Vincent,

So, when some of us e-mailed you for the password to the original playtest document, to download from the "secret wobsite", was that the playtest or the preview?

Because...

There were tons of changes to the basic moves between the playtest and the preview texts, entire moves cut and new moves added, plus changes to the wording of probably every move.

I'm looking right now at the printout of the Brainer playbook, which I printed from the original playtest document I downloaded from your site back then, and only one move is different from the final version--the seduce/manipulate move. "Go aggro" also has an additional option: "Force their hand or suck it up."

But otherwise things look identical.

So, does that mean my "old" copy was the preview version?

Not that it really matters, I just want to make sure I'm following along with your thought process here.

More importantly, I'm curious how much of the rewording and rewriting (e.g. "I revised every playbook...") was *cosmetic* versus *formal*?

How many of the changes were just questions of better wording (like adding "Force their hand or suck it up" to the going aggro move), and how many were actual, significant, changes in System?

How much playtesting did you do before you released the playtest document?

I guess I'm really curious how close you shot to the mark with the original rules, and how much of the shape of the game, as well as the format for the moves, was formed in your head, as the sculptor imagines the finished work inside the uncarved block of stone, as opposed to bits that you found you had to change in playtesting.

I suppose a better way to ask that question would be:

From start to finish, what parts of Apocalypse World surprised *you*? How much were you writing down the image of the game in your head, and how much were you reacting to unexpected emergent behaviours in the system?

Did you discover/learn anything really unexpected that has changed your view of play and/or game design through this process? What kinds of things?

As always, thank you for sharing! Your internet output is a fantastic resource and a community-builder for all of us.

Other readers: what significant changes did you notice from version to version? How did they affect gameplay for you?

This is a question for Vincent, as well as anyone who has been playing AW since Vincent released the playtest document.

The playtest document itself was a lengthy, very complete text and game.

What changes, what lessons were learned during this playtest phase? How did it affect the final form of the published game?

Were rules changed? Which ones, and why?

Were principles changed? Which ones, and why?

Was the format of the text itself changed, or just updated and clarified?

How did the (semi) open playtest phase change the final product, what lessons were learned?