thread: 2005-04-18 : The Structure of the Game
On 2005-04-19, joshua m. neff wrote:
Rats, I had no idea you had addressed my question, Vincent. Just found this today.
Anyway...
I think there is, of course, room for all kinds of RPGs, both unfocused (GURPS, HERO, and the like) and focused. Personally, I would like to see more focused RPGs. Mostly, this is based on comments from non-gaming friends of mine, generally to the tune of, "It looks interesting, but I don't get what you do in the game." Now, I don't know anyone who says that about Monopoly or Risk. You open the box, there's a sheet with the rules clearly explained, and everyone sets out to play. A good middle-ground game is the Buffy the Vampire Slayer board game. In the game, one player plays the bad guys (acting, in many ways, like a GM), and the other players play one of the Buffy characters—one to each player (like one PC to each player). The main characters all have "hit points" and act slightly differently in play (Willow gets more Magic cards, while Buffy gets more Weapon cards). You move around the board, which is a map of Sunnydale, and when a good guy and bad guy fight, you roll dice to see if you cause damage. It's a sort of proto-RPG. And I think it's brilliant. I'd love to see more RPGs like this, where the way you play is explicitly laid out for non-gamers.
