Making Waves
Some randomness this afternoon:
Chuck Wendig over at Terrible Minds has got my hamster running about game design and the difference in structure between pnp/tabletop games and video games. I can’t wait to see the day when video games can capture a bit of that tabletop feel and give the players more ownership of the story. Thanks, Chuck, for making me think about this. I definitely plan on writing more about this when my hamster is resting and I have more time.
I (re)joined the Twittering masses yesterday and opened a new Twitter account. I have no followers yet, but I’ve started tweeting away.
Geekcentricity has been alive for two weeks now and I have managed to somehow keep up my 200 hits a week pace. I’ve seen some (expected) drop off the last few days, but I expect things to pick back up. Also, Geekcentricity’s Facebook fan page has surpassed 25 fans. I know it’s a tiny number comparatively, but it is a small milestone. If you like what you see here so far (like I said, Geekcentricity is still an infant), please share it with friends.
Finally, as I Twittered this morning, it seems that I’ve thrown a pebble into the pond of cyberspace and am watching the ripples spread. The impetus for starting Geekcentricity (I had plenty of desire, but needed a push, or a kick in the pants) came indirectly from the folks at Role-Playing Public Radio, who do some role-playing podcasts that give you a feel for various systems. They generally do a good job and I definitely never meant to disparage what they do, but a few weeks ago they did an “actual play” podcast of a World of Darkness game that I panned in a Facebook comment. It was picked up by Jason over at De-Bugging Life and grew into a Facebook group called Tabletop Tirade. Well, as I learned today, apparently someone noticed and the whole thing got mentioned over on the RPPR Forums. It made me smile in an “I feel connected to the world” sort of way.
What it all ties into is that we all have different preferences when it comes to gaming. In video game terms, some people prefer Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 or Battlefield: Bad Company 2, while others would rather play a Madden or NBA Live. Some prefer Uncharted or Heavy Rain, while others have been faithful Halo or Gears of War junkies since day one. Personally, the games I like the best are the Silent Hill series and games like Condemned and Bioshock. Similarly, tabletop (pnp) gamers have a wide variety of preferred play styles. The “actual play” session I heard from RPPR wasn’t a game I would want to play in, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a good game for some of us. Some people prefer their games to be “roll” playing where the character is a collection of stats on paper and the session revolves around strategizing with miniatures or just making references to Cheetos, Mountain Dew and casting magic missiles into the darkness. Some of us prefer getting deeply into character and becoming method actors at the table. It is our personal preference. It just seems to work best if you find the style of game into which you fit the best. Don’t be the square peg jammed into the round hole that makes everyone else at the table want to pound you right through the hole and out the bottom.
And I guess, after all, it all ties into the discussion I mentioned first about structure and games. Is there a “best” or “most effective” structure, or is there a best fit for each gamer?
