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10/8/2008 davidberg: [Delve] pacing & pressure problems
This is my Simulationist game formerly known as Lendrhald.  Sort of.  Most of the goals remain, but I've refocused my priorities. Delve is about exploration and discovery, with investigation being…
In Playtesting
Participants: davidberg, Marshall Burns.

9/4/2008 davidberg: new Forge glossary / directory / encyclopedia live off-site
I haven't received any feedback to my submission, so I'm hosting it here: http://www.david-berg.com/forgeglossary.html I personally think this is a handy way for folks to familiarize themselves with a variety…
In Site Discussion
Participants: davidberg, Eliarhiman6, jag, Ron Edwards, chance.thirteen, M. J. Young.

5/29/2008 davidberg: magical investigation = coloring setting???
I've been playtesting a game that I want to be (a) highly immersive in "sense of place" in the setting, and (b) concerned with discovery of the supernatural.  It hasn't…
In First Thoughts
Participants: davidberg, jag, Marshall Burns.

2/25/2008 davidberg: page size questions
I've just ported my game text (still being revised) into Adobe InDesign to work on some presentation issues, and I figure it might save me some hassles down the road…
In Publishing
Participants: davidberg, Eero Tuovinen, Clinton R. Nixon, Peter Nordstrand, Ben Lehman.

2/21/2008 davidberg: The Forge as Reference
In my time spent learning Big Model concepts and terms at the Forge, many folks have been very helpful in giving me links to older threads where some term was…
In Site Discussion
Participants: davidberg, Eero Tuovinen, Ron Edwards.

2/14/2008 davidberg: [Swashbuckler] Big Model describes boardgame?
I played the Swashbuckler boardgame with my dad a lot when I was maybe 10-13 years old.  It's a game where you have a board filled with objects, and you…
In Actual Play
Participants: davidberg, Eero Tuovinen, Ron Edwards, SirValence.

2/10/2008 davidberg: level of detail of RPG "instruction manual"
In this thread, Ron said: . . . write a new document from scratch. This new document would be much like an instruction manual for…
In Publishing
Participants: davidberg, David Artman, casquilho, Jake Richmond.

2/6/2008 davidberg: player-directed exploration of GM-created world
I like to play ignorant characters.  I like to discover a cool imagnary place that I have no actual knowledge of. But I don't like "following" a GM's "plot".  I'm…
In First Thoughts
Participants: davidberg, contracycle, danielsan, brainwipe, Latigo, Greymorn, Alfryd, dindenver, Marshall Burns, anders_larsen, masqueradeball, Raymond Caleatry, pells, MKAdams, Paul T, Will OConnor, opsneakie.

1/28/2008 davidberg: [Primetime Adventures] unexpected upsides of new play style
Let me begin this by saying that I've never played Narrativist before.  I'm assuming that the instance of play I'm about to describe was Nar, but I could be completely…
In Actual Play
Participants: davidberg, nikola, RobNJ, LeSingeSavant, Queen_of_Kryos, Ron Edwards.

1/28/2008 davidberg: [Werewolf] Constructive denial
So, in this thread, Ron and I discussed certain aspects of Simulationism relative to my own experiences with the CA.  Unfortunately, there's a key facet of Sim that I was…
In Actual Play
Participants: davidberg, Ron Edwards.

1/2/2008 davidberg: [Werewolf] Simulationism: Dreaming is cool, but what's with "The Right"?
So, about a year ago, I played in a game based loosely on various World of Darkness books and rules.  It was not without hitches, but was generally fun, and…
In Actual Play
Participants: davidberg, Ron Edwards, masqueradeball, Frank Tarcikowski, Noon, Caldis.

12/18/2007 davidberg: need to reduce handling time of my combat system
Too many calculations, die rolls, and chart-lookups!  Help! Desired Inputs: Player's preference of where to move to (if applicable) + character's ability to maneuver as dictated by surroundings. Player's preference…
In Playtesting
Participants: davidberg, Narf the Mouse, Noon, jag, J Tolson, dindenver, contracycle, Paul T, Marshall Burns.

11/27/2007 davidberg: [Lendrhald] Rat Island - player priorities
The attempt to spawn a series of threads that will add up to something useful for my game design continues!  The first two threads wandered a lot:  helping GMs…
In Playtesting
Participants: davidberg, Ron Edwards, masqueradeball, xenopulse, Chris_Chinn, Groorg.

11/9/2007 davidberg: [ED&D] CA transience?
My current design attempt (Lendrhald) has me thinking about what play should look like, largely in terms of what I've played in the past: do I want to include this…
In Actual Play
Participants: davidberg, Paka, James_Nostack, Vulpinoid, FredGarber, Noon, Caldis, Paul T, contracycle, Ron Edwards.

10/24/2007 davidberg: [Lendrhald] helping GMs create Challenges
In the game I am designing, I would like for the system to help GMs in constructing Challenges (in the Gamist sense). Does anyone know of any games out there…
In First Thoughts
Participants: davidberg, Vulpinoid, Paka, Selene Tan, Noon, masqueradeball, xenopulse, VoidDragon, Rafu.

11/5/2006 davidberg: [Werewolf] complete the mission! realistically! (GNS ?)
Warning: I've included a lot of preamble to provide proper context.  If you want, skip it and scroll down to "the point" (in bold and caps below).  Then if you're…
In Actual Play
Participants: davidberg, Noon, Frank T, Ron Edwards, Caldis, r_donato.

6/15/2006 davidberg: [Lendrhald] A system to reward players, not characters?
My buddy A and I are co-designing a game.  We've each run campaigns with 4 players, both have been mostly quite enjoyable, but the enjoyment has derived from rather disparate…
In Playtesting
Participants: davidberg, Sydney Freedberg, Noon, r_donato, Paka, anders_larsen, Telarus, KSC, Ron Edwards, Threlicus, zmook, contracycle, charles ferguson, Valamir.

6/14/2006 davidberg: [Lendrhald] Rewards system for dark, realistic fantasy
In a previous thread, I was asked some interesting questions and given some interesting suggestions that I jumped to address, only realizing later that I'd drifted far from my intended…
In First Thoughts
Participants: davidberg, baron samedi, Valamir, Sydney Freedberg, Threlicus, contracycle.

6/12/2006 davidberg: [Lendrhald] Hostile fantasy setting
I'm looking for input (mostly brainstorming) on a certain aspect of my current project, that being a setting that successfully conveys a sense of menace to the players. THE GAME…
In First Thoughts
Participants: davidberg, dsmvites, Ron Edwards, Castlin, anders_larsen, billvolk, Sydney Freedberg, Paka, cbussler, Adam Dray, Threlicus, greyorm, stefoid, Warren, NN, Telarus, KSC, Certified, sean2099, contracycle, Michael Brazier.

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Subsequent Topics

11/10/2008 davidberg: [Three Guys Walk Into a Movie...] first playtest
Last night was my first time playing my genre-warping movie proto-game.  Actually, I didn't play; I had plenty to occupy myself with, instructing my 3 friends how to play (there…
In Playtesting
Participants: davidberg, Simon C.

11/18/2008 davidberg: [Sign In Stranger] party game version
Toward the end of Thanksnerding (gaming & turkey day in NYC), I pulled out the S.I.S. quickstart rules, grabbed 5 other people, and ran a 2-hr version of the game.…
In Playtesting
Participants: davidberg, Paul T, Emily Care.

12/16/2008 davidberg: adding a PayPal button to my website
I need to sell a PDF.  I am fluent in HTML and know a teeny bit of javascript. How do I make it so that when you click on a…
In Publishing
Participants: davidberg, Eero Tuovinen, Nathan P., Wolfen, Zonetrooper1, Clay.

12/30/2008 davidberg: quoting TV dialogue in your game text: legal?
So, I'm making a game that's inspired by X-Files, and I want to put some Mulder and Scully quotes in it.  Does anyone know what rules I have to follow…
In Publishing
Participants: davidberg, Eero Tuovinen.

1/11/2009 davidberg: play the full lifespan of a short-lived character
You're created fully physically mature.  You open your eyes for the first time and have a ready-for-action body, but no knowledge or context. Setting is undefined before play -- you…
In First Thoughts
Participants: davidberg, ShallowThoughts, David C, Noon.

1/15/2009 davidberg: [Out There] first episode: were-cat X-Files in 1800s Boston
[i]Out There[/i] is an RPG that delivers TV-style investigative drama (think X-Files, House, Monk).  I co-created this in a very short time as part of a [url=http://www.story-games.com/forums/comments.php?DiscussionID=8258&page=1#Item_0]contest[/url], and am selling…
In Actual Play
Participants: davidberg.

5/29/2009 davidberg: [Delve] story-gamers in my sandbox
I've been working on Delve throughout a 14-month, 28-session playtest with some of my best friends.  By now, they all know how to get what they want from Delve, and…
In Playtesting
Participants: davidberg, jenskot, Paul T.

9/15/2009 davidberg: [Super Action Now!] turn-based confusion (monkey god, future midget, wuxia star)
10 days ago I sat down with Dan and Merlin to play SAN!  It was the first time any of us had played. Character creation We started with character creation. …
In Playtesting
Participants: davidberg, Marshall Burns, JoyWriter, whiteknife.

12/12/2009 davidberg: [Polaris] Color! (inspired play despite rules gaffe)
Last Sunday, I sat down to play Polaris with Daniel, John and Terry.  John had played once before, long ago, and didn't remember the rules.  Daniel brought the book, had…
In Actual Play
Participants: davidberg, Paul T, Abkajud.

2/5/2010 davidberg: [Delve] fast-forwarding through meaningful decisions?
My game Delve gives out significant rewards in the form of useful connections and materials.  A recent session included a new tool to sculpt an unbreakable rock, and a creepy…
In Playtesting
Participants: davidberg, Ron Edwards, Alex Abate, JoyWriter, Noon, Locke, Paul T, Jeff B, C. Edwards, Shimera9.

2/23/2010 davidberg: [Posterity] perform feats of legend and see how they'll be remembered
Two ideas for this. VERSION 1 Start with a legend.  Read it as a group.  Make the telling of the tale fun.  Can be something a player made up, something…
In First Thoughts
Participants: davidberg, horomancer, Vulpinoid.

5/3/2010 davidberg: [Delve] even a skill check dictates pacing
In Delve, players and GM participate in a "what would happen?" simulation.  They choose the right moments to simulate in the right amount of detail to satisfy their taste for…
In Playtesting
Participants: davidberg, Shimera9, Paul T.

6/26/2010 davidberg: [Delve] Is there any Theme here? Should there be?
Thanks to Simon's recent threads on the topic of Theme (here's the most recent), I've been thinking about the place of Theme in my game, a game in which Theme…
In Playtesting
Participants: davidberg, Simon C, Noon, Paul T.

9/13/2010 davidberg: fiction-based rule use (one fun option)
Here's an approach that I enjoy: 1) Everyone discusses and agrees on the state of the fiction, covering relevant details.  Who's where, etc.  Authority here comes from, (a) first, what…
In Actual Play
Participants: davidberg, Chris_Chinn, masqueradeball, Roger, Frank Tarcikowski, Noon, Marshall Burns.

9/16/2010 davidberg: David Berg's game
[b]Core mechanic idea: Secret tribunal.[/b] 1. Each player leaves the room, while the other players (in character) briefly discuss them. - 1a) If they disobeyed the last vote, assign them…
In Endeavor: Game Chef 2010
Participants: davidberg, Frank Tarcikowski.

10/25/2010 davidberg: Pass the Ball, Tick the Clock
I wonder how much fun it would be to play a game where no one must (or can) invent setting features.  You play your characters and choose what they encounter…
In First Thoughts
Participants: davidberg, chronoplasm, Noon, Bloomfield, stefoid.

1/24/2011 davidberg: [The Eye in the Pyramid] Bananites
I learned some things today.  I learned that only smoking banana peels can protect you from the nanites your prosthetics use to control you.  I learned that the evil tech…
In Game Development
Participants: davidberg, Ron Edwards, jenskot.

1/28/2011 davidberg: [Apocalypse World] uncertainty and immersion
So, my friend Matt has been running an AW for me and 3 other friends.  He's itching to play a character, and mine is nicely poised to retire to safety…
In lumpley games
Participants: davidberg.

2/7/2011 davidberg: [The Eye in the Pyramid] how to document ad-lib without stalling play?
[url=http://www.shrikedesign.com/games/The_Eye_in_the_Pyramid_v4.pdf]The Eye in the Pyramid - latest rules text PDF[/url] And, if anyone's curious, here's the [url=http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forge/index.php?topic=31091.0]first playtest report[/url], [url=http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forge/index.php?topic=30958]Ronnies feedback thread[/url], and the [url=http://www.1km1kt.net/rpg/the-eye-in-the-pyramid]original rules text[/url]. The first playtest…
In Game Development
Participants: davidberg, happysmellyfish, baxil.

2/10/2011 davidberg: More reflections on round two (split)
I'm really curious to see what folks did with Whisper.  I couldn't get away from it as "information asymmetry as a core dynamic of play".  It took me forever to…
In Endeavor: Ronnies 2011
Participants: davidberg, whduryea, Ron Edwards, Nathan P., Ghostlight Games, Elizabeth.

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