thread: 2005-09-20 : Dogs in the Vineyard, the Vision
On 2005-09-20, Vincent wrote:
Well, I don't know about a point-for-point, but I'll tell the story at least.
I grew up LDS, very much so, in Payson and Provo Utah, right in the heart of the church. I'm fifth and sixth generation Mormon, descended from pioneers and from Bishop Chamberlain of Orderville; in my veins runs the blood of the great old Utopianists. But I left the church when I was 19, after choosing not to go on a mission. This left me wounded! 12 years later when our story opens (2003, that is) I'm going, "dang, time to grow up and move on, but how?"
I meet Jake Norwood at GenCon '03. He's LDS, he lives in Provo, he designed a rock-solid RPG called The Riddle of Steel, he's on the Forge. I'm all set to not like him. He'll be the first non-family Mormon I've interacted with since, oh, 1996. He twigs that I'm all set to not like him; to his credit he doesn't take it personally. I'm all caught up in some imaginary struggle with him before we've even met, and he's ... just not. Bless him.
So we bond over food, he doesn't flinch when I drink beer in his presence, he's a great guy, and by the end of the con we're friends. Friends enough - he probably didn't find it significant, especially, just I did. I come home from GenCon going, "know what, Meg? I made friends with a Mormon. Can you believe it?"
So then just a couple of days back from GenCon, Michael Hopcroft starts this thread at the Forge. He announces a gaming convention in planning, of by and for Mormon gamers, in Utah. I'm not interested, until Jared Sorensen says:
"I'm so gonna get on the list of guests. Lumpley, we'll need to chat about bringin' KPfS to Utah."
CALLED OUT! In front of my new Mormon friend Jake! And I'm like, uh, normally I'd join Jared in mocking, but ... Jake's watching, and ... uh...
(Here's a side story. Some time ago Ron Edwards called me, we were talking about the Forge, then we were griping about certain people, and suddenly he stopped. "Here we are," he said, "a couple of the shining minds of RPG design - you'd think we'd have something to talk about other than who we like and who we don't like." We're such monkeys.)
Anyway, called out. Scroll down to this post and you'll see the first ever articulation of Dogs in the Vineyard's design goals.
"My design goals are: it's interesting to Mormons, it's relevant to Mormons, and it treats the concerns of Mormonism with subtlety and respect."
Within a couple of months I've got the watchdogs preserving the faith bit, and the title, and then a year later it's a whole game. Remember this RPGnet thread, Brand? If you read me answering to RandomGoblin, like here, you'll see just how badly I want you all Mormons to like my game. Badly, is how badly. Anyway the game sells like crazy, it plays like crazy, it makes me money, it opens friendships, it's a big part of me making peace with my history - and seriously, making peace with my history. Growing up and moving on. Awesomeness.
My junior high friend Porter looks me up. I send him the game and he's struck by the integrity with which I treat the subject matter. That's awesome too.
But until your email, Christian, I had these design goals floating out there, right? Unfulfilled. Or, if fulfilled, unconfirmed. I was pretty sure I'd nailed 'em - I mean, Brand likes the game, right? Porter does. But all this time I've been hoping for something just like this letter you sent me.
Then you did. The end!
This makes James go "Holy shit, it's me."
Vincent, you're me, except a couple years earlier out of the gate, and my thing was death.
