In the next two centuries, roleplaying ideas will transform society. Game designers can help. Allen Varney predicts the day when imminent ubiquitous net allows reputation to abstract relationships in the same way money abstracts labor.Allen Varney
Issue 21 - Game Design in the Transfigured World
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Original Comment by: jlaakso
Interesting article, but the real meat for me was The Mountain Witch. I haven't got the time to put into investigating new roleplaying games anymore, so it's important that people who've come across something new and cool would spread the word. Of course this relates to most facets of life in this over-informed age, but different takes on pen and paper roleplaying games are of immense interest to me.
Maybe I'm just jaded, but it feels like there's nothing interesting happening in the rpg scene. Maybe it's because there are no more rpg magazines widely available. Maybe people really just want the dungeons and dragons and (horribly) retouched versions of a world of darkness.
Interesting article, but the real meat for me was The Mountain Witch. I haven't got the time to put into investigating new roleplaying games anymore, so it's important that people who've come across something new and cool would spread the word. Of course this relates to most facets of life in this over-informed age, but different takes on pen and paper roleplaying games are of immense interest to me.
Maybe I'm just jaded, but it feels like there's nothing interesting happening in the rpg scene. Maybe it's because there are no more rpg magazines widely available. Maybe people really just want the dungeons and dragons and (horribly) retouched versions of a world of darkness.
Original Comment by: Allen Varney
http://www.allenvarney.com
"Nothing happening in the RPG scene"? Gad, jlaakso, you must instantly hie yourself to 1000 Monkeys (http://www.1km1kt.net/), where the first hit is free -- and then to Indie Press Revolution (http://indiepressrevolution.com/), where you will max out your credit card on a hundred amazing new RPGs -- and from there to The Forge (http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/), to drink deep of GNS Theory and The Big Model. Then you can quickly discover amazing indie publishers like Paul Czege's Half Meme Press (http://www.halfmeme.com/) and John Wick and Jared Sorensen's Wicked Dead Brewing Company (http://www.wicked-dead.com/), among about six dozen others.
As the paper game industry's atherosclerotic distribution m0del declines and d20 eats its brain, a great Golden Age of independent roleplaying design is now in full swing. It's a shame so many tabletop roleplayers aren't even aware of these tremendous, breakthrough games.
http://www.allenvarney.com
"Nothing happening in the RPG scene"? Gad, jlaakso, you must instantly hie yourself to 1000 Monkeys (http://www.1km1kt.net/), where the first hit is free -- and then to Indie Press Revolution (http://indiepressrevolution.com/), where you will max out your credit card on a hundred amazing new RPGs -- and from there to The Forge (http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/), to drink deep of GNS Theory and The Big Model. Then you can quickly discover amazing indie publishers like Paul Czege's Half Meme Press (http://www.halfmeme.com/) and John Wick and Jared Sorensen's Wicked Dead Brewing Company (http://www.wicked-dead.com/), among about six dozen others.
As the paper game industry's atherosclerotic distribution m0del declines and d20 eats its brain, a great Golden Age of independent roleplaying design is now in full swing. It's a shame so many tabletop roleplayers aren't even aware of these tremendous, breakthrough games.
Original Comment by: jlaakso
"It's a shame so many tabletop roleplayers aren't even aware of these tremendous, breakthrough games."
My point exactly. I am vaguely aware of much "underground" coolness going on, certainly moreso now that I spent the last whole day reading up on the discussions relating to the Mountain Witch, but also very aware that the local p'n'p game store is a very uninteresting place these days. Unfortunately.
But hey, thanks a bunch for the links! Consider my interest in indie p'n'p rpgs revitalized.
"It's a shame so many tabletop roleplayers aren't even aware of these tremendous, breakthrough games."
My point exactly. I am vaguely aware of much "underground" coolness going on, certainly moreso now that I spent the last whole day reading up on the discussions relating to the Mountain Witch, but also very aware that the local p'n'p game store is a very uninteresting place these days. Unfortunately.
But hey, thanks a bunch for the links! Consider my interest in indie p'n'p rpgs revitalized.
Original Comment by: jlaakso
And I just realized that I haven't bought a new p'np rpg in about five years. Whoah. I've got around two dozen commercial games on the old bookshelf, but none of them are post-2000.
And I just realized that I haven't bought a new p'np rpg in about five years. Whoah. I've got around two dozen commercial games on the old bookshelf, but none of them are post-2000.