Now that we have a very basic history sketched up for our setting, lets add a few inhabitants that the players can learn about and interact with. As I've mentioned before - the strength of a setting's lore is in its interaction. NPCs are useful because they can both impart lore onto players passively (through … Continue reading RPG Design Journal #4: Heroes, Villains, and the Morally Ambiguous
Month: April 2016
Subtle Characterization in Games
I've been playing Red Hook Studios' Darkest Dungeon for a little over three months now, and while its far from a perfect game, I have come to love playing it. From its gothic visuals, to its growling narrator, to its brutal mechanics, the game masterfully weaves a tone of despair and darkness, while still giving … Continue reading Subtle Characterization in Games
A Look at a Book: The Golem Triptych
Earlier this year I read The Golem Triptych by Eric Basso. The book (or plays, rather, as it a dramatic trilogy) had intrigued me long before I read it; I myself was working on drafting a play about the Golem of Prague, and I was very surprised that someone had already written, not one, but … Continue reading A Look at a Book: The Golem Triptych
The Necessity of Failure
In my recent life I have experienced an increasing sense of dissatisfaction regarding irony. Irony as a worldview. Irony as an attitude. Irony as a shield. I have a great respect for the work of the absurdists, the postmodernists, and the deconstructionists. The destruction of meaning in the face of hypocrisy, in the face of … Continue reading The Necessity of Failure
Pen and Screen 