All Entries in the "rant" Category
Dungeons & Dragons–The Legend Needs a Hiatus
“Dungeons & Dragons” is one of the oldest, most famous and valuable game trademarks in existence. Even non-gamers instantly associate the game with dice, dragons and gaming in general. Often , D&D is the gateway game to the entire RPG hobby for players. That level of name recognition and market penetration has tremendous value and [...]
Performance Enhancing Drugs and Gaming
Caffeine and nicotine aside, there were no drugs that provided an edge during board gaming. This is no longer true. Several drugs available provide quantifiable boosts to mental performance or lower stress. It is not a huge boost, but it is a boost and drove me to write this post. Right now, these drugs (Provigil, [...]
Expensive Board Games–Do We Really Need Such High Production Values?
I believe that board game companies are in a marketing arms races. Each year board games achieve new heights in art, component quality and box design. This drives the retail price up and forces other companies to produce equally beautiful and elaborate products…and raise prices to pay for it. I am about to commit heresy [...]
Why Are Role-Playing Game Characters Superior to Real World Politicians?
Because you can roll-up a new PC when it is no longer useful! ;-) Oh, and do not forget to vote. Trask, The Last Tyromancer
All games are Story Games: Practical abstraction, gameplay and storytelling
Hi! This is Tyler Tinsley, just doing a little guest blogging. I’m a published game and toy designer and love the sound of my own keyboard. Grab a nice drink this article is a little long, but worth it! Abstraction is the refuge of both the pretentious and the extremely nerdy. Dictionary.com’s first definition of [...]
Are Role-Playing Games Gambling and Therefore Potentially Addictive?
Gambling is the act of risking something of value on something an unknowable outcome. It is my sincere belief that all role-playing games, even the ones with no obvious random component (ie dice), involve players risking something of value on an unknowable outcome and, therefore, are gambling. Before I get angry comments about diceless or [...]
A Plea to Role-Playing Game Publishers: 4 Things All Games Need on the First Day of Publication
Role-playing games are my hobby of choice and I deeply respect anyone that manages to get one published. That said, I think many publishers overlook some critical game components when releasing new games. These are items that often make the difference between a game that gets played and one that sits on my shelf and [...]
Write the Damn Ending First!
Some say the journey is more important that the destination. I disagree. No matter the journey’s quality, the destination needs meaning, a reward for the long road travelled. This applies equally to novels, television shows and role-playing campaigns. That said, many writers tend to focus on the concept and the journey while ignoring the closing [...]
GM Misery Index: PC Abilities that Cause Headaches
As I GM I welcome the challenge of creating an entertaining, challenging campaign for my players. That said, there are some player abilities that make my GM Misery Index climb like Greece’s unemployment rate. For those that are not familiar with the “GM Misery Index” is the numerical measure of pain one must endure while [...]