A PbtA Thought Experiment

This article was made possible by the generous support of my patrons. Please consider joining them by supporting me on Patreon. Prelim 1. Otherkind Dice & Assigning “Say” You may recall that a dice system called Otherkind Dice was the mechanical precursor to Apocalypse World’s moves. I’ve written a whole piece about Otherkind Dice, laying them out in […]

Powered by the Apocalypse, part 10: 3 Underlying Models

Using Apocalypse World to Outline and Draft Your Own RPG Here in Part 10, I develop the idea of underlying models further, with 2 solid examples and 1 tentative one. This article was made possible by the generous support of my patrons. Please consider joining them by supporting me on Patreon. Model #1: Apocalypse World’s Conflict Model Apocalypse […]

Powered by the Apocalypse, Part 9: That’s What’s Happening

Using Apocalypse World to Outline and Draft Your Own RPG Here in Part 9, I lay some groundwork for the idea of underlying models by pointing out a crucial feature of Apocalypse World. This article was made possible by the generous support of my patrons. Please consider joining them by supporting me on Patreon. Normal RPGs A normal […]

Ritual In Game Design

This article was made possible by the generous support of our patrons. Please consider joining them by supporting us on Patreon. Background: I have been creating ritual spaces and experiences for groups from two to 20+ for about 35 years. I was for a dozen years a professional facilitator and ritual designer for a local non-profit specifically designed […]

A Theory Point: RPG Essentialism & RPG Exceptionalism

This article was made possible by the generous support of my patrons. Please consider joining them by supporting me on Patreon. There are, I think, two twin ideas that underpin a lot of rpg theory, to its detriment. Let’s call them rpg essentialism and rpg exceptionalism. RPG essentialism is the idea that deep down, all rpgs are the […]