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11 |
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12 Elements |
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13 |
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14 |
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15 Rationales for Mechanics (or the Case for Designer's Notes) |
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16 |
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17 *by Brian Gleichman* |
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18 Jan 14,2003 |
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19 |
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20 |
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21 |
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22 |
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23 Rationales for Mechanics /(or the Case for Designer Notes)/ |
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24 |
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25 Why do rpgs use mechanics? Such a simple question, but one with such |
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26 complex answers. It seems obvious that those answers would be key in the |
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27 design process or in the judging of an existing game. After all, it's |
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28 only by way of knowing your needs that you can chart the nature and |
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29 placement of mechanical systems properly in such a way that the game |
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30 meets the desired goals. |
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31 |
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32 Sadly it seems very common for rpg designers of the current day |
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33 (especially in the free or small print world) to skip right by that |
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34 question. It is painfully common for me to receive what is in effect a |
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35 blank stare upon quizzing a game designer as to the reasons and |
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36 rationales behind their design. Typically the only response is "I was |
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37 looking for something different" and "It does what I wanted it to do", |
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38 without being able to express what was different, or what it is doing. |
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39 The end result is I receive in answer a jumble of words typically tossed |
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40 on the back cover of a book as basic marketing ("Powerful yet simple |
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41 mechanics!", "Yes it's a floor wax and a desert topping!"). |
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42 |
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43 With this as the common response, there is little reason to wonder that |
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44 mechanics in many games seem almost pointless- seemly existing often |
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45 just because other games have included them. The result is typically a |
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46 distraction from (or misinterpretation of) the purpose of the game, |
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47 reducing what could have been a powerful design to yet another rpg that |
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48 will sit on the shelf. |
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49 |
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50 Let's take a moment to consider some important and common rationales, |
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51 just so we're on the same page. I don't think these are by any means the |
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52 only reasons, but they are at the very least reasons every designer |
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53 should consider his mechanics in the light of. |
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54 |
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55 |
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56 I. Limiting Player Options |
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57 |
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58 If any single rationale could claim to hold prominence in game design, |
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59 it would be this one. Why can't my 1st level /Age of Heroes/ fighter |
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60 kill an ancient red dragon with his penknife? Because the combat rules |
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61 make that all but impossible as a core requirement of design. |
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62 |
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63 The natural result of any mechanic is to limit options. What those |
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64 options are limited to however determines the actual rationale for the |
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65 mechanic. In this specific case, the reason is to prevent specific |
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66 player actions and choices because they are unsuited to the intended |
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67 purpose of the game. |
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68 |
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69 Advancement rules are typically guided by this rationale. The player |
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70 gets *X* amount of power within the game for *Y* amount of effort, not |
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71 no effort at all. Requiring a certain Strength level to break down a |
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72 specific door is yet another example while falling damage is yet another |
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73 (for those games limiting a character's ability to jump off 40 foot |
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74 walls to reach a battle). |
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75 |
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76 |
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77 II. Providing Meaningful Player Choices |
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78 |
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79 The classic example here is combat mechanics (a subject I've already |
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80 spent some time on in my previous /Elements of Tactics/ article). The |
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81 idea is to present a complex and diverse enough set of choices in order |
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82 to make the decisions of the player important in determining the outcome |
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83 of the game events. |
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84 |
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85 |
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86 III. Inspiring Player Action |
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87 |
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88 Examples of these are the Sanity rules from /Call of Cthulhu/ which |
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89 provide a nudge of when and what type of insanity the player is struck |
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90 with, but leave the exact details of expressing it up to the player and GM. |
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91 |
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92 Psychological and Drama mechanics are normally created with this |
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93 rationale in mind, to respectively inspire role-play and story creation. |
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94 |
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95 |
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96 IV. Replacing Player Choice |
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97 |
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98 These mechanics are intended to flat out replace decisions by a player |
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99 or GM. |
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100 |
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101 Single roll combat resolutions are typically this type of mechanic, the |
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102 idea is to remove any tactical choices beyond that of the decision to |
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103 engage in battle (and sometimes even that isn't offered). Another |
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104 example is the use of straight up 'social' skills like 'bribe' and the |
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105 like. The concept is to remove choices and actions from extensive play |
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106 that are felt to be either beyond the ability of the players or outside |
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107 the focus of the game. |
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108 |
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109 Another way of looking at these mechanics is as a simple and quick |
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110 method to resolve something so that the game can go forward. Removing |
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111 significant player input is perhaps the fasted way to achieve that goal. |
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112 |
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113 |
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114 V. Provide an Illusion |
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115 |
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116 Some mechanics exist to aid in suspension of disbelief. Thus a game may |
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117 include detailed currency rules because the players have a hard time |
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118 believing that everyone in the world uses the same coins. |
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119 |
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120 Some mechanics provide an illusion of Rationale II above. A typical |
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121 example is providing a wide range of combat maneuvers that suggest a |
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122 good selection- but upon using some math it's revealed that a single one |
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123 of the provided maneuvers is always the best choice. Sometimes this is a |
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124 result of failed design, at other times it's done on purpose (often |
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125 using dice pools mechanics in order to make the illusion more difficult |
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126 to pierce). |
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127 |
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128 There are other possible reasons of course. I'm sure you can add a few |
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129 with a little bit of thought. |
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130 |
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131 Once one knows the rationale for a mechanic, it becomes much easier to |
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132 determine the Layer of Design it applies to as well as its form. |
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133 Rationale IV mechanics for example tend to be simpler than Rationale II |
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134 systems by nature. |
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135 |
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136 There's just one gotcha to keep in mind. A little thing called the 'the |
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137 eye of the beholder'. |
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138 |
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139 Remember Rationale III above, a little thing about inspiring player |
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140 action? Most of the time I see such mechanics I'm not inspired. Instead |
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141 I see a Rationale IV mechanic- something that takes my choices away in |
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142 order to meet a goal of the game design (in the case of /Call of |
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143 Cthulhu/, it's enforcing the genre concept that everyone goes insane- a |
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144 type of railroading with respect to the role-playing of a PC). |
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145 |
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146 Here's another example- Rationale II mechanics become little more than |
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147 Rationale V mechanics if the players can't grasp the actual effects of |
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148 choices in the system (dice pools tend to cause this effect by making |
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149 probability determination exceedingly difficult). |
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150 |
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151 Take a few mechanics from a favorite game of your own and try fitting |
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152 them into each of the above rationales. With a little bit of work and a |
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153 talent for seeing things though the eyes of others- you may be surprised |
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154 how many rationales a single mechanic can fit in. |
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155 |
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156 So in the end you may design a wonderful game, one that has developed |
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157 mechanics that fit their reasons for use at every point. But in the end |
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158 the final result may be viewed by others in a completely different light |
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159 than what you intended. |
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160 |
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161 But all is not lost. The solution to this sad state of affairs is right |
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162 in the subtitle to this article. |
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163 |
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164 Designer Notes. |
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165 |
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166 Write them. Spend as much time and effort on them as you did in the |
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167 design of your game- for they determined the design of your game. Put |
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168 them directly in the book or on your website. Explain why you selected |
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169 the mechanics you did, what they do in your game, why you rejected other |
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170 possibilities. |
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171 |
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172 You'll achieve four important outcomes. |
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173 |
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174 First, you'll produce a better game. One tailored to your needs and |
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175 perfect for the type of play you desired. |
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176 |
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177 Second, you'll provide the best guide there is to how the game was meant |
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178 to be played. And you'll do it in a way far better than the typical |
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179 stilted 'example of play' fiction. |
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180 |
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181 Third, you'll define for the reader the terms on which your work is to |
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182 be judged, so that in that judging they are not looking for a game you |
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183 never designed. It is much better to hear "Even if I don't care for the |
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184 style, Game X does what it intends almost perfectly" instead of "This |
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185 games sucks". |
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186 |
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187 And fourth, I won't get a blank stare when I ask you what makes your |
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188 game different or what you were trying to achieve. For not only will you |
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189 be able to answer that question, you've already written it for me |
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190 meaning the only thing I'll bother you about is the details of your |
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191 vision. And isn't the details of the designer's vision the reason for |
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192 making a game in the first place? |
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193 |
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194 |
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248 |
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249 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
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250 |
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251 |
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252 Previous columns |
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253 |
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254 * Elements of Strategy </news+reviews/columns/elements11feb03.html> |
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255 by Brian Gleichman, 11feb03 |
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256 * Rationales for Mechanics (or the Case for Designer's Notes) |
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257 </news+reviews/columns/elements14jan03.html> by Brian Gleichman, |
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258 14jan03 |
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259 * Layers of Design </news+reviews/columns/elements11dec02.html> by |
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260 Brian Gleichman, 11dec02 |
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261 * Elements of Tactics </news+reviews/columns/elements01nov02.html> |
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262 by Brian Gleichman, 01nov02 |
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263 * Elements of Complexity |
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264 </news+reviews/columns/elements20sep02.html> by Brian Gleichman, |
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265 20sep02 |
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266 |
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267 |
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268 Other columns </news+reviews/columns.html> at RPGnet |
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