thread: 2005-06-22 : Courage
On 2005-06-22, Jay Loomis wrote:
I've been privileged to meet or talk to one or two masters of their trade in my life. People whose work makes your eyes bug out. The thing that strikes me about true masters is that they don't think much about their work.The true master is so confident in her work that she doesn't have all the hang-ups that would make her insecure, hesitant, or even boastful. She does what she does and is peaceful in that state of being.
My point is that I'm not sure there is a master of the RPG design arts yet. The craft is young. The participants don't fully understand it yet. That's not a dis or anything, but a statement of perspective. When someone proves themselves a journeyman, they are proving that they have what it takes to practice their craft in the world at large without lots of support. It's a good thing.
So if Vincent's journeyman effort is Dogs, that doesn't diminish the value of Dogs as a game—it's a competently designed game that is worthy of (quite favorable, IMHO)comparison to games of other practicing designers.
Nor do I think that a designer should expect to produce Master quality work after producing a journeyman game. It takes a long time to become a master, even in a field where there are few variables. For a fledgling craft, the road is even longer. Go on making journeyman quality games. If people play them and have fun, you're doing better than most.
