Ronnies participants, I'm curious
Elizabeth:
I learned an unspeakably large amount about how to look at a game and see the holes, without going through playtests that might not address where things fail in the text. I learned how important clarity is when it comes to instructions. And that it's even possible for me to write a first game draft in 24 hours.
Really, looking at the way Ron breaks down games for analysis and critique was the biggest takeaway. I've read every one of the critique threads in the hopes of really internalizing that critical eye; I think my games will be demonstrably better for it in the future.
Devon Oratz:
So far, I learned that I'm even CAPABLE of putting together any RPG, at all, in 24 hours. Let alone one that wins an award! I also learned that apparently many other people are capable of this too. At first, it seemed impossible but then again I come from a very traditional RPG paradigm where "an RPG" is typically a book 100-300 pages long, not as few as six (or less!) pages.
I'm still waiting on any deeper lessons to unfold.
jburneko:
Paul,
For me, this is one of the first games I've written purely from the perspective of assuming that those who play it will (a) understand what it's about and (b) want to do that thing and (c) only require the tools necessary to do it. This is as opposed to some of my other designs which have a very strong "teaching" component to them. That is, those games, are actively trying to teach the players how too appreciate and utilize it. It stars with, "You won't get this. You won't know how to play it. Here let me show you."
In many ways this was helped in that I wrote the game "for" Ron. Not in the sense that I catered to his preferences and tastes in favor of my own but rather I picked textural word choices and ideas I knew I didn't have to explain to Ron or more generally, to someone LIKE Ron.
The most direct example of that would be my decision to use the word, "crisis" to describe the murderer's opening situation. I knew that Ron would know exactly what was meant by that and I wouldn't have to illustrate it or draw out any deeper setup mechanics to train a player on what constitutes a "crisis."
Now, if I developed the text for wider consumption I'll probably add more instructional text and examples. But that's not the same thing as encoding instructional procedures like: Pick thing A and thing B. Now relate thing A to thing B in along one of the following lines. Okay, now add N. When you're done you'll have a crisis worthy of play.... etc.
Jesse
Vulpinoid:
I just love to challenge myself.
An old lecturer once told me that "Pressure makes diamonds"...
...of course, pressure also turns a beautiful car into scrap metal.
You never know which way things will go unless you try.
I've done the Game Chef thing a few times, and I've done the 24-hour thing a few times. Both of these to varied success levels, the Ronnies seemed ike a great way to push the envelope and tighten the restrictions further.
I've got heaps of ideas still churning away in my head and scattered through dozens of notebooks, so I'll be entering more rounds of the Ronnies later in the year. Hopefully I'll be able to combine one or more of these ideas with a few ingredients to make something that I can really be proud of.
I'm still striving for my diamond.
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