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Post by derv on Dec 30, 2017 19:48:05 GMT -6
Thought about posting this in the "What are you reading" thread, but thought it would be of more interest to those on this sub.
I was given a copy of Philip Sabin's Simulating War for Christmas this season. I'm about a third of the way through it. So far, great book. I appreciate his straight approach to communicating ideas. Very readable. Not technical. Though, he does seem to have an issue with Dunningan and his somewhat dated advice to game design.
Anyone else read this? What did you think? Did you design anything?
I'll try to return and post some more thoughts when I'm done.
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Post by Finarvyn on Dec 31, 2017 7:55:32 GMT -6
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Post by krusader74 on Dec 31, 2017 13:37:30 GMT -6
Philip Sabin's Simulating War ... he does seem to have an issue with Dunningan and his somewhat dated advice to game design. I just wanted to point out that Sabin is on the organising committee of Connections UK, a non-profit for professional wargamers. On their downloads page, there is plenty of interesting reading material about game design, including The Complete Wargames Handbook by James F Dunnigan, about which he says, |
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Post by derv on Jan 1, 2018 9:33:58 GMT -6
Dunnigan is probably the single most referenced person in the book. I don't think an author on the subject could realistically ignore him. Sabin's comments come across as slightly critical though. I only mention this because I picked up on it pretty quickly. In contrast, he has nothing but praise for Peter Perla's contributions, who I enjoyed reading as well.
About half way down the Connections UK download page, right under Dunnigan's Complete Wargames Handbook, is an article by Sabin on the merits of manual wargaminng. It's a pretty good synopsis of the first part of the book. There are three parts: Theory, Mechanics, and Examples.
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Post by foxroe on Jan 1, 2018 21:55:07 GMT -6
Having not read the Sabin book and being only passingly familiar with Dunnigan's handbook, what is it that Sabin finds so disagreeable with Dunnigan?
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Post by derv on Jan 3, 2018 11:16:03 GMT -6
I'm not sure. I'm only giving you my general impression when reading through the first part on Theory. Keep in mind the book is not about Dunnigan. Then again, maybe there's a familiarity between the two that does not translate well in a work slated for academia. For instance, Sabin characterizes Dunnigan's comments as "pithily" several times. After the third time, you start to get the impression of curtness.
A few more quotes of Dunnigan in the book:
Dunnigan claims, "The existing government suppliers of wargame technology did what they could to discourage the purchase of these 'toys' (commercial wargames), as the 'toys' were a lot cheaper and more competitive than the multimillion dollar military wargame projects that kept so many defense consultants (and many government employees) comfortably employed,"
"This suggests that Dunnigan is being a little pessimistic when he says that: 'Probably no more than a few percent of the population can grasp the internal concepts of wargames."
I don't want to give the impression that Sabin has an ax to grind. These examples are all given out of context here. Probably the most pointed critique is where Sabin mentions Dunnigan's precepts of wargame design- "Keep It Simple" and "Plagiarize". He then goes on to point to two of Dunnigan's games where these precepts failed to produce an accurate or playable game without revision.
I should also point out that Dunnigan is recognized in the opening Acknowledgements of the book.
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Post by foxroe on Jan 3, 2018 22:37:12 GMT -6
I find it amusing that the same saber-rattling crops up in anything game related (and other hobbies too, I suppose). "I acknowledge X helped create [insert hobby here] and/or is a widely respected individual, but X didn't/doesn't know what he/she is talking about." or "Rule Y is the product of the out-dated thinking of dinosaurs. I've invented <a needlessly complicated> rule Z to elevate this from Game to Virtual Reality!" Sorry. I'm in a cranky soap-box kind of mood. Feel free to ignore me  |
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Post by owlorbs on Jan 4, 2018 9:14:54 GMT -6
I love Dunnigan. From '67 to '80 he designed and published over 100 wargames, many of which are still frequently played and well regarded. Of course, he's guilty of rushing stuff out the door or not having it thoroughly play tested. SPI had deadlines and bills to pay. That being said, even games that are considered his 'turkeys' still have their fans. Also, very few published wargames ever provide something that is "accurate" and playable without "revision" - as these can be very subjective. Do I need to mention there is a 3 page errata and addendum document for Sabin's Lost Battles? :-)
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Post by derv on Jan 4, 2018 15:45:01 GMT -6
Do I need to mention there is a 3 page errata and addendum document for Sabin's Lost Battles? :-) Ha-ha!  I hope to post some actual content about the book soon. I'm getting over a nasty virus (flu?) at the moment. Probably shouldn't be trying to post at all. Hopefully I haven't turned you all off of Sabin's book with my first impressions. |
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