Skip to content
Raph Koster

Raph Koster

Game designer, author, speaker

  • BlogExpand
    • Blog Home
    • Recommended posts 1998-2012
    • Recommended posts 2012-2017
    • Recommended posts, 2017-2025
  • Game DesignExpand
    • Game Design Home
    • A Theory of Fun site
    • Presentations
    • Essays
    • Interviews and panels
    • Snippets
    • Laws of Online World Design
    • The Online World Timeline
    • MMO History Links
  • BooksExpand
    • All the Books
    • Postmortems
    • Theory of Fun
    • Sunday Poems
    • Other writingExpand
      • Fiction
      • Poetry
      • Lit Crit
  • MusicExpand
    • My Music
    • After the FloodExpand
      • Amazon
      • iTunes
      • Spotify
    • Listen
    • Instruments and tunings
  • ArtExpand
    • Art Home
    • Pencils
    • Pen and Ink
    • Cartoons
    • Digital Art
    • Doodles
  • About RaphExpand
    • About Me
    • CV
    • Contact Raph
    • Press kit
    • HobbiesExpand
      • Emulation
      • Fish tanks
Raph Koster
Raph Koster
Game designer, author, speaker
  • Use-based systems

    Hours July 18, 2006June 15, 2015 Categories Game talk
    Comments 120 Comments

    Recently, there’s been some chatter on the [ultima] Yahoogroup about macroing. Lots of talk about how the fixes for detecting macroing software are coming years too late. But we waged a silent war against macroing from very early on — not because of the gold farmers, as that was much less of a concern back then, but because of the basic mechanics of a use-based system.

    Read More “Use-based systems”

    Read More Use-based systemsContinue

  • OK, so there IS a TV show

    Hours July 17, 2006 Categories Game talk
    Comments 3 Comments

    Sort of. Check out Reality: Creating Kaos Episode 1. Then join the discussion already ongoing here.

    Read More OK, so there IS a TV showContinue

  • New reality show

    Hours July 17, 2006 Categories Game talk, Watching
    Comments 52 Comments

    Given the new Sci-Fi Channel TV show Who Wants To Be A Superhero?, I think that some sort of bar has finally been crossed.

    I hereby propose the “who wants to be an MMO developer” reality TV show. Watch hilarious auditions as people try to code a base object class or get an angry customer to stop flaming on a message board! Observe the challenges as the contestants propose themes, build maps, and run holiday events in a special themed episode! Watch them struggle as they are forced to adapt unsuitable licenses! Vote for which worlds stay alive and which ones go away, as contestants get “written off.” All leading towards the big prize of a a viable commercially running world with the potential for cross-media exploitation!

    Oh wait, this is what we already have.

    Read More New reality showContinue

  • The Sunday Poem: Valley in Ancash

    Hours July 16, 2006July 16, 2006 Categories The Sunday Poem
    Comments 4 Comments

    I look forward to the interpretations of this one from some of the politically inclined among you. 🙂

    Read More “The Sunday Poem: Valley in Ancash”

    Read More The Sunday Poem: Valley in AncashContinue

  • PK’ing duck: more on the vague game idea

    Hours July 14, 2006July 14, 2006 Categories Gamemaking
    Comments 16 Comments

    So, last time, I had left off with the simple flapping prototype, with broken sideways movement. Where did I go from there?

    Well, mostly, I went into two modes at the same time: one, thinking about the play experience, and the other, focusing on fixing the feed back that the model was giving.

    Sorry, no fresh version today. 🙂 But read on for the thoughts I had:

    Read More “PK’ing duck: more on the vague game idea”

    Read More PK’ing duck: more on the vague game ideaContinue

Page navigation

Previous PagePrevious 1 … 403 404 405 406 407 … 516 Next PageNext

Current project


Books

(These are affiliate links) Postmortems cover Postmortems on Amazon


Sunday Poems cover Sunday Poems on Amazon


Theory of Fun cover A Theory of Fun on Amazon
A Theory of Fun's website

Categories

  • Art
  • Game talk
  • Gamemaking
  • Mailbag
  • Misc
  • Music
  • Open thread
  • Reading
  • The Sunday Poem
  • Watching
  • Writing

Archives

  • 2020s
    • 2025
      • November
      • October
      • June
      • March
      • February
    • 2024
      • December
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • March
    • 2023
      • September
    • 2022
      • September
      • August
      • June
    • 2021
      • October
      • September
      • April
      • March
  • 2010s
    • 2019
      • February
      • January
    • 2018
      • November
      • September
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2017
      • December
      • November
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
    • 2016
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • May
      • March
    • 2015
      • December
      • November
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2014
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2013
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2012
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2011
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2010
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
  • 2000s
    • 2009
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2008
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2007
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2006
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2005
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • August
      • July
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 2004
      • December
      • November
      • October
    • 2003
      • September
      • April
      • March
    • 2002
      • July
      • March
      • February
    • 2001
      • September
      • January
    • 2000
      • December
      • November
      • September
      • August
      • June
      • April
      • March
      • January
  • 1990s
    • 1999
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
    • 1998
      • December
      • October
      • September
      • August

3d web agdc art games china community management facebook flash game business game criticism game culture game design game grammar game history game industry game politics game studies gdc gdca gdco gdconline indie games metaplace metaverse metric verse muds Music playable worlds second life serious games sf social games social media speaking star wars galaxies swg theory of fun ultima online uo vw business vw design vw history vw law vw tech wordpress WoW

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Policies

Disclosure and Privacy Policy
Data Access Request
  • Blog
  • Game Design
  • Books
  • Music
  • Art
  • About Raph

Find Raph Online

Facebook X Quora Instagram Amazon Bluesky Github IMDB Mastodon Linkedin Reddit Spotify Tumblr YouTube

© 2026 Raph Koster - WordPress Theme by Kadence WP

Scroll to top
  • Blog
    • Blog Home
    • Recommended posts 1998-2012
    • Recommended posts 2012-2017
    • Recommended posts, 2017-2025
  • Game Design
    • Game Design Home
    • A Theory of Fun site
    • Presentations
    • Essays
    • Interviews and panels
    • Snippets
    • Laws of Online World Design
    • The Online World Timeline
    • MMO History Links
  • Books
    • All the Books
    • Postmortems
    • Theory of Fun
    • Sunday Poems
    • Other writing
      • Fiction
      • Poetry
      • Lit Crit
  • Music
    • My Music
    • After the Flood
      • Amazon
      • iTunes
      • Spotify
    • Listen
    • Instruments and tunings
  • Art
    • Art Home
    • Pencils
    • Pen and Ink
    • Cartoons
    • Digital Art
    • Doodles
  • About Raph
    • About Me
    • CV
    • Contact Raph
    • Press kit
    • Hobbies
      • Emulation
      • Fish tanks
Search