thread: 2012-02-11 : 3 Problems
On 2012-02-19, Vincent wrote:
To see burdensome, oppressive, or otherwise just offputting social footprints, don't look at the games you play, look at the games you won't play. Look at the games you'd like to play but can't get your friends to play with you.
Same with counterproductive procedures of play. Don't look at the games you enjoy playing, look at the ones that aren't really that much fun.
If you've designed a game, and it's reaching the people you hoped it would reach, hooray! You nailed the content, the social footprint, and the procedures of play - they align right around your audience's needs and interests. There's no reason for you to read this at all.
If, however, you hoped your game would reach some certain people, and you've managed to put it in front of them but they haven't responded to it after all, that's when to look at these things. You've misjudged the content they're interested in or the social obligations their lives can accommodate, or else your game is making promises that its rules don't keep.
Most of the people in my life would never, ever play Apocalypse World. Why not? For very good reasons. If I want to design a game that I can play with them, I have to take those reasons seriously and figure out how to design a game that they would play.
