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6/22/2004 Jonathan Walton: Filing Edges: GM as Author
This is the second part of my reaction to Mike Mearls association that roleplaying has not really changed much and his definition of roleplaying inherantly requiring a Gamemaster figure. In…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, lumpley, ethan_greer, Christopher Weeks, neelk, List, M. J. Young, Andrew Martin, Noon, aplath, simon_hibbs, Rob Carriere, Mike Holmes, timfire, Doctor Xero, Paganini, Asrogoth, John Kim, Ben Lehman.

6/22/2004 Jonathan Walton: Filing Edges: Demigods
I was thinking about Mike Mearls assertion that roleplaying design is just "filing off the edges" (now that I'm clearer on what he means), when I responded to a post…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Eero Tuovinen, Christopher Weeks, simon_hibbs, neelk, Zak Arntson, Trevis Martin, Ben Lehman, M. J. Young, TonyLB.

6/16/2004 Jonathan Walton: "Fine Art" Column Wraps at RPGnet
Hey Folks, The final piece of my 9-article series was just posted on RPGnet, though it won't be announced on the main page until Thursday. It details my conclusion from…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Tobias, chadu, Valamir, neelk.

4/25/2004 Jonathan Walton: The Handbook Project: Give Us a Hand
Many of you may remember this thread from a month ago, when I proposed a "Player's Guide" that actually explained how to roleplay: i.e. put forth the theories and practices…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, neelk, Ben Lehman, clehrich, Emily Care, Trevis Martin.

4/22/2004 Jonathan Walton: Fine Art #7: Chris Lehrich's "Ritual Discourse"
Hey Folks, The newest article in my "Fine Art of Roleplaying" column is finally up, after a two week break. We decided to abandon the article I was going to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Cemendur, contracycle.

4/8/2004 Jonathan Walton: For Ben: The Shang Dynasty Game
[quote="Ben Lehman"]I want an Asian fantasy / history game that isn't reheated D&D and SamuraiNinjaKewl. And, of course, Mr. Walton writes it.[/quote] I would have done it anyway, but since…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Jonathan Walton, clehrich, Rich Forest, talysman, Ben Lehman, daMoose_Neo, contracycle, Shreyas Sampat.

4/5/2004 Jonathan Walton: Let's Be Productive: The Wishlist
So last year (man, that was a whole YEAR ago?), we had this thread that is now marked in my browser Favorites as "Promises," because it consisted of people requested…
In Forge Birthday Forum
Participants: Jonathan Walton, hardcoremoose, Paganini, Rich Forest, Argetlamh, coxcomb, Ben Lehman, John Harper, Matt Snyder, Shreyas Sampat, Eero Tuovinen, Mike Holmes, clehrich, Valamir, hix, talysman, Spooky Fanboy, Emily Care, Dev, gobi, anonymouse, Lord_Steelhand, Tobias.

3/25/2004 Jonathan Walton: The Player's Guide to Roleplaying
[quote="pete_darby"]Goddamn, we need a new introduction to roleplaying...[/quote] I've been thinking about this for a while. There really needs to be a book about roleplaying that talks about what it…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Valamir, orbsmatt, Jack Spencer Jr, John Kim, clehrich, pete_darby, Rob Carriere, sirogit, Ben Lehman, Steven Bishop, Itse, M. J. Young, Ravien, brainwipe, ethan_greer, Jody_Butt, daMoose_Neo, Emily Care, Eero Tuovinen, komradebob.

3/22/2004 Jonathan Walton: Fine Art #6 on RPGnet: Uncertainty
The new article is up now, though it hasn't yet been announced to the masses. Definitely connected with some of the ideas that have been bouncing around the theory forum…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Tomas HVM, Ian Charvill, Sean, Ron Edwards.

3/17/2004 Jonathan Walton: Real Life: A Conceptual Game
So there's this game, right: 1. You play yourself. Not some laser-sharked version of you. Just you. 2. The setting is your life. The situations that occur are simply things…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Sean, Eric J., Eero Tuovinen, Gordon C. Landis, clehrich, M. J. Young, Andrew Norris, pete_darby, ChefKyle, Rich Forest, Jack Spencer Jr.

3/8/2004 Jonathan Walton: New "Fine Art" Article on RPGnet
They posted last Friday's article today, since they had a hole they needed to fill and already had another article ready for Friday. This one's about the theories of Joseph…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Sean.

3/8/2004 Jonathan Walton: A Brief Design Manifesto: Memory
I have a sneaking suspicion that Dungeons & Dragons will not survive the coming ecological collapse. When we are forced to live in caves, surviving off fungus and 200-year-old cans…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Brother Adso, Mike Holmes, John Kim, andy.

3/1/2004 Jonathan Walton: When Endgame is Tardy
Hey folks, So I was running "My Life with Master" for a group of 12-14yo boys last night at a local Con. Quite an experience, let me tell you. Everything…
In Half Meme Press
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Eero Tuovinen, Lxndr, Mike Holmes, Bob McNamee, Michael S. Miller.

2/20/2004 Jonathan Walton: Brecht Article up on RPGnet
Hey folks, This is a public service announcement. http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/collists/fineart.html The new article is called "...But with Innovations!" and talks about the dramatic theories of Bertolt Brecht and how they apply…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Noon, Halzebier, xiombarg, Valamir, clehrich, John Kim, Mike Holmes, Jack Spencer Jr.

2/19/2004 Jonathan Walton: "Beyond Role & Play" Book
Hey all, So the huge Nordic roleplaying convention, called "Nodal Point" in various Scandinavian languages, decided to publish a book on RPG theory for this year's convention in Helsinki, Finland.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, John Kim, Clinton R. Nixon, Rob Donoghue, Ron Edwards, Lxndr, Christopher Weeks, Itse, matthijs, Ole, Tomas HVM, Eero Tuovinen, MikesLeftHand.

2/7/2004 Jonathan Walton: [Humble Mythologies] symbolic scene-framing
The snow is just pouring down outside, so I though I'd take the opportunity to type up some of my recent ideas on symbolic scene framing. The main thread on…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Eero Tuovinen, John Harper.

1/30/2004 Jonathan Walton: Atkins-Friendly RPGs (Shooting Cows Part II)
This came out of my initial response to Ron's "Narrativism" essay, in one section of which he describes games that have Premise-addressing built into their mechanics but then bury it…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, gobi, Ron Edwards, Jack Spencer Jr, Jere, clehrich, John Kim, ascendance, Shreyas Sampat, Nuadha, coxcomb, Noon.

1/29/2004 Jonathan Walton: [Humble Mythologies] where do i go with this?
So I've been pondering a whole bunch of things from both the recent threads about myth and through-framing, along with this concept I'm trying to enact called Humble Mythologies. The…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Jonathan Walton, ADGBoss, Umberhulk, Doctor Xero, Shreyas Sampat, Eero Tuovinen, Jux.

1/26/2004 Jonathan Walton: OberCon 2004 (Feb 27-29: Oberlin, Ohio)
Hey Forge-heads, The local gaming club here, along with great support from the college, is sponsoring our second annual OberCon, here in Oberlin, OH (about 20 minutes from Cleveland). Some…
In Conventions
Participants: Jonathan Walton.

1/25/2004 Jonathan Walton: My New RPGnet Column
Hey folks, Just wanted to plug my new RPGnet column, which is pretty heavily theory-based. There was this misunderstanding earlier where draft versions of my articles got published over the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, clehrich, Umberhulk, neelk, pete_darby, Doctor Xero, Jack Spencer Jr.

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Subsequent Topics

7/3/2004 Jonathan Walton: PUSH comes to shove
Hey Folks, My new RPGnet column, PUSH, just started running this weekend. Just wanted to make an announcement in case people weren't regularly wandering over there. The first article is…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, John Harper, Shreyas Sampat, montag, neelk, Emily Care.

7/18/2004 Jonathan Walton: Representation & Your Message
So I was talking with Emily Care over PM, and I was regretting that I hadn't waited a bit later to write Girls Don't Roleplay for my RPGnet column, because…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Ravien, Bankuei, Paul Czege, LordSmerf, Noon, Rich Forest, MR. Analytical, M. J. Young, Ron Edwards, SrGrvsaLot, contracycle, Doctor Xero, John Kim.

7/23/2004 Jonathan Walton: Lions on the Precipice: A Mod
With Vincent's blessing, I'm working up a supplement/companion/mod for Dogs in the Vineyard (which is, in my humble opinion, the most eye-opening thing I've read since My Life With Master.…
In lumpley games
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Meguey, bluegargantua, lumpley, Emily Care.

7/26/2004 Jonathan Walton: PUSH keeps pushing
Column #2 is finally out. I've been waiting most of a week for them to post it up there. This one's about the "Player's Guide to Roleplaying" project that Chris…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton.

7/30/2004 Jonathan Walton: Vespertine: Some System Help?
Man, it's been a long time since I've had a thread in this forum. Anyway, I'm trying to put some finishing touches on this concept called Vespertine that I've been…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Jonathan Walton, PlotDevice, TonyLB, Eero Tuovinen, Tobias, Christopher Weeks, Marhault, chadu.

8/9/2004 Jonathan Walton: Dramatic Drama II (split)
[quote="Emily Care"]From my experiences in this game, I think it would probably be easier to integrate someone else into the negotiation of events than one might think: it's actually pretty…
In Actual Play
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Ron Edwards, Emily Care.

8/9/2004 Jonathan Walton: [Vespertine] Playtest It With Me!
Hey Folks, So I'm developing this game called Vespertine, which is a pseudo-sequel to Jason Blair's game of childhood terror, Little Fears. The game is about teenagers fooling around with…
In Connections
Participants: Jonathan Walton, anonymouse.

9/9/2004 Jonathan Walton: Disappointed with the Forge (re: White Wolf)
Over the past few days there have been a series of threads offering thoughts on the new World of Darkness and, more often, White Wolf's business model and "real goals"…
In Site Discussion
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Matt Snyder, Ben Lehman, greyorm, Doug Ruff, Bankuei, Andrew Morris, eyebeams, Ron Edwards, xiombarg, Noon.

9/10/2004 Jonathan Walton: Let's Try This Again (White Wolf)
So here's a new clean thread where we can start over without all of the venom of some of the recent threads about White Wolf, their publishing model, their motivations,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Matt, Inner Circle Inc.

9/11/2004 Jonathan Walton: Nighttime Animals is a Revolution
So, I was commenting in another thread about how Vincent Baker's Nighttime Animals Save the World is a great game for beginning roleplayers, which gave me the excuse to go…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Noon, Gamskee, Andrew Morris, timfire.

9/13/2004 Jonathan Walton: Dogs in the Mountains
So, while I was in the shower today, I had a thought. What if one day the Dogs, including at least one native convert (PC or NPC), rode into one…
In lumpley games
Participants: Jonathan Walton, MajorKiz, Christopher Weeks, Ben Lehman, DannyK, nikola.

9/19/2004 Jonathan Walton: The Cat Comes Back
So, the initial toughts on my mod-in-progress, Lions on the Precipice, were shared and bounced around in this thread. Now that I've gotten more settled here in China, I'm ready…
In lumpley games
Participants: Jonathan Walton, lumpley, Ben Lehman, Albert the Absentminded, Emily Care.

9/19/2004 Jonathan Walton: Death in Dogs?
This is mostly a Vincent question, but other people might have thoughts too. What is the point of character death in Dogs? What does it mean exactly and what purpose…
In lumpley games
Participants: Jonathan Walton, lumpley, Christopher Weeks, nikola, Doyce.

9/29/2004 Jonathan Walton: Dogs as Angels [Braindump]
So, I was thinking about Dogs when I was supposed to be thinking about my Fulbright research today, when I suddenly realized that I like Dogs for the exact same…
In lumpley games
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Mark D. Eddy, nikola, Brand_Robins, Ben Lehman, DannyK.

9/30/2004 Jonathan Walton: Dogs in the IRC
Okay, I'm done thinking about this game. Now I've got to play it. So, let's play Dogs on IRC, as soon as possible. I'm 12 time zones away from most…
In lumpley games
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Ben Lehman, Vaxalon, lumpley, DannyK, anonymouse, beingfrank, Blankshield, Doyce.

10/4/2004 Jonathan Walton: Dogs in the IRC - Initiations
Hoo doggie! Well, we've got a fistfull of great characters now, so why don't we start setting up some great initiation scenes for them. What we need for each character…
In lumpley games
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Blankshield, Ben Lehman, Doyce, DannyK, anonymouse, beingfrank.

10/4/2004 Jonathan Walton: You're Probably Wondering Why You're Here...
Hey Folks, Just a quick "hello" message until I get the stickies finished and up. Chris Lehrich just told me that all the members of this new group got an…
In Push Editorial Board
Participants: Jonathan Walton, clehrich.

10/5/2004 Jonathan Walton: [Draft] Cover/Layout
I figured I might as well post this, since I've been sitting on it for a while. http://1001.indie-rpgs.com/push.jpg It's the blocky, modernist style you've seen in Brian Glass' design work…
In Push Editorial Board
Participants: Jonathan Walton, clehrich, Emily Care, Shreyas Sampat, GaryTP, Eero Tuovinen, Ben Lehman.

10/7/2004 Jonathan Walton: Charter
Chris said that we should discuss this at some point, so I'm making it a sticky. --- 1. Push is about real people roleplaying. This is the core of what…
In Push Editorial Board
Participants: Jonathan Walton.

10/12/2004 Jonathan Walton: Dogs in the IRC - Initiations
Okay, I'm going to post the entire transcipt online (for Vincent and people who like reading all the Peanut Gallery comments), but here's the quick-and-dirty version of the first session…
In Actual Play
Participants: Jonathan Walton, beingfrank, lumpley, ScottM, Ben Lehman, DannyK.

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