 |
John Kirk’s Design Patterns of Successful Roleplaying GamesFebruary 26th, 2006 |
Just noting this to remind me to look at it at some point: John Kirk’s Design Patterns of Successful Roleplaying Games… it’s a free PDF download.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.
Trackbacks & Pingbacks
Reader Comments
Definitely looks like a good read. I’ll check it out too! 
Yay, more reading! Because my backlog is down to maybe ten books. Comments give an interesting overtone, but the idea kinda raises red flags. Since I’ve been reading Christopher Alexander, it only fits to read this, too!
A nice overview/analysis of various PnP systems, looks like… should be a fun read.
Nice download. I paged through it a bit and now just need to find time to read it, heh.
(btw does Raph have an email account he can be reached at? I searched the site a bit and could not find one. thanks ^_^)
Yes! Raph does have an e-mail account at which he can be contacted. I have an e-mail account too… If he doesn’t contact you, you might try searching the IGDA Member Directory. Of course, you may not have access to the Member Directory if you are, well, not a member…
Dont mind Morgan he is a… well lets just say he is like that. Koster’s email is
rkoster
at
soe.sony.com.
I’m editing the above because I won’t want automated spam slurpers finding it…
Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow.
Okay, part of this is my fault for coming in on an unintended perspective.
“Hey, I’m working on a way to codify RPG rules using XML! Maybe this’ll be a nice jumping-off point- OW MY HEAD WHO TAUGHT THIS GUY ABSTRACTION?”
It’s a nice attempt, but it doesn’t go far enough, and in several places it confuses structure for function.
–GF
thanks much!
It’s a nice attempt, but it doesn’t go far enough, and in several places it confuses structure for function.
Please keep in mind that it’s a rough draft. I’ve rethought some of the patterns since putting the book up on the website (most notably the Alignment pattern, which I’ve split into two separate patterns). I’m interested in your opinion about where you think I became confused about structure and function. (If you think this would take too much text for a blog comment, please feel free to contact me via e-mail through my website at legendaryquest.com.)
As far as it not going far enough, I agree. Check out the appendix for some more pattern ideas. I’ve come up with some more since making the current draft version available. A couple of them I consider quite significant, but that discussion would be best left to a more appropriate venue.
Art (11)
Game talk (1626)
Gamemaking (67)
Mailbag (14)
Misc (202)
Music (103)
Open thread (22)
Reading (108)
The Sunday Poem (128)
Watching (47)
Writing (111)
All contents of this site are ©Copyright 1998- 2010 by Raphael Koster. All rights reserved.
The views expressed here are my own, and not necessarily endorsed by any former or current employer.
A Theory of Fun
for Game Design
See popular posts »
About the blog »
Available on CD
$14.99
Gator and Penguin
Mousepad
$12.99
"The world the way they thought it was..."
[...] Comments [...]
[...] Have you seen John Kirk’s Design Patterns of successful RPGs? It’s a free 260-page book that analyses out a vocabulary of patterns for looking at RPG design. Might be some inspiration in designing a new game. [...]
[...] Raphkoster.com Raph’s Website » John Kirk’s Design Patterns of Successful … . 12 Responses to “John Kirk’s Design Patterns of Successful Roleplaying Games … David Jaffe; Greg Costikyan; Michael Fitch; Scott Miller; Lost Garden; Ron Gilbert; Robin Hunicke; IGDA … [...]