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#critique in #ttrpgs?
Here's a thing. It's not true of board games. And it's not true of video games. But it's true of ttrpgs. They are fragile social constructs. They're dependent on hitting a certain, difficult chord of combined creativity, and group inspiration, and...
Here's a thing. It's not true of board games. And it's not true of video games. But it's true of ttrpgs. They are fragile social constructs. They're dependent on hitting a certain, difficult chord of combined creativity, and group inspiration, and...
... mechanical engagement, and thematic engagement, so that the best of them are hardly different than the worst in failing to deliver on their envisioned play experience for group after group after group. And so critique after critique of game after...
... game across the hobby are the same - "We were pretty excited about this game; here's the ways it let us down" - and when that's how we outwardly represent what we do, without a widely expressed narrative about the nature and challenges of social architectures, it just...
... makes ttrpgs look to casual/potential players like a flailing and uninspiring endeavor.
And I don't really accept the argument that designers need this kind of critique to get better and make better games. Because even say it works, my next game is still...
And I don't really accept the argument that designers need this kind of critique to get better and make better games. Because even say it works, my next game is still...
... going to fail for group after group after group, because of the nature and challenges of social architectures, and will still warrant a "here's the ways it let us down" critique.
I think this aspect of ttrpgs is why they warrant...
I think this aspect of ttrpgs is why they warrant...
... their own, alternative tradition of critique, one that gives them the energy they deserve, rather than detailing them for their disappointments. An example of this I can think of is @tonydowler's document for how to play @TonyLowerBasch's game Misery Bubblegum. Basically,...
... it's "I like this game; here's how to understand its unclarities; and here's my advice on how to find and have its fun."
And there's no reason a designer won't learn and improve from reading a critique like that. And it doesn't look like we take ourselves any less seriously. The only difference is that it puts energy into ttrpgs, rather than dissipating it.
