Adept Play
This topic is vague and unbounded, loosely referring to the presence of technology, scientific concepts, or certain spheres of speculation in the fiction, for which this presence carries a distinct meaning, relevance, or implications for the pepole playing.
Background A few weeks ago, Ron and I met online to record a discussion about the word ‘story’ but unfortunately technology let us down. One thing that grew out of having that conversation, however, was the notion that we really should try to carve out a time and choose a game to play together. That…
I have long been a fan of the aesthetic and idioms associated with the cyberpunk “genre”. Even though I am more Adam Smith than Karl Marx, I find the commentary on extreme corporate ascendency and the radical notions of bringing it down fit my tastes. I enjoy the social compression, where different kinds of people…
I have been communicating with Sean_RDP / Logan40k about Star Trek Adventures and our experiences with it. Part of that conversation was to agree to post some thoughts about our respective campaigns in a digestible format, so as a starter we have this brief Q&A to broach the topic. What did you do with the…
Although for the first time in a long while I have a stack of games that I want to get to the table, circumstances have aligned to allow for and encourage a return to Star Trek Adventures as an online game. I ran the game for local friends around a real table in a real…
Here’s our first gathering to prepare for Primetime Adventures, a game whose title will invoke more blithering, partisanship, and sprayed terminology than any other I can think of. Which is too bad because the actual game is quite wonderful. I ask pretty seriously that you examine the short presentation in Discuss: Primetime chat, and if…
So I read Ron’s work talking about and analyzing the Pool, and the game itself seemed to me to be elegantly and brilliantly designed, with a kind of simplicity I find really appealing. But I never had a chance to try it, so I was thrilled when some kind people were willing to play online.…
I recently had the opportunity to participate in a playtest of Paul Czege’s “Traverser.” In the game you are science fiction women soldiers, after the war, trying to integrate back into a new, post-capitalist society. You have quantum (time travel) powers, but using them erases or messes up important parts of your past. I just played…
… then maybe the corruption isn’t so bad! Because there’s no other way to fight; in this game, Aslan isn’t coming, there’s no cool tattooed bunch of rebels to locate, there’s no haven to escape to. You have to join the evil. Rise in it. Grow powerful. And not give in. It’s those Hijos del…
The conclusion to our 39 Dark game, in two videos: Lane Novack, good guy or bad guy? I’m interested in your opinion. Some things to talk about include: What’s going on when players bypass the imagined situation, announcing actions or making statements without any reference to location, characters’ presence, movements, or anything similar. Whether 39…