Books that inform my solo RPG play. **Get Geek Gamers' new book, a Gothic literary random table, "Wanderings," here: amzn.to/33T7yix #solorpg #geekgamers #gamedesign
ekurisona Thanks. I have often thought of doing more about books but with thousands of them it’s hard to know how to focus or what the interest would be. I will think more about this.
Thanks for making a wonderfully educational video. Solo gaming that involves combining bits of various systems is in fact game design. And I appreciate that there can be an academic side to it. Understanding that there reasons why certain game mechanics are present in games that function well is enlightening.
Thank you for helping us conceptualize what we need in order to solo play. There is a lot to learn here. I used to do a lot of legal writing and there was a pattern I always followed. Here I see you providing a similar pattern of thought. Thinking about it as a series of steps that bring about a logical result. Thank you for exploring your process.
I had one friend years ago in grad school with whom I was able to have conversations like this. We played 3.5 D&D and WoW. And everything from narrative to spontaneous gift economies would arise. I'm always fascinated by what drives designers to make certain decisions and choices. The MIT book looked interesting, I'll have to put that on my wishlist. Again, thanks for the interesting vid.
Thanks, I only have The Art of Game Design and the Star Finder books, the others are interesting as I do some boardgame wargaming at the club. Game Design Theory and Practice is sadly not on Kindle and out of print.
I own Zones of Control and Philip Sabin's Simulating War and have read The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming. All excellent reads! Zones of Control is an excellent resource on the history, research, background, and design on the art of wargaming. Sabin's book is excellent in his analysis and comprehensive breakdown of the internal workings of wargames and includes samples of a couple that he has designed and used during his teachings. Great reads if you are interested in the subject. I recommend them!
Great video again. I own the Sabin book myself. It is ok. I think it is not written especially good though, it is a hard read because of that. The concepts you are describing here is interresting though, have not given this much thought before, i just play sessions, often picking up where i ended the session before. Maby these concepts could help in understanding what areas that needs to be filled before starting the session. The what/where/when , the whom (s) The foes, the friendlies. etc , you have all that layed out, before playing. These concepts might help getting all this balanced. Thanks again for getting my mind to spin in a different direction.
Kent H Thanks, Kent, for your thoughts and comment. Yes I think that thinking of these things can help the sessions move along and give some natural direction to the material. I find the more I have the less I got to a yes/no die roll
Time and space in an rpg changes depending on the scene you're setting. Movement in overland travel is done with a wider map and over hour or even days whereas combat is done on a more narrow map and time is in seconds. Moving back and forth between those "modes?" Is how you keep a story moving. Pathfinder also has a third mode which represents great movements of time. I know that you don't have an unlimited budget for your hobby but I'd appreciate your perspective on the 2e game mastery guide. Specifically chapters 2 and 3 that deals with creating encounters and mini games like chases, infiltration and influence. Watch a video and see if it's something you would like. I really appreciate your ability to make a dice roll relevant with story.
Rob Harris Thanks for your thoughts on these issues and the great suggestion about the Pathfinder book. It would be a good fit for discussion on the channel, I agree. Can’t promise but it’s now on my list.
coverchrg Yes that is a fabulous book! I considered giving a shout out to it in this vid but it’s really not a game design book (and also I forgot by the time I was wrapping up). Thanks for mentioning it here. It’s essential for anyone wanting to understand the history of RPGs
@@GeekGamers01 but I don't really like the style of play but like with the videos I was watching that you were putting up I was like oh well dang you know all the stuff that I got with it I could possibly use for something else you have some pretty good ideas
I hate to be brutal here, but that first book looks like shit, with chapter 30 specifically. This is what happens when academics write books about warfare. To be fair though, at least it looks like Tetsuya might've pointed some of this out in chapter 3. That said, I'd devote more than a mere 6 pages to such a topic. Don't know if Tetsuya did this and the editor had it reduced to this amount or what, but it's worth pointing out. I'm amazed at how few games incorporate some small chance that any given unit might deviate from or outright ignore direct orders with anything other than a basic morale mechanic. It's not likely to happen often, but at crucial points in a campaign, it can completely shift the tide of war. It's like wargame designers think that the only time a soldier would ignore a superior officer is when they're scared, not because the superior officer is either A)a grossly incompetent entitled little shit who has never seen a hard days work or B)the soldiers are a bunch of undisciplined ingrates who come from a society where such blatant disregard for the chain of command is normalized due to . I wish they'd reprint some stuff by Charles Stewart Grant and Donald Featherstone. Some of the chapters in their books (like playing by mail) may be a bit dated, but they were solid in their approach to the hobby.
I have reprints of Featherstone's books from the Wargaming History project but I'm not sure those are still in print. I toyed with mentioning them here but they are really so dated and not as relevant to what I think about now so I left them out.
Another gaming Ted Talk! Thank you.
17:20 if possible i'd like to hear more about other standout titles from your library
ekurisona Thanks. I have often thought of doing more about books but with thousands of them it’s hard to know how to focus or what the interest would be. I will think more about this.
Thanks for making a wonderfully educational video. Solo gaming that involves combining bits of various systems is in fact game design. And I appreciate that there can be an academic side to it. Understanding that there reasons why certain game mechanics are present in games that function well is enlightening.
Paul Stanley You’re welcome. I’m glad you enjoyed the video and got that takeaway from it.
Thank you for helping us conceptualize what we need in order to solo play. There is a lot to learn here. I used to do a lot of legal writing and there was a pattern I always followed. Here I see you providing a similar pattern of thought. Thinking about it as a series of steps that bring about a logical result. Thank you for exploring your process.
14:33 would you be able to go into the literary side in another video? i'd very much like to hear more about that.
I had one friend years ago in grad school with whom I was able to have conversations like this. We played 3.5 D&D and WoW. And everything from narrative to spontaneous gift economies would arise.
I'm always fascinated by what drives designers to make certain decisions and choices.
The MIT book looked interesting, I'll have to put that on my wishlist.
Again, thanks for the interesting vid.
aspektx Glad you enjoyed and the MIT book is surely to be of interest to anyone who had conversations as you did in grad school.
19:52 i wouldn't mind more in-depth videos if you were interested in sharing
Thanks, I only have The Art of Game Design and the Star Finder books, the others are interesting as I do some boardgame wargaming at the club. Game Design Theory and Practice is sadly not on Kindle and out of print.
Glad that I already have a few of theses, but I have not made time to read them. I will now. :)
I own Zones of Control and Philip Sabin's Simulating War and have read The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming. All excellent reads! Zones of Control is an excellent resource on the history, research, background, and design on the art of wargaming. Sabin's book is excellent in his analysis and comprehensive breakdown of the internal workings of wargames and includes samples of a couple that he has designed and used during his teachings. Great reads if you are interested in the subject. I recommend them!
the first page you opened in that game design book was starcraft
Great video again. I own the Sabin book myself. It is ok. I think it is not written especially good though, it is a hard read because of that. The concepts you are describing here is interresting though, have not given this much thought before, i just play sessions, often picking up where i ended the session before. Maby these concepts could help in understanding what areas that needs to be filled before starting the session. The what/where/when , the whom (s) The foes, the friendlies. etc , you have all that layed out, before playing. These concepts might help getting all this balanced. Thanks again for getting my mind to spin in a different direction.
Kent H Thanks, Kent, for your thoughts and comment. Yes I think that thinking of these things can help the sessions move along and give some natural direction to the material. I find the more I have the less I got to a yes/no die roll
Just found your channel! subscribed!
Javier Sánchez Welcome!! I hope you enjoy the content.
Time and space in an rpg changes depending on the scene you're setting. Movement in overland travel is done with a wider map and over hour or even days whereas combat is done on a more narrow map and time is in seconds. Moving back and forth between those "modes?" Is how you keep a story moving. Pathfinder also has a third mode which represents great movements of time.
I know that you don't have an unlimited budget for your hobby but I'd appreciate your perspective on the 2e game mastery guide. Specifically chapters 2 and 3 that deals with creating encounters and mini games like chases, infiltration and influence. Watch a video and see if it's something you would like. I really appreciate your ability to make a dice roll relevant with story.
Rob Harris Thanks for your thoughts on these issues and the great suggestion about the Pathfinder book. It would be a good fit for discussion on the channel, I agree. Can’t promise but it’s now on my list.
Have you read "Playing at the World" by Jon Peterson? That's been on my list to read for a while now.
coverchrg Yes that is a fabulous book! I considered giving a shout out to it in this vid but it’s really not a game design book (and also I forgot by the time I was wrapping up). Thanks for mentioning it here. It’s essential for anyone wanting to understand the history of RPGs
Thanks for sharing " NEPAL"
Have you ever played gloomhaven
I haven't. The style of play doesn't interest me.
@@GeekGamers01 i know. I bought it and i dont like the style of play. I was just curious of your thoughts on it.
@@GeekGamers01 but I don't really like the style of play but like with the videos I was watching that you were putting up I was like oh well dang you know all the stuff that I got with it I could possibly use for something else you have some pretty good ideas
I hate to be brutal here, but that first book looks like shit, with chapter 30 specifically. This is what happens when academics write books about warfare. To be fair though, at least it looks like Tetsuya might've pointed some of this out in chapter 3. That said, I'd devote more than a mere 6 pages to such a topic. Don't know if Tetsuya did this and the editor had it reduced to this amount or what, but it's worth pointing out. I'm amazed at how few games incorporate some small chance that any given unit might deviate from or outright ignore direct orders with anything other than a basic morale mechanic. It's not likely to happen often, but at crucial points in a campaign, it can completely shift the tide of war. It's like wargame designers think that the only time a soldier would ignore a superior officer is when they're scared, not because the superior officer is either A)a grossly incompetent entitled little shit who has never seen a hard days work or B)the soldiers are a bunch of undisciplined ingrates who come from a society where such blatant disregard for the chain of command is normalized due to .
I wish they'd reprint some stuff by Charles Stewart Grant and Donald Featherstone. Some of the chapters in their books (like playing by mail) may be a bit dated, but they were solid in their approach to the hobby.
I have reprints of Featherstone's books from the Wargaming History project but I'm not sure those are still in print. I toyed with mentioning them here but they are really so dated and not as relevant to what I think about now so I left them out.