Author: Jonathan Walton (---.oberlin.edu)
Date: 10-01-2002 08:55
As a recent discoveree of the Forge and the great stuff that gets churned out over there, I have mixed feelings about the structure of this column, especially if future articles are going to follow the same format.
I like the idea of focusing on independently-created games and the people behind them, but I agree with many who found the basic content lacking in many respects. Though I think it would be inappropriate to describe the entire system of every game in your articles, I think you should at least detail the more innovative and unique parts of the system, since that seems to be your message. "New and interesting things are being done by creator-owned games," rings a little hollow when you don't tell people what the neat stuff is.
Also, I would have tried to do some correspondence with the creators of each system and try to get their perspectives on the system and what induced them to invent such mechanics. It would also just be fun to learn more about the wide variety of people out there making creator-owned games.
Finally, and this point is less critical, I would have included links to all of the other systems that you mentioned (The Word, The Flesh, & the Devil; Universalis, etc.), allowing people a chance to see how the mechanics have influenced other games. Heck, if you want to really be sharp, you could even describe a few instances of the game's mechanics showing up in other places, just to give people a real idea of its influence.
On that note, the tone you started off with ("The Pool has been amazingly influencial") seems not to have carried all the way through your piece. The people you quote also makes it sound like what you really mean is ("The Pool has been very influencial among the people who're familiar with it; meaning, basically, the creators who hang out at the Forge"). I think this weakens the article as a whole. RPG fans are quick to pounce on claims of innovation or influence and tear them to shreds if they aren't completely true. Exaggeration, in this case, is not your friend.
Roleplayers, unlike the unwashed (or "washed" in this case) masses, don't like things because everyone else likes them. We're quick to admit, being a fringe group ourselves, that everyone else is usually pretty stupid. Claiming that something is the greatest thing since sliced bread is an easy way to attract ridicule. Instead, it's often better to take an honest, critical look at something, which everyone will respect.
Just my thoughts. Take them for what they're worth.
Later.
Jonathan
|
|
