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Post by kesher on Oct 18, 2010 8:17:34 GMT -6
I know this might give some here hives, but I was reading through some of my notebooks from my days of heavy involvement in the indie-game community, and then stumbled across this wiki: Story Games PrimerEspecially laid out like this, as a list of techniques and mindsets, with no connection to the rules in which they've manifested, there's a lot of thought-provoking ideas for running and ruling games, old school or not. And, of course, there are links to well over a hundred thought-provoking games, too...  |
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terje
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
Blasphemous accelerator
Posts: 204
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Post by terje on Oct 18, 2010 10:30:55 GMT -6
Yes thats a great resource.
Actually I think Old school gaming and Indie gaming has some things in common, especially when compared to modern mainstream gaming. When modern mainstream games go for complex plotlines, old school and indie games tend to favour open ended situations (like a sandbox). Many modern mainstream games have very complex and detailed rules, whereas old school and indie games often have lighter systems (but not always, Burning Wheel).
Granted, theres also a lot of differences between Old school and Indie games, especially when it comes to the whole "rulings, not rules" approach. But thats not really a problem, it simply means we have more different types of games to enjoy!
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18 Spears
BANNED
Yeah ... Spear This Ya' Freak!
Posts: 251 
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Post by 18 Spears on Oct 18, 2010 11:52:12 GMT -6
The games look interesting. HeroQuest in particular, or do you have a better suggestion?
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Post by kesher on Oct 18, 2010 12:21:05 GMT -6
Hoooo, suggestions, suggestions...
It kinda depends on the gaming experience you want. HeroQuest is a great place to start if you're already into Gloranthan stuff.
If you want to drift further out...
Two I helped playtest: Polaris and The Shab al-Hiri Roach
In a Wicked Age
Dogs in the Vinyard
The Shadow of Yesterday
My Life with Master
Seven Leagues
The Mountain Witch
For some reason, they don't have the Mouse Guard rpg in there, created by Luke Crane of Burning Wheel fame from the comic book series.
...and of course, the granddaddy of them all: Sorcerer, though in many ways I'd say the supplement written for it, Sorcerer & Sword is a better read, especially if you like the Swords & Sorcery genre.
This list is just off the top of my head, and consists of games I've either played or thoroughly read.
I'd be happy to expound on any in particular, either in this thread or PM.
And terje, I agree with you completely that, in many ways, the old school and the new or indie school have more in common than not. Witness the fact that folks like Vincent Baker, Jason Morningstar, Paul Czege, and Ron Edwards have ALL contributed articles (and some art!) to the pages of Fight On!
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Post by tavis on Oct 18, 2010 18:09:39 GMT -6
That is a cool wiki! It'd be awesome to make a similar resource for old-school play, although I agree that there would be substantial overlap. The nerdNYC community is a fertile ground for friendly & productive interchange between old-school and indie players, and that's become part of the genome of NY Red Box & Red Box Vancouver. I'm finding Baker's _Apocalypse World_ to be a really useful set of indie principles and tools that I can use to make my OD&D game more like I want it to be, as I've been posting over at the Apocalypse D&D subforum. The major differences between indie games in my experience and the way I play D&D are: - indie games tend to focus on scenes with a few PCs present, I prefer to have situations that all the PCs can participate in at once - indie games tend to use inter-PC conflict as a source of dramatic energy, I prefer to foster cooperation and discourage competition between players - indie games tend to create situations where as a player you play to earn a mechanical benefit for creating narratively interesting difficulties for your character based on their internal psychology, I prefer to focus only on situations where the players are focused on solving the problems arising from their characters' external actions - indie games tend to have rules or formal procedures to govern how players contribute to the narrative, as well as leaving things blank to be filled in by the character's actions and backgrounds; I prefer to use only the latter - indie games tend to have mechanics you can use as a player to influence the outcome of dice rolls after they happen; I prefer to play "no backsies" |
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