I need to take a brief break from talking about political and theoretical topics, because I’m building my classes for the fall, working a lot at my summer job, and it’s hot as hell in the apartment – so I’m going to do my normal thing when I need to do that and discuss tabletop role-playing games.
Read MoreI don’t intend this piece to be a pure review of what other people have said; I have written a number of things on a variety of subjects, and there are a few ideas I wish to bring in. Chief among them are the concepts of the “Paradigm-Syntax” dyad (which can be connected to the GNS or the MDA sections) and that of “Complex Pleasures” (which connects to the Eight Kinds of Fun.) I also have the compulsory commentary on Nostalgia and Genre that readers of this blog will know is coming.
Read MoreI have been gaming forever, or near enough as makes no difference. My brothers and I dug up an AD&D core set back at the edge of my memory, 2000 or 2001, and knew we’d struck mithril. It was my father’s and it took us all of a heartbeat to drag him away from whatever project he was working on and get him to tell us all about it. It took us a week to get him to agree to build a campaign and another month or so to get everything ready.
Read More
