Philip Athans has put together a lengthy article contrasting the development of the intellectual property that comprises the Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms settings. Extensive discussion with Tracy Hickman and Ed Greenwood provide a great deal of high-quality insight. For example, Hickman writes:

Story is the universal conveyor of meaning. Properly deployed story in game settings extends the game experience beyond the rules and the setting into the realm of change, growth and life application. I think it is a mistake to fixate on the specific and more tangible elements of the setting; one needs to have a grasp of the overall tone and message that a ‘property’—whatever that is—conveys to the reader. Dragonlance isn’t meaningful to readers because it has dragons and lances. It’s meaningful because it conveys a certain attitude, viewpoint, promise and meaning.

The article is a good, insightful look at IP—as opposed to game, or story—devlopment. Check it out.

“The Worlds That Outgrew Their Stories: Two Roads to Intellectual Property Success”

Did you see the actual-play post that Fred Hicks wrote describing his one-shot RPG scenario set in the universe of Inception? If you’ve seen the film, and you’re curious about how the procedural of a dream-heist might work in play but you didn’t want to muddle through a lot of game mechanics and fiddly details, Fred’s post is a great read. If you haven’t seen Inception, this might be… less interesting to you. Still, I thought you might get a kick out of this.

Here’s a question that’s occurred to me quite a lot over the past couple of weeks, since Gen Con. I offer it up without much preamble, save for this: Whether you’re hacking a tightly focused game like Apocalypse World or devising a campaign for something broader, like Dungeons & Dragons, you’re almost always moving around a game’s central axis. Maybe you’re in a tight orbit. Maybe you’re drifting away. But at some distance from that gravitational center, you presumably break free and enter either the void between games or the gravity well of some other shining touchstone. So:

When are you no longer playing the game you purport to be playing? When are you so far removed from your game of origin that you no longer tell people that it is what you are playing?

“It was on the tip of everyone’s tongue. Tyler and I just gave it a name.” —Narrator, Fight Club

First things first, you should probably get your hands on Apocalypse World.

D. Vincent Baker has created something remarkable with Apocalypse World—it’s a major conversation piece and probably a landmark in the development of RPGs. The influence of this game can already be felt throughout various design circles and it’s a conversation you maybe want to be a part of.

Vincent Baker is today’s entry at “Hell Yeah, Gamemasters.” You know about that site, right?

Actual GMing methods and styles are, so often, on the tip of everyone’s tongue. Vincent Baker set out to give them names. I applaud his motive and his decision to pursue the goal. I’m not sure I care for the names he’s chosen. He’s presented his GM principles dressed up for a desert-wasteland post-apocalyptic world, but big deal, right?

Apocalypse World was my first purchase at Gen Con 2010. I set out to get it early on the first day. I knew I needed to be conversant in this game.

(more…)

Another week, another question from my tumblelog that I think is best served by hearing multiple voices sound off on the subject. I could sound off on this alone, but I know some of you have approaches that I haven’t thought of, so let’s hear them. This time, it’s a question of GM style and tactics, applicable to a wide variety of games:

How do you reward character development or revealing character history in a game?

// What’s your answer?