In European myth and folklore, monsters serve a very important function. They are a warning. The etymological root of the word is the latin monstrum. Monstrum was a sign or portent which disrupts the natural order due to divine displeasure. This is seen throughout myth and folklore. Do bad things and the Krampus will come …
Category: design theory
Some Proper Uses of Story Telling In Fantasy Adventure Gaming
While I am open to being convinced that I am wrong, I have previously proposed the following thesis: RPG's are not stories but games that utilizes stories as well the structures and tools of story telling as a central part of the game experience. The game and story sections bleed over. The underlying premise is …
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A Problem That Can’t Be Defeated By Game Design
There are several games on the market with a design intent of preventing bad game mastering. These games have a rule or mechanism that can be applied to almost any situation. The system can be rules heavy and provide a rule for nearly all the situations one can imagine. It can be rules-light with a …
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“Satisfying Narrative”
There are some games which have the stated design intent of creating "satisfying narratives." This outcome is unlikely. Why is that? Intentionally creating good stories is hard. People spend decades of their lives devolping this skill. People spend thousands of hours writing, workshopping and taking classes to develop the skill of creating a single well …
What a Role-Playing Game is Not
Role-playing games are not stories. This is a position with which many game masters and game designers disagree. This misunderstanding by designers and game masters is why most published adventures suck. It is why most published campaigns, adventures and supplement books fail at being game supplements. Games have elements which are similar to stories. Both …
