I have a problem. I only want to play the ‘perfect’ game engine: one that has the perfect balance of crunchy details when I want it, and offer a totally streamlined experience the rest of the time. One that I can tell anything in. The perfectionist in me seeks a zen-like clarity of the perfect framework. However, there is no such thing as a one-system to rule them all...
I make the joke that the aging gamer in me is getting tired of learning new game engines, but that’s not really true. I LIKE reading up on new ideas, new frameworks. There are venerable games I feel beholden to because of the nostalgia I feel for them. But when I sit down with those old books I feel the age of the writing; The mechanics holding things back. I’m progressive at heart: keep what works, try what might be better, leave behind what doesn’t work any longer. I’d often try and update or adapt an old setting to a new framework. But that can be tricky… Games are written the way they are to achieve the intended atmosphere and effects. That’s something I have to accept, even embrace. Also: just because there’s a rule for it in a game engine, doesn’t mean I have to use it (as a GM. Players can’t go ignoring the rules the GM sets for them.) That said, there’s always room for improvement.
Within me there are two gamers: the Storyteller and the Simulationist. The Simulationist is the part of me that has been trying to make sense of the world and how it works for as long as I can remember; life makes more sense to me when I have systems that explain things. Models that I can use and apply and evolve with experience: I wanted to know how things were made: I got into Car Wars because you could design vehicles in that game. I loved science fiction, so I got into Traveler for its starships (I own all five official versions and a couple unofficial versions). I fell in love with big robots so I got into BattleTech, Mekton and Silhouette (Heavy Gear and Jovian Chronicles). Everyone played D&D, but I got into GURPS and the HERO games because they were all about character design. And that’s just the first two decades of my gaming experience.
I started gaming as a Simulationist, and it’s still in my bones. But I have grown more in the second two decades as a gamer, leaning far away from simulationism. Or more accurately: looking for systems who’s mechanics were less interested in simulation fidelity than in emphasizing and supporting good storytelling. Games like Burning Wheel, FATE, Cypher, 7thSea, White Wolf (now known better as Storyteller). Games that shifted the mechanical focus from beat-by-beat dice rolling to determine to-hit, damage, saving throws, etc. and more into narrative influence and more into meeting the intent of the character (and player). Twenty years of chasing simulationist games has taught me that while random dice and table rolls can inject drama and make interesting stories, most of the time dice just hate me. Most simulationist games aren’t focused on fun, but that’s another diatribe. I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t trust dice mechanics when it comes to making fun gaming experiences.
The Storyteller loves good exposition, strong characters, immersive settings, drama. The best games I remember actually playing sometimes never had dice thrown or character sheets or rules referenced. Shadowrun by candlelight when the power was out due to a major storm. Pure character interactions during back-at-camp scenes when not exploring dungeons in tactical mode. Meta gaming discussions outside game time with the GM and other players, expounding upon the world and setting up scenes to come. The Storyteller appreciates detailed mechanics when it suited the storytelling, but not when they get in the way. Mechanics inform the story, not drive it. Leave the detailed simulationist stuff to computer games these days; they’re far better at handling the minutiae.
Yet there are games that go just a bit too far away from my simulationist roots. Powered by the Apocalypse at its core is proving difficult for me to grok. “Wait, I only roll dice when i say the magic trigger words?” I love the dice concept of the Genesys engine and their absolute focus on degrees of success, failure and complication. But in both cases it’s just out of my comfort zone. I need to see them in action more.
I feel like my time and attention are a limited resource, especially when it comes to gaming. I don’t want to waste time of games that I don’t think will be fun. But this is also holding me back. While I can read how a game is supposed to be played over and over again, it takes actual play experience to see how they actually work.
I need to play more. Try new things. See what works and doesn’t.
SO. To appropriate, or rather, adapt a koan of wisdom for writers: As writers read more than they write, so game designers need to play more than they write game systems. I think I need to start hosting a regular game test day; pick something I haven’t tried at all or very much and see how it works in actual play.
Who’s in for trying new things?
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