thread: 2014-05-24 : Games that Take Off, Games that Don't
On 2014-05-26, Vincent wrote:
Chris, David: There's a crucial moment, repeated endlessly, when a group of players has decided to play the game, and then they start to play it. This pivotal transition between not playing the game and playing the game, right? Infinitely variable in its particulars but always essential to gameplay. The requisite and fundamental first act of gameplay.
When you create a game, you have to woo the playgroup to that moment and then see them through it. Otherwise they don't play the game, and the game doesn't take off. So how does your game handle this crucial moment?
My working theory right now is that if the person reading the game isn't inspired to take responsibility for that moment, the game won't take off.
It's pretty clear to me that a number of things have to come together to make that moment happen. Complexity is surely a factor. Conventionality is too. Character creation. I also think it's no accident that of my games, the ones that have taken off address themselves to GMs, and the ones that haven't address themselves to players or playgroups.
