Previous Topics

4/21/2003 M. J. Young: On Innovative: Ranting Against a Rant
I'm responding here to Chris's Standard Rant: "Innovative", but in a different direction. When we're talking games and folks scream "Revolutionary and New!" most of the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, Bankuei, Mike Holmes, fabien, Ron Edwards.

4/11/2003 M. J. Young: Young Playtest Group First Storymap
A few preliminary comments--I started this yesterday, and my computer froze while I was trying to find my notes, so I just gave up and went to bed. I'm trying…
In Dark Omen Games
Participants: M. J. Young, GreatWolf, hix.

4/4/2003 M. J. Young: Search for Game Designers who are Christian
O.K., this isn't quite right for any forum, but I need to ask The Forge community, so it's going to go here. Maybe it would fit better in Connections, but…
In Site Discussion
Participants: M. J. Young, Clinton R. Nixon, Jonathan Walton.

3/7/2003 M. J. Young: Maps: Necessary or Superfluous?
In the Real Color thread, (if you design a game, especially fantasy, make sure you include a good easily copied map) I've done a lot of fantasy settings,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, contracycle, James Holloway, Jack Spencer Jr, Mike Holmes, Walt Freitag, Sylus Thane, clehrich, Airshipjones, simon_hibbs.

2/18/2003 M. J. Young: Benefits of Undefined Premise
In the thread Premise on a Platter on the GNS Model Discussion forum, There?s a lot of issues here I?d be interested in discussing, which may…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, Ron Edwards, Bankuei, clehrich, Mike Holmes.

1/30/2003 M. J. Young: The Limits of Sci-fi
Jareth Dakk brought up sci-fi games in Why not more Sci-fi?, and there were some good answers. But a passing comment there sparked a thought in my mind. But…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, clehrich, John Kim, Uncle Dark, Cadriel, Ron Edwards, Marco, Walt Freitag, Sylus Thane, Le Joueur, Harlequin, Jared A. Sorensen, Valamir, Rod Phillips, ADGBoss, Paul Czege, greyorm, Bankuei, Alan.

1/29/2003 M. J. Young: Universal in search of distinctions
The special kind of Heartbreaker: Universal/Generic thread has me thinking about things close to my heart; and a reference within it to an earlier thread from 2001 entitled a…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, John Kim, Kester Pelagius, Le Joueur, contracycle, Marco, Ron Edwards, Valamir, Sylus Thane.

1/27/2003 M. J. Young: Access Problems
Am I the only one who has frequent problems accessing The Forge? I get a lot of time-outs on connection and resolving the site, and quite a few connection refusals,…
In Site Discussion
Participants: M. J. Young, Eric J., clehrich, Jack Spencer Jr, Clinton R. Nixon, Kester Pelagius, Adam.

1/22/2003 M. J. Young: Building Religions
Kester Pelagius started an interesting thread, Is religion really that much of a mystery?, which inspired this one rather by accident. Jack Spencer Jr., an avowed atheist, posted what…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, contracycle, Paganini, Jack Spencer Jr, greyorm, John Kim, Valamir, Mike Holmes, Christopher Kubasik, clehrich, simon_hibbs.

1/13/2003 M. J. Young: A New Spin on the Old Magic/Religion Question
This is yet another thread pursuing the popular topic about whether the referee has to understand the reality of the game world in some sense. I say yet another, because…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, Jack Spencer Jr, clehrich, Le Joueur, greyorm, Kester Pelagius, contracycle, simon_hibbs, Gordon C. Landis, Ron Edwards, Drew Stevens, Blake Hutchins, RHJunior.

1/7/2003 M. J. Young: Unified Truth and Diverse Religions in Game Worlds
Ron twice has attempted to close the thread entitled The Mechanic of "Religion" in Role Playing Games; yet the topic is hot, and there seems much to be said…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, Ted E. Childers, Uncle Dark, Kester Pelagius, Eric J., simon_hibbs, contracycle, Jack Spencer Jr, Bob McNamee, Gordon C. Landis, epweissengruber, damion, clehrich, Andrew Martin, Valamir, Ron Edwards, Le Joueur, greyorm, Christopher Kubasik, Walt Freitag, John Kim.

12/21/2002 M. J. Young: Blended Mechanics?
[quote="This is part of what Ron Edwards"]I disagree with you. As I have more-or-less interpreted the terms from Everway, they go like this: 1) Fortune = use of a randomizing…
In GNS Model Discussion
Participants: M. J. Young, Valamir, Jack Spencer Jr, Ron Edwards, GreatWolf, Seth L. Blumberg, Andrew Martin, Le Joueur, bluegargantua.

12/17/2002 M. J. Young: In Defense of Complexity
Periodically I read threads here at The Forge in which people argue against more complex systems, and particularly more complex combat systems. I take these with some bit of salt;…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, Paul Czege, Shreyas Sampat, Jack Spencer Jr, Bankuei, Andrew Martin, Thierry Michel, xiombarg, cruciel, Ozymandias, Le Joueur, Sidhain, Alan, Christoffer Lernö, Mike Holmes.

12/10/2002 M. J. Young: Use of Gender Pronouns
[quote="Emily Care"]"Do" use both pronouns in examples of play when refering to players, gms and all game participants. (This one makes a difference for me when I read a game,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, Clinton R. Nixon, contracycle, Le Joueur, Mike Holmes, Jonathan Walton, lumpley, ethan_greer, Paganini, damion, Clay, bluegargantua, Ron Edwards, cruciel.

11/18/2002 M. J. Young: Concentration: an Example
Over in Game Theory there's a thread about Illusionism and GNS; someone brought up Concentration as an example, and it came back to me as something potentially enlightening. Let…
In GNS Model Discussion
Participants: M. J. Young.

11/9/2002 M. J. Young: Responding to the Invitation
Please don't think me ungracious; I really do appreciate being invited to the forum. I have too much on my plate as it is, and my wife would shoot me…
In Scattershot
Participants: M. J. Young, Le Joueur, Bankuei, Andrew Martin, Mike Holmes.

10/17/2002 M. J. Young: Character Sheet Design for I-games
[quote="Ron Edwards"]"Boink" M.J. ... hey, I had an idea. Do you think there's any feature of an I-game that leads to different needs or standards for character sheet design? I'm…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young.

10/5/2002 M. J. Young: Character Personal Assessment
[quote="In the Observable Probability thread Chris a.k.a. Bankuei"]Not quite going as far as a myth, but a standard is that players know everything that their character is capable of doing.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, contracycle, damion, talysman, Andrew Martin, Le Joueur.

9/18/2002 M. J. Young: To fight?
O.K., I can't tell you whether to fight it or not. That's something you're going to have to work out from what you know of him. But I can tell…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, contracycle.

9/15/2002 M. J. Young: The Parry Through question
[quote="Andrew Martin"] This is quoted from http://swordforum.com/sfu/swordsmanship/parrying.html from a while back: [quote] ...a "parry-through" in which when your opponent tries to cut you, you cut towards him - the flat…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, Ron Edwards, Andrew Martin.

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Subsequent Topics

5/19/2003 M. J. Young: Where to post--or is it off topic?
I've got a bit of a problem, and I don't know whether anyone at the Forge can help at all. It seems that my latest work isn't getting reviews--the people…
In Site Discussion
Participants: M. J. Young, Clinton R. Nixon, Ron Edwards.

5/19/2003 M. J. Young: System versus System
According to the Lumpley principle, System is that which exists at the social contract level by which participants decide what is happening in the shared imaginary space. As such, it…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, Le Joueur, lumpley.

5/19/2003 M. J. Young: Why Incoherent Games Sell
In a thread in the Scattershot forum entitled Vive La Resistance or System Doesn't Matter, Fang Langford raises the question of why incoherent games sell. He suggests that it…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, Le Joueur, jdagna, Jeffrey Straszheim, clehrich, Jack Spencer Jr, LordSmerf, talysman, John Kim, Balbinus, damion, C. Edwards, woodelf, Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards.

5/20/2003 M. J. Young: Seeking reviewers for game-related fiction
For some reason, several of the reviewers who have in the past reviewed Multiverser game products have not responded to an offer to review the latest publication. It may be…
In Connections
Participants: M. J. Young, clehrich, talysman, Sylus Thane, dragongrace.

5/25/2003 M. J. Young: Looking for Christians in the Game Industry (is this you?)
Someone pointed out to me that my earlier thread, Search for Game Designers who are Christian, was in a forum he did not frequent (Site Discussion), and thus he…
In Connections
Participants: M. J. Young, Sylus Thane, Wolfen.

6/21/2003 M. J. Young: A question about the function of the forum new posts reset
Well, that's probably a confusing title, but it was the best I could do. (I hate titles--it's always the hardest part in everything I write, and I'm always asking other…
In Site Discussion
Participants: M. J. Young, Jack Spencer Jr, Lxndr.

7/14/2003 M. J. Young: Reading Games as Substitutionary for Play?
[quote="In [i][a href="http://www.indie-rpgs.com/viewtopic.php?t=7162"](rantish) Interactive Fantasy and Dysfunction[/a][/i], Wayne a.k.a. Cadriel"] What I'm getting from your whole post (I picked a line that really exemplified it well) is that you like…
In GNS Model Discussion
Participants: M. J. Young, Marco, greyorm, efindel, Jack Spencer Jr, xiombarg, Lxndr, talysman, gobi, jdagna, Ron Edwards, pete_darby, WDFlores, Unarmed, kamikaze.

7/30/2003 M. J. Young: Behavior Versus Intention
I know we've discussed it before; and I know that Ron insists GNS has nothing to do with "intent"; and I know I'm on the record as disagreeing with that.…
In GNS Model Discussion
Participants: M. J. Young, Marco, Ian Charvill, Valamir, Ron Edwards, Gordon C. Landis.

8/2/2003 M. J. Young: Follow-up on fiction reviewers for Multiverser novel
Ah, I'm a day too late to revive the old thread--Seeking reviewers for game-related fiction is the first post on the second page, so that officially makes it old.…
In Connections
Participants: M. J. Young, Clay.

8/8/2003 M. J. Young: In-game Courtroom Drama
Back somewhere in the incredibly long and multiply derailed Sharks With Lasers On Their Heads thread, I commented that I thought it possible to do courtroom drama if you…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, Smithy, pete_darby.

8/10/2003 M. J. Young: In-game Fear
I've got a bit of a problem with a scenario, and Fruitsmack's thread on Suspense in RPGs was very close but not quite on it, so I'm starting this…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, jdagna, Cemendur, Marco, Jake Norwood, Windthin, Mike Holmes.

8/17/2003 M. J. Young: Convenient Resource on Japanese Feudalism
I'm creating a game world that's going to borrow heavily on Japanese feudalism for both color and structure, and I need something more than just OAD&D Oriental Adventures to provide…
In Connections
Participants: M. J. Young, Andrew Martin, Valamir, Paganini, Jack Aidley, quozl.

8/19/2003 M. J. Young: Thread Closing Question
There seems to be some confusion about thread closing here at the Forge. On several occasions, I've noted Ron saying that once the person who raised the question in the…
In Site Discussion
Participants: M. J. Young, Ron Edwards, Jack Spencer Jr, Hunter Logan.

8/28/2003 M. J. Young: GNS Analysis--Post Play
[quote="Ron Edwards"]M.J., I'm having a hard time seeing how your insight is a new thing. I mean, I'm glad you wrote it, and it makes perfect sense, and it's all…
In GNS Model Discussion
Participants: M. J. Young, Ron Edwards, cruciel.

9/10/2003 M. J. Young: My Character Would
In Who Cares? before Ron declared it finished,It may just be the groups that I play with, but I only encounter "my character" when people are objecting…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, Gordon C. Landis, Cemendur, erithromycin, jdagna, cruciel, Lxndr, MachMoth, Jack Aidley, pete_darby, Christopher Kubasik, Valamir, John Kim.

9/12/2003 M. J. Young: Man Against Himself: Personality Mechanics
There have been several threads about personality mechanics recently, but I suddenly had a thought about these that might be worth addressing. I think it was Personality Mechanics that…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, Trevis Martin, Mike Holmes, Dauntless, John Kim.

9/18/2003 M. J. Young: Creating the Other
Over on the thread Characters as Therapy (Split) I was pretty satisfied with the consensus, until Joachim recalled somethingHere's another way of…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, cruciel, jdagna, bcook1971, Mike Holmes.

9/18/2003 M. J. Young: Questioning Jack Spencer Jr.'s View of Solo Play
It came up again in Non-electric Interactive Written Solo Entertainment, and it's been discussed before: is it still role playing if you're doing it alone, such as with Choose…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, Jack Spencer Jr, Walt Freitag, Marco, Mike Holmes, cruciel, Ben Lehman, Gordon C. Landis, pete_darby, AnyaTheBlue, ejh, Ron Edwards.

9/25/2003 M. J. Young: Clarifying Simulationism
I'm trying to catch up with all the posts over on the Front-loaded relationship-driven Nar/Sim overlap thread, and I'm getting boggled with all the "this is what sim means…
In GNS Model Discussion
Participants: M. J. Young, AnyaTheBlue, jdagna, John Kim, pete_darby, Lxndr, Ron Edwards, Valamir, Ian Charvill, Walt Freitag, Marco, Jonathan Walton, Wormwood, ethan_greer, Ben Lehman, Gordon C. Landis.

9/25/2003 M. J. Young: Setting as an element of System
This is a spinoff from Front-loaded relationship-driven Nar/Sim overlap, in a way--that's what led me to think this way, and it's relevant to the discussion there. I had been…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, pete_darby, Ron Edwards, damion, Windthin.

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