As we wade deeper into the mystical pool of roleplaying game design, we must meditate on who we are and what we seek to accomplish. Last week, we discussed the most fundamental aspects of these games, but now we cast our eyes to the horizon and seek to define the very bounds of our desires.
A Theory of Fantasy
We have defined a roleplaying game and the medium through which they are played, so let’s also examine our chosen genre: fantasy. We limited our field to fantasy for a few reasons: primarily, the open expanse of RPGs is so broad as to be all-encompassing. This makes talking about specific design solutions difficult. Furthermore, the grandfather RPG was an exploration of the fantasy genre and fantasy RPGs have remained far more popular than any other genre and we have experience designing a lot of fantasy RPGs. Finally, to be able to effectively guide you, we need to draw a box and limit our subject matter, so we chose to draw that around dragons, wizards and the like.
However, defining a genre is always a dangerous undertaking. So perilous, in fact, that we hesitate to do it alone. Therefore, we shall summon the spirit of the great-grandmother of fantasy literature, Ursula K Le Guin. She has considered the task and has the following to say about fantasy literature:
[It]…questions what heroism is, examines the roots of power, and offers moral alternatives.
and
Fantasy requires people making mistakes and people — other people or the same people — trying to prevent or correct those mistakes, while inevitably making more mistakes.
and
Fantasy is a literature particularly useful for embodying and examining the real difference between good and evil.
Synthesizing what Le Guin proposes, we offer this definition: Fantasy roleplaying games provide context for their players to question what heroism is, examine the roots of power and offer moral alternatives to the dominant narratives of heroism and power. And the characters who question and examine these problems often make mistakes. This conceit makes excellent fodder for game design because the action of the game can be generated by characters making and preventing mistakes. In this dynamic, people do the wrong thing for the right reasons and the right thing for the wrong reasons. Through this ecosystem of moral action, the game provides insight into the nature of good and evil.
For example, in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series, to use the power of the One Ring to do good is to invite evil, no matter how well intentioned the action.
This core tension lies at the root of the genre of fantasy literature and so too does it reside at the root of our fantasy roleplaying games.
Theory of Design
In order to develop our method of thinking on the subject, we have analyzed many roleplaying games. Most analysis of roleplaying games focuses on how players approach them: For example, Robin’s Laws which include the ideas of player archetypes like the “power gamer” and the “storyteller” or Ron Edwards’ G-N-S theory which supposes three playstyles or priorities—gamist, simulationist and narrativist—and aligns players according to their preferences on those axes.1 We agree that players are a key factor. Once the design leaves your hands, the player becomes the interpreter and operator of the details. However, our interest lies in the designed object that the players receive, so we adopt a different stance.
Believing that design requires intention, we seek to identify tools that can be used to create games with intention. Rather than looking at how these games are played, we examine common elements in their designs. And, like good alchemists, we have created a taxonomy—a system of classification—for these design elements. Our hope is that if we bestow upon you these alchemical recipes and reagents, you will mix them to your taste and experiment with their outputs.
We propose that the intent of a game is contained in the details designed for it. To understand the details, we built a taxonomy to experiment with. In our investigation, we attempt to uncover what each detail can say and how it shapes the overall design. Learning to deploy these details with intent is instrumental to good design. We again turn to the wisdom of our forebears, keeping in mind the words of the great designer Charles Eames:
“The details are not the details. They make the design.”
Therefore, we separated the details of roleplaying game design into elements and forces. An element is like a pillar, lever or even a collection of gears. A force is an influence or energy external to the elements that sets them in motion. Elements and forces interact to create designs, designs create games. We break down roleplaying games into five elements and three forces with the hope that these pieces may be used by you, dear reader, to inform your own experiments.2
Next week, we discuss three forces at play in the hearts of all roleplaying game designers.
If you enjoyed this essay, you can listen to more of us rambling on far too long about game design on our podcast, The Hypothesis.
What we are not saying: As we propose our theory of design, we attempt to be as precise in our language and choices as possible. We, your toiling ludic alchemists, need a simple shared vocabulary so that we can impart complex concepts to you, dear reader. So, when we offer our words of wisdom, take them for what they are—no more, no less. Or, to say it another way, we cannot speak for all games, all roleplaying games or even all fantasy roleplaying games. We propose a framework to think about roleplaying games that we find useful. We are not saying all games should be like the ones we propose here, and we are not saying all roleplaying games should exist in the fantasy genre.
A Ward Against Primacy and Ideology: Having expressed to you our theories of roleplaying game design and the fantasy genre, before we can safely proceed, we must now encircle our work in a protective ward. It is a simple but powerful formula that we must express at this juncture: The processes and ideas described herein are one singular philosophy of design; they are not the only philosophy of design. There are many ways to examine roleplaying games and even more ways to design them. We present to you one possible method—not an ideology that must be adhered to. We believe our theories bear fruit, but we also acknowledge that the mysteries we reveal to you shall inspire you to experiment and create your own theories and methods. A result which we welcome!