thread: 2011-02-21 : Into the Unknown?
On 2011-03-25, David Berg wrote:
Buncha stuff here!
Insights
After wracking my brain on this, I think the vast majority of my insights into the activities the characters do are of the "this is a fun way to play it" variety. Insights into real people are hard for me to pin down apart from the character activities that deal with people. I'm sure I could manufacture some insights about real people gearing up and creeping into monster caves, but I'll skip that for now unless you think it's key.
So, the major character activities in Delve are gathering info, running experiments, finding ways to work with NPCs, discussing ideas with each other, prepping for danger, solving puzzles, and facing danger.
Here are my varyingly insightful insights on those:
Gathering info: forming an expectation of what you might find, and deciding on the best way(s) to pursue that, makes for better play than "looking around".
Running experiments: same deal. Also, what Alex said.
NPCs: mutual benefit overcomes many social barriers. (This tends to come up a lot, and is the key to the characters advancing their place in the world.)
Discussion and decision: picking the first decent option or strategy makes for better play than straining to conceive the perfect one. Also: it's better to extrapolate too much than too little.
Preparing: worry about problems you can solve. Also: incorporate lessons learned in prior play.
Solving puzzles: risk or sacrifice should turn hard puzzles into easy ones.
Facing danger: physical positioning is huge. Also: the more you can turn a novel combat into an experiment, the better.
I'd be happy to hear how you'd design to any or all of these! But yeah, "The only way to progress in the world and learn how things work is to ask questions and attempt the unknown" is particularly important.
GMing by design
Did I read you right re: AW? Obligations -> orientation -> certain types of play decisions?
Can prep obligations (e.g. Dogs town creation) do much or most of that work?
Game goals and technical constraints that don't mesh
Such clashes seem inevitable to me too! I blame the fact that my inspirations come in both "experience of play" and "neato technique" forms. Delve is definitely the former; any techniques I've become wedded to are simply the best ways I've found to create certain facets of the desired experience.
Such misalignments are frustrating, but it's all progress in the long run, right? That spiffy mechanic that didn't work in the kids' game might be just what's needed 3 years later in the party game! At least, that's what I like to tell myself...
