Inventing the situation is our job as writers the response to the player we have to leave up to the computer. A good game master is creative enough to invent a compelling situation, and flexible enough to adjudicate whatever response the players can come up with. The hard design problem is to put the computer in the role of the single, most important person at the gaming table - the "game master" or referee. This feeling of being there is essential to the role-playing game, and it's what Looking Glass' "immersive reality" philosophy is all about. You don't have to imagine the fantasy world you're supposed to be in because you can see it, hear it, and in some ways almost feel it. The social avenue of expression we have at a weekend party game might be lacking, but the power of the computer to free our imaginations is great. Role-playing is about imagining yourself in a situation, maybe a strange, wonderful situation, and expressing yourself in relation to that situation. Adapting a paper game genre to the computer requires the designers to change the way they think about the genre and discover the power of the computer as a medium.
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