his sister Charlotte used to create elaborate stories and role playing games that they put on as plays (I am guessing?). Many consider this to be the first move from make believe to actual rpg. One hundred and fifty odd years later Gygax, Arneson, and Stafford were doing the same thing. That moment when the wargamer or board gamer became (becomes) the role player is a seminal moment for modern society. While not every action or reaction to role playing games has played a role in the development of the modern American / European it is safe to say the development of RPGs has been a significant influence.

Within role playing game design itself, most games are reactions to the point of origin, by their own admission. To suggest it isn't is a bit of arrogance that is unnecessary; this is how revolution and evolution work.  As more and more games became public knowledge* / were published the spectrum of possible games were created. I suspect the spectrum is a finite one, but am not enough of an expert on probability to know for sure.  In any case we now judge games not just on their merit but on whether they are Red Shifting (heading away) or Blue Shifting (heading towards) the point of origin. This plays an important part in our playing, liking, and giving franchise to a new rpg.

Order & Chaos

What would you have done if you were Gandolf? What would you have done if you were Larry Underwood or Stu Redman? What if, what if, what if? As readers and viewers, as the audience of myth and story, we often take a personal role in our favorites. We are sure that, had we been there, things would  have turned out better. How many people are yelling at their TV or their book, telling Ned Stark to ying instead of yang? This is part of why we role play.

Role playing is based on make believe but it is not entirely governed by those unspoken sets of rules. Make believe is mostly improv, where people sometimes say no but generally say yes. Even though we try and take possession of those stories or create our own, we want to keep a certain degree of order in the process, a certain bit of fair play. So we have probability, for which we use dice. The rule of dice replaces the rule of "yes" in improv play, though it could also be said that "yes, you can try" replaces a simple "yes".

An action may fail or succeed. How much we want to create the illusion of choice and how difficult we make the challenges help place us on the various spectrum. The Universe of RPGs is amorphous and has many variables and a spectrum for each set of variables.

Why it Matters

Anyone can create a rpg and even an rpg that people want to play. They might even pay for it. However, our best creations come out of some kind of understanding of our need to to make the game in the first place and our reaction to the Point of Origin. Are we Red Shifting or Blue Shifting? Once we have those answers, we can create a coherent game based on our needs.

What Paw Patrol taught me about Spotlighting

So in case you do not know who they are... Go check the PAW Patrol out and then come back.

Okay good, now you have at least some idea who they are. In essence the PAW Patrol is a group of young (animated) puppy dogs who represent the major law and rescue services of of a town known as Adventure Bay.  Each episode their handler, Ryder, gets an assignment or two from the locals and assigns his pups to help clean the mess up. Each pup not only has a specialty (police, fire, recycle, etc...) but also a position in the overall social dynamic of the group. I began watching this show because it was not too cutesy and my lil hatchling seemed to like it. Well now she loves the show and can name all the pups, which is fantastic. Kudos to the show runners for making intelligent and engaging characters.

Over time as I watched the show I realized how the group dynamic and its mission oriented mechanisms were not unlike any number of adventuring RPG games I have read over the years. In fact this setup could easily be ported to something like Cyberpunk or a town/local area focused horror game. The focus is on mission of the week and each mission has usually two, though sometimes more pups assigned to it. It handles this ensemble in an excellent way, letting different pups work together and even sometimes go solo. Some missions require more pups and some use each pup, plus an assist from Ryder himself who is always coordinating things.

However, even though not every pup shines in each episode, every pup is SEEN in each episode. The other pups will often get called in as the situation changes and for extra backup or support. If there are stars of the show, I would say they are Chase, the police dog, and Marshall the fire dog. Marshall is a bit clumsy (I suspect it is a breed thing?) and is often seen as the young goofy outsider. He saves the day but just as often needs saving himself. Chase is without a doubt the leader and acts like an older brother to the other dogs. As a group things go very well socially. It should be noted that there are two female pups as well who are highly competent, but probably do not get the screen time they could.

Now how does this tie into role playing, specifically running an RPG? Spotlighting is one of the most difficult concepts for a young and or new game master to get her or his grip on. In essence, Spotlighting means making sure each player and character has a moment to shine within the context of the game play.  This can be difficult at the best of times and even more difficult in a small time frame or convention space, where people will have distractions and feel rushed. If you can learn to use that Spotlight well, everyone will enjoy the experience. Even after three decades I still realize I have a great deal to learn about Spotlighting, but what I can offer up here is my advice. Maybe it will help you too.

General Thoughts

1. Know your players. This is important because everyone has their issues and their baggage and their difficulties. Take some time to suss out some of those issues and get to know these people. The more comfortable you are with their eccentricities, the easier time you will have. (Will talk about this in terms of conventions further down)
2. Practice. Have conversations where you get different folks input. Watch other GMs and see what they do right and what they do wrong. Run lots of games, even just for fun. 
3. Don't Fall In Love: Do not fall in love with a character or player. Now I know this sounds a bit harsh, but what I mean is don't let your personal feelings dictate the Spotlight, either good or bad. Don't reward or punish a "good" player; let the dice fall where they may and be fair. 
4. Everyone has a Marshal. Each group has one or more players who demand more attention than the rest. Accept now that you will be spending more time individually with them than any other individuals. That can be okay as sometimes the reasons they get more spotlight are they are experienced players or they know the material very well.  It should not be an issue as long as everyone gets their time to shine AND the amount of time you spend with that one person is not more than you spend with the group. If they are taking up 2-3 hours of your game, it is time to have a talk.
5. Do not be afraid to be harsh. Don't let the anger build up; that is how fights start. Take the person aside and let them know there may be an issue. Try never to have the discussion at the table and keep it calm and positive. Also, TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for it. Even if other players are complaining, never throw them under the bus. If they were being unfair you would not be having this conversation anyway. As the game runner, you need to always wear your big boy or girl pants.
6. Don't Play with Spouses and Friends. Wait, what? Yes make sure you play with strangers when you can so that are not tempted to show favoritism or forgive rude behaviors because your spouse, partner, or best friend from college is at the table. Sure, obviously you can and should play with people you love and like, but playing with strangers can help you up your game as an overall GM as well as in spotlighting. 

Some Tips: Home Games

1. If you are running a home game that meets at least twice a month, develop your adventures and missions in such a way that each character will be needed. The typical Dungeon is a pretty good at that. There are dangers that test brawn, brains, and burglars. Do not design an adventure, which will exclude one or more players on a regular basis.  Let a different player or two shine each session.
2. If you play once a month (or less.. sacrilege!) you should definitely design the adventure to highlight each character in each adventure. Otherwise one more players may wait months for their turn to shine and that really is no fun.
3. Use a mental (or actual) timer. Give each player five minutes and then segue to another player and then another. Some won't need five minutes, but others will use every damn second! That is okay as long as hear from each player. Additionally this can condition the players to your style and they can be prepared for their five minutes when their turn comes up.
4. Use a 30 second combat timer. If a player is still deciding after 30 seconds, unless he or she is asking questions and clearly just trying to get the best information available, then tell them act or hold their action.  Be consistent. Play the Jeopardy music.
5. Offer side quests. If possible, offer side quests to players. These are sessions outside of the normal game time that allow you to focus on a single player. This goes a long way towards making a player feel heard and respected.

Game Tips: Conventions

1. Spend five minutes figuring out who is who and who is with who and who knows the rules.
2. Make Table rules and stick with them. Gently establish your authority.
3. Be prepared. Really prep before a convention if you can, even prep for running impromptu games.
4. Learn to quickly build rapport. Now do not be creepy but just practice building a rapport with someone quickly.
5. Look folks in the eye and use their character names. If you show that you are attentive it goes a long way toward building that rapport and a good rapport covers many sins.
6. Begin the adventure with an introduction and action phase, even if pressed for time. It can be as simple as asking for a Perception check, just so each player and character have a one on one conversation with you, the GM.

Hope this is helpful
SMH

Hello from the dusty trails

I have been gaming a very long time. I have been writing longer than I have been gaming. Words have already fascinated me and the ability to impart ideas through words has been a life long pursuit. I do not just enjoy writing, I live writing. It has not made me much money yet, but it will in time allow me to pursue it as a career.

This blog will about gaming, almost exclusively RPGs. It will discuss traditional, indie, and modern games and occasionally wax nostalgic. Are there tons of blogs out there talking about this? Of course there are. I bring, I hope, a unique perspective and in some cases mission. I want to drive diversity in our games as much as possible, not just the games themselves, but in the people who play, design, and run these games. Tackle fantasy in places other than Medieval times or take a look into a future where Africa rises to prominence.  I hope I managed to do so with respect to all and an acknowledgment that my experience may not be yours.

So just a few things here...

• GM Advice
• Game Reviews
• Player Advice
• Game Design pieces
• Industry News
• Campaign updates for my home or play test games
• Odd Bits

I hope that you enjoy.

SMH