I think the most significant difference between "old school" and "new school" D&D is what players primarily attend to and how they interact with the obstacles placed in front of them in the game. Old School: Players primarily interact with game objects which I define as the NPC's, monsters, sentient magical constructs/devices, the PC's physical …
Emotion Peddlers
I seek out interviews, books and essays by artists of various media in an attempt to understand their thinking about their work. A very common thing among the very best is the foundational belief that what they are doing is selling emotion. They are making a thing that causes them to feel a certain way …
Learning/Teaching Game Mastering: Efficient Skill Acquisition
This is my way of response to a couple of posts by Noisms about whether or not game mastering can be taught. I agree in part with him. You have to put in the work. You can read them here here and here Let's start by saying very clearly: There are no short cuts. You have to …
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The Mat Doesn’t Lie
My Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor often says, "The mat doesn't lie." What he means is that in BJJ, you can't fake it. The practitioner who comes to class, drills during open mat, and seeks out challenging partners to roll with are going to be better than those who don't put in the time. If you have …
Game Company Marketing Done Right
Most game companies market poorly. Many of the small ones are the worst. In the current environment, everything you do is part of your brand marketing, starting with your product. It is always easier to sell a good product that the designers and editors care about and want people to play. One thing that drives …
My Gygax Moment
I remember very clearly, around the age of 13, having the thought, "Who is this Gary Gygax guy and how the hell did he get the job of writing these books?" Turns out, he invented the job of being an RPG designer. I never met Gary but I've gamed with some of his friends and …
Charcteristics Of Good Gamemasters: Active Curiosity
A lot of the best game masters are curious. Curious about people. Curious about history. Curious about the way stuff works. They read, a lot. History, biography sometimes philosophy or psychology. They watch documentaries, old TV shows, classic movies and bad movies. The other part is that they are active in their curiosity. It isn't just …
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