AW Design Impetus

Vincent,
What was the impetus to create AW? What were you trying to accomplish when you first set out? And how has that mission drifted (if at all) throughout development?

Oh, that's easy. I set out to make a game about loyalty that isn't about betrayal, that Meg would enjoy playing.

I knew that if I did it, it'd be cool beyond just "yay! A game to play with Meg." But that extra coolness is gravy. The mission has always been pretty much personal.

-Vincent

I like the fact that it started as a game to play with Meg. Very cool.

From the very distant outside, the game seems to revolve around fronts and moves, and seems like a game intended to teach a particular structure of how to GM, and how to play. Did that become part of the "mission" of the game, or did it just seem like the right thing to do? Or am I misreading entirely?

It's a total win! I would be happy playing this game, in variations, for years. Vincent's right; I get really annoyed with games that pretend to be about a thing, but are really about seeing how back-stabby you can be to your fellow players. AW has plenty of intensity and stabby-ness, but it's not all about pitting players against each other. Thanks love :)

Marknau: I do love to tell people how to play, it's true.

The deal with that, though, is that I saw early in the design how you'd have to GM it, and I knew that I'd have to teach people how to do it. It happens to be a cool, fun, rewarding way to GM, and very adaptable to lots of existing rpgs, so yeah, that's a good benefit. I'm excited about that.  But I didn't design the game to teach people a new* way to GM. In fact the opposite! At base, I'm teaching the new way to GM so that people can play this game.

-Vincent

*New to some, that is.

Hey Vincent, this feels related, so I'll put it here rather than in a new thread.

So the game teaches you one particular way to GM, and then goes on to call the GM the "Master of Ceremonies". What's the impetus behind the title, and does it in any way inform the way the game is supposed to be GMed?

I'm not probing for hidden GM advice, here--the book gives me that well enough on its own--I just want to know about the intersection between the GM role in the game and the GM title in the game, if any.