Ronnies 2011, Round One results
Ron Edwards:
So, here are some trends and groupings that seemed to jump out this time.
Terms
sword & skull: Metallllll! The most extravagant, excessive, röck-dötted stuff you can imagine, although we only get a little taste of it. I almost wish I'd let the submission period run for a month just to see how far this one combination could go. I bet we'd have seen an entry in which everyone was required to make his or her own genuine full-head helmet with horns and rivets and rubies, to wear during play. Somewhat disappointingly, none of the games using this combination employed musical techniques.
old & soldier: This was clearly both the most provocative and most problematic. No one really made it work, speaking as the judge, but it's clear that there's a whole mine of deep, difficult material just waiting for a design community to delve in. Some of the entries were really good starts, but my current speculation is that 24 hours just isn't enough time to bring the conflicting, personal components together well enough for judgment purposes. Girlfriend + hatred was kind of similar in the first round of Ronnies, although with a bit more net success at the time.
soldier & skull: Sweet spot! I don't know why it rated above sword and soldier for this purpose, but somehow, here's where people really dug into the grim relationship between duty, forced obedience, atrocity, and identity. There's more Narrativism in these three entries than in any ten other games usually identified with that CA.
old & skull: This yielded the most diverse set of entries, meaning that it left room open for nearly any sort of personal association. Two "just a skull left" lich games were no surprise. I'm sort of bummed that no one wrote the first Australopithecus RPG for us, though.
old sword and soldier sword were a little under-utilized, perhaps on the basis of time. Maybe not having Jake Norwood around much - or hey, not having his game The Riddle of Steel around any more - is a significant variable. I bet if the TROS forum were still active here, these combinations would have seen a lot of play.
Techniques
On the whole, the games were at the "short" end of design, meaning lower numbers of players, shorter running time, and similar minimalist features. But within that zone (and not jammed at the far end of it either), they show a very broad range of procedures distributed pretty evenly across the terms combinations.
Regarding number of participants, there were two solitaire games and two Twosies. The others allowed for only a few more, with the most total participants maxing out at 5. There weren't any games that presumed "more the merrier" even at standard RPG levels (5-8), let alone anything like Troy's Hierarchy which require whole roomfuls of people. Just over half of them included a GM or something similar (within the numbers I listed), and a couple of those might not need one, actually.
Regarding play time, some of them are intended to run less than an hour, and quite a few are single-evening, once-only events. Even the ones with repeated sessions tend to have ending mechanics. Now, that said, one feature that struck me very positively how was re-playable many of them seem to be. The particular mixes of fixed vs. customizable content were generally quite good toward that end.
As far as rules and resolutions go, the range is just crazy. Dice, cards, organized narration, slips of paper, gettin' up and moving without being an actual LARP, music mixes, and two truly pervy fucking things that included chessboards and God knows what else, fishbowls and concertinas I shouldn't wonder. I suppose we should be grateful that Skull Full of Bong Hits does not require a prop for the title (or, wait a minute ... now I want one ...). One thing that has apparently fallen out of fashion is the single shared sheet that was so popular in the Ronnies five years ago, although the fetishizing of Dogs in the Vineyard style resolution is still with us.
Creative Agenda
This topic is pretty speculative at this point, but anyway, the entries seem to me to present a very satisfying range in terms of "playing with purpose." At least three outright joyous-Gamist, at least three with a solid claim toward Simulationist, and the rest leaning Narrativist. One of my topics for commentary will be trying to clean up Abashedness for many of them, and perhaps that issue can receive some discussion and clarification via those threads.
Best, Ron
Troy_Costisick:
Heya Ron,
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sword & skull: Metallllll! The most extravagant, excessive, röck-dötted stuff you can imagine, although we only get a little taste of it. I almost wish I'd let the submission period run for a month just to see how far this one combination could go. I bet we'd have seen an entry in which everyone was required to make his or her own genuine full-head helmet with horns and rivets and rubies, to wear during play. Somewhat disappointingly, none of the games using this combination employed musical techniques.
I feel honored that two of my most favorite designers were in this group with me. I've felt a kinship with Willow and Joe for a long time, though I don't think I've ever told them that.
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old sword and soldier sword were a little under-utilized, perhaps on the basis of time. Maybe not having Jake Norwood around much - or hey, not having his game The Riddle of Steel around any more - is a significant variable. I bet if the TROS forum were still active here, these combinations would have seen a lot of play.
I thought the exact same thing when I read these! I was like, "Man, I wonder if they've read/played TROS?" I'm beginning to fear that The Riddle of Steel is passing into folklore as far as indie game design goes. I would think it's a game David would quite enjoy if he hasn't picked it up already.
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although the fetishizing of Dogs in the Vineyard style resolution is still with us.
I don't know if that'll ever be gone. I know I'm guilty of it. It's just so easy, inspriational, and effective. But I'd also add the Chargen system of TSOY is pretty influential in some of these designs as well although in a more structured, pre-determined sort of way.
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One of my topics for commentary will be trying to clean up Abashedness for many of them
Wouldn't be surprised one bit if mine fell into that catagory. I kind of got that sense as I was writing it.
edited to fix quote format - RE
Peace,
-Troy
Troy_Costisick:
Bummer. Looks like my quote button failed on that first quote. Sorry for the confusion in that last post :(
David Berg:
I'm fuzzy on the baking/mixing distinction. I guess a well-baked, poorly-mixed game is one in which the resolution system sucks, but would work well with the reward cycle if it didn't suck? That sort of thing? It's funny, I actually would have used those two terms (baking/mixing) oppositely. But I ain't much of a cook. Anyway, looking forward to the particulars!
Quote from: Troy_Costisick on January 05, 2011, 03:57:32 PM
I was like, "Man, I wonder if they've read/played TROS?" I'm beginning to fear that The Riddle of Steel is passing into folklore as far as indie game design goes. I would think it's a game David would quite enjoy if he hasn't picked it up already.
Not sure if you're talking about me, but I have played it once. Interacting combat moves based on weapon types was brilliant! Not sure what to think of the game overall.
As for the game's lasting influence, I know one passionate local (New York) fan, and many folks who are vaguely familiar with tRoS (mostly due to that one guy). I've also recommended it to some pals who are more fans of crunchy combat sims than I am; unsurprisingly, they are not the folks I know from Story Games or the Forge.
Troy_Costisick:
Quote from: David Berg on January 05, 2011, 08:24:01 PM
Not sure if you're talking about me, but I have played it once. Interacting combat moves based on weapon types was brilliant! Not sure what to think of the game overall.
Nope, that was my fault. I was talking specifically about David Losito. Forgot there was more than one David in the contest ;)
Peace,
-Troy
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