I just downloaded Dogs in the Vineyard a few days ago, and I’ve been reading through it since then. I must say, I’m intrigued. It’s got an interesting premise and some very cool, very simple mechanics for conflict resolution. One big thing that it’s done for me, though, is it’s got me thinking a lot about what I call “The Mechanics Continuum”.

Now, what the krunk do I mean by that? As I see it, the Continuum is a sort of catch-all concept for mechanics design philosophy, with two opposite poles. On one end, you’ve got the rules-heavy systems; these systems are designed by people who really dig game mechanics in general, and believe that a good game should be inherently balanced, and should have rules systems to handle just about every conceivable situation. On the other end, there are the rules-light systems; these systems are designed by people who feel that story is more important than rules, and believe that, while balance might be important, individual GMs and players are completely capable of dealing with game balance and handling situations that fall outside of the normal rules. These are the extremes; most games fall somewhere in the middle. By way of example, Dogs in the Vineyard falls more to the rules-light end of the continuum, while something like the d20 System or Rifts would probably lean more toward the rules-heavy end. For the record: I don’t think that either end is necessarily better than the other. I really like Dogs, and I’m also a big fan of the d20 System. I like the crunchy bits, but I also like the broad strokes of games that leave it up to the GM and the players.

I guess that means that I’m probably right in the middle of the continuum somewhere, and that’s the perspective I’m coming from when I write the rules for Gamecraft 2.0. It’s pretty rules-light in comparison to d20, but it’s a bit crunchier than Dogs. I use a lot of broad strokes and give the players and the GM a lot of freedom (as well as responsibility), but I do try to cover as many situations as I feasibly can within the core system.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 18th, 2006 at 10:31 am and is filed under Gamecraft 2.0, Gamecrafting, Links, Musings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.