Thursday, September 9, 2021

To write Game Material that makes it easier to have Fun

When I wrote my tools in conducting Narrative Combat, Adrian (My editor) taught me to put under Designers notes. One of the things I think about is that this writing has to give the reader Tools - tools they may or may not pick up, but Tools they can run something I'm confident in running. 

I really hate getting the rules wrong, I hate misunderstanding them or they're more work than necessary. As someone who has experience training and setting up controlled processes - I agree with the System Design Philosophy of managing the Knowledge of the System to be digestible and prioritized. 

my younger self would think I'm giving up, but I have to explain to him that "How do you hope to control the uncontrollable? Is that a practical use of your resources and attention?" The idea of what we can manage is different and more nuanced as we get older. As we get older we don't see what we do has a Direct Relationship to our output we appreciate all the factors that can get in the way of controlling the outcome. Accepting the limitations of what we can control, to free up that mental resources to be Flexible, Improvise, and Seize Opportunities and Manage Risks. 

A different Strategy, doing something entirely Different to Achieve the Same Goal looks like Giving up. 

The difference between Scope Creep and Scope Management is when we check our Initial Objectives and rationalize the new information in the context of our Initial Assumptions and ideas. 

I had some re-alignment as I realized that my problem with running in a more Controlled Processes (by controlled, there are Factors that are being monitored to ensure CONTEXT can show us how to achieve our goals). 

No comments: