Only Mechanics that Matter

[DevP]

Dan Bayn was working on Karmic Cycle, and mentioned the following:

I've noticed that my last two game ideas basically take an add-on mechanic found in other games and removing everything else This is "Drama Points" as a core mechanic, just like Wushu is "stunt dice" as a core mechanic.

Similarly, if you've talked to Jared S., you may have heard something similar, in his suggestions for the World of Darkness: throw out those mechnical elements those things that were in common between the games, and keep just those mechanics (Paradox, Humanity, etc.) that actually *don't* overlap.

Does anyone else have interesting suggestions in this vein?[/quote]

[Ron Edwards]

Hello,

In my GNS and other matters of role-playing theory essay, I discuss how rules-features which were originally instituted as "metagame mechanics" became central mechanics, most especially during the wave of new games that came out in the early-mid 1990s.

Best,
Ron