That's not realistic!
Three knife ash, layers of theme, fun is not realism, MÖRKTOBER, and D.E.I.
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TL;DR Summary
🔪 Three Knife Ash
🎨 Layers of theme in tabletop games
🧑🔬 That’s not realistic!
🎃 MÖRKTOBER update
🎲 Recently played: D.E.I.: Divide et Impera
🔪 Three Knife Ash
The Pirate Borg Cabin Fever game jam has concluded, with over 125 submissions! That’s a fantastic participation rate, and some really amazing things were created!
The Exeunt Press contribution was Three Knife Ash, a collection of thematic dice games for use in Pirate Borg, MÖRK BORG, or really any TTRPG. The games are based on the Dice Week series at Skeleton Code Machine. I really enjoyed taking traditional dice games and turning them into games for a pirate’s tavern!
You should also check out Captain & Crew, a solo ruleset built for Pirate Borg by M. Allen Hall. It has a simple core game loop, fast combat, and some nice random tables.
My other favorite was Forlorn Encounters, a “short compendium of wretched personages” by Francisco Lemos. The art style is unique and striking.
Thank you to Limithron for hosting the jam!
PLAY: Three Knife Ash by Exeunt Press
🎨 Layers of theme in tabletop games
The recent Skeleton Code Machine post about Sarah Shipp’s Layers of Theme model has been extremely popular. I’ve been enjoying her new book, so I’m thrilled that others are enjoying the topics as well.
The general idea is that thematic elements of a game can be categorized into one of three layers:
Layer 1 - Core Gameplay: Core gameplay is a series of rules and mechanisms that produce an experience even when divorced from theme.
Layer 2 - Baked-in Thematic Elements: Baked-in thematic elements are those that cannot be avoided when playing a game.
Layer 3 - Opt-in Thematic Elements: Opt-in thematic elements are those that can be ignored during gameplay.
It’s an interesting model that can aid in game design, showing where your game might be over-developed or under-developed. Read the post for examples!
READ: Layers of theme in tabletop games at Skeleton Code Machine
Skeleton Code Machine is a weekly publication that explores tabletop game mechanisms in board games and roleplaying games. It’s been called a “Seemingly endless source of gaming ponderings” and a “Goldmine.” Check it out at www.skeletoncodemachine.com.
🧑🔬 That’s not realistic!
Came across a short but interesting interview clip with Gabe Newell where he mentions “realism” in games:
…where you'd be sitting in a design review and somebody says, “That's not realistic.” And you're like, “Okay, what does that have, like, explain to me why that's interesting… because in the real world I have to write up lists of stuff I have to go to the grocery store to buy. And I have never thought to myself that realism is fun. I go play games to have fun. And so we had to come up with some notion of what fun was…
He then goes on to explain how it is more important for the player to feel like they were making choices that matter than it was for the game to be realistic. If you shoot at a wall, it needs to leave a mark. If you kill a bunch of enemies, some of the others might start to run away.
I think it’s an interesting distinction. Certainly you could say that leaving bullet holes in a wall is adding “realism” to the game, and it does.
What Gabe seems to be getting at, however, is that the realism is a side effect of the real goal… to make the player feel like they are interacting with the world. As he puts it, “you have to have this sense of the game acknowledging and responding to the choices and actions and progressions that you’ve made, otherwise it loses any sort of impact.”
He’s talking about video games, specifically Half-Life, but I think this applies just as much to tabletop games.
Many players want “realistic” simulation games, particularly historical wargamers. What might matter more, perhaps, is that their actions influence the world of the game, which in-turn makes it feel more realistic.
WATCH: Gabe Newell: fun is NOT realism, but reinforcement at PlayerIGN
🎃 MÖRKTOBER update
I had a few people ask about the MÖRKTOBER 2024 prompts, so an update seems appropriate. This year’s prompts will be released on Sunday, September 1, 2024. That’s about 80-something days away, depending on when you are reading this.
What is MÖRKTOBER, you ask?
Each day in October, make something for MÖRK BORG inspired by the prompt list and share it. An item, scroll, weapon, class, or anything else. Tag it #MÖRKTOBER.
This year’s MÖRKTOBER might include something special… so subscribe and watch for future updates!
CREATE: MÖRKTOBER by Exeunt Press
MÖRKTOBER is an independent production by Exeunt Press and is not affiliated with Ockult Örtmästare Games or Stockholm Kartell. It is published under the MÖRK BORG Third Party License. MÖRK BORG is copyright Ockult Örtmästare Games and Stockholm Kartell.
🎲 Recently played: D.E.I.: Divide et Impera
My in-person tabletop gaming has been sorely lacking recently, but I’ve thankfully been able to do some gaming on BGA. While it can never replace gaming at an actual table, it’s a great way to try games I wouldn’t otherwise check out.
One of the recent ones was D.E.I.: Divide et Impera (Battista, 2022). After two plays, it continues to remind me of Scythe (Stegmaier, 2016). On the surface it looks like it might be an area control game with robots and combat, when in reality it’s a very tight action-efficiency euro-game.
While it’s no secret that I personally prefer area control games with conflict, I did enjoy the plays of D.E.I. Though I’d probably recommend three players vs four, due to potential game length.
PLAY: D.E.I.: Divide et Impera
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- E.P. 💀
Might have to gear up for Morktober this year...
First, thanks for the dice games. I'm going to offer them up at my upcoming a western themed saloon. Looking forward to it!
Second, thanks for giving words to what I've been trying to put my finger on with my D&D campaign. I've been pondering where the line sits between being silly and having free form fun and telling a compelling story that feels like it matters. I think 'The consequences are real, if not realistic' sums up that fine line really well. It feels like a new lens to look at structure for me.