Previous Topics

1/24/2004 Jonathan Walton: "Bounded" Roleplaying
This is split off from: Towards Mythic Storytelling and Mythic Role-play. The topic is: -- restricting player choice as a way of supporting an aesthetic -- formal, required structural elements…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, neelk, gobi, ks13, C. Edwards, M. J. Young, clehrich, Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards, Harlequin, Doctor Xero.

12/7/2003 Jonathan Walton: Creative Agenda only retroactive?
Hey guys, Need a clarification for this paper on aesthetic theory in roleplaying. Creative Agenda is something that can only be retrospectively said to exist, correct? Isn't that part of…
In GNS Model Discussion
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Mark Johnson, Silmenume, Alan, Christopher Kubasik, Ron Edwards, John Kim, M. J. Young, Andrew Martin, Eero Tuovinen.

11/17/2003 Jonathan Walton: But a Model of What?
It's the new game that's thrilling millions! "De-Contextualize the (GNS) Model!" Starting with Ron's model for the social interactions that produce roleplaying, recently clarified in this thread, agile minds attempt…
In GNS Model Discussion
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Christopher Kubasik, Paganini, Andrew Martin, Tomas HVM, Ron Edwards, Matt Snyder, The GM, pete_darby, Valamir, Mike Holmes, Ben Lehman, contracycle, M. J. Young.

10/29/2003 Jonathan Walton: Sports RPGs: A Match Made in Heaven?
[quote="Marco"]So yeah, a good fantasy ("mmm...rich sports hero") doesn't necessiarily make for a good troop-style game.[/quote] I beg to differ. This has been on my mind for years now. Roleplaying…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, quozl, Lxndr, Marco, Matt Snyder, Mike Holmes, Valamir, Comte, Jack Spencer Jr, Dev, Ben Lehman, Andrew Norris, Michael S. Miller.

10/15/2003 Jonathan Walton: Needed: "What is Roleplaying?" Quotes
Hey folks, I'm thinking of writing a new column for PRGnet called "What is Roleplaying?" that examines what we do from a variety of viewpoints (social, aesthetic, philosophical, historical, etc).…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, John Kim, AnyaTheBlue, Tomas HVM, redivider, M. J. Young.

10/9/2003 Jonathan Walton: [Ever-After/Facedance] a PDF of the basics
Ever-After finally has a full system description. Possibly a new name as well, since I'm trying out "Facedance" as a more accurate description of the current version. For those unfamiliar…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Mike Holmes.

9/30/2003 Jonathan Walton: [Ever-After] Gets a Facelift
It was after reading through Michael S. Millar's new game, "Discernment," which shares many similarities with Ever-After, that I brought the game off the back-burner and began to stir it…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Michael S. Miller, Mike Holmes, Simon W.

9/26/2003 Jonathan Walton: What Magic Is
I was reading some Forge threads, looking at various magic systems that people were working on, when something struck me: Magic is really just a player-empowerment tool, resisting the GM's…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Christopher Weeks, John Kim, Valamir, bcook1971, C. Edwards, damion, Windthin, M. J. Young, contracycle, Jack Aidley, Marco, Walt Freitag, mjk, Comte, simon_hibbs.

9/26/2003 Jonathan Walton: Defining Roleplaying (According to GNS)
With Ron's recent statements in the Clarifying Simulationism thread, I actually think we're damn close to defining roleplaying, at least according to GNS and the general theory precepts that most…
In GNS Model Discussion
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Valamir, Ron Edwards, AnyaTheBlue, Gordon C. Landis, pete_darby, M. J. Young, lumpley.

9/16/2003 Jonathan Walton: When Can We Stop Making "Games"?
I find myself increasingly frustrated, not by the expectations of those outside of the gaming community, but by the expectations that gamers and designers have set for themselves. To me,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Matt Snyder, ethan_greer, Ben Morgan, pete_darby, Jack Spencer Jr, jdagna, Lxndr, Ron Edwards, Walt Freitag, M. J. Young, deadpanbob, Marco, taalyn, ejh, Mike Holmes, ross_winn, John Kim, Valamir, xechnao, damion, simon_hibbs.

9/16/2003 Jonathan Walton: Plato on Polysided Dice
Don't know exactly how I'd go about using this, but I thought I'd pass this neat bit of info onto those who might be ignorant (as I was until this…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Matt Snyder, ethan_greer, Andrew Martin, mrteapot, CplFerro, mjk.

8/25/2003 Jonathan Walton: Vesperteen Development
As I'm working on Vesperteen (my Little Fears sequel) off-and-on, I decided to start a new thread where I can post updates and get feedback. Hopefully Jason won't mind me…
In Key 20 Publishing
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Little_Rat, Neylana.

8/22/2003 Jonathan Walton: Engel Arkana Rules in English!
You heard right! http://www.feder-galerie.de/Extras/ArkanaRulesUS.zip I'm not sure whether Feder & Schwert actually counts as an indie company, but everything seems to be controlled by Oliver & Oliver (though they hire…
In Publishing
Participants: Jonathan Walton.

8/15/2003 Jonathan Walton: The Limits of Roleplaying: Solitaire
Reflecting on a bunch of the stuff that was brought up in this thread, I was especially drawn to the idea that roleplaying necessarily involved "shared imaginative space." This goes…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, M. J. Young, Mark Johnson, ejh, Tim Alexander, Jack Spencer Jr, simon_hibbs, RARodger, Noon.

8/9/2003 Jonathan Walton: New Logo (suggestions welcome)
This is the kind of thing I would put in my own forum if I had one. But I don't. Yet. http://www.godmachine.org/1002.jpg This came to me a couple days ago.…
In Publishing
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Matt Snyder, C. Edwards, Shreyas Sampat, ethan_greer, Lxndr, Jack Spencer Jr, iago, Paul Czege.

7/27/2003 Jonathan Walton: Ever-After: Back on the Front Burner
Been working on the playtest version of Argonauts, but Ever-After keeps jumping to my frontal lobes and demanding attention. If you want info on the project's development so far check…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Jonathan Walton, permacultureguerilla, Mike Holmes, Shreyas Sampat, MathiasJack.

7/16/2003 Jonathan Walton: Cool & Clever?
[quote="On the Nobilis List, R. Sean Borgstrom"]Why do the rules exist? Today I think it is "to get the players to feel cool and clever on a regular basis."[/quote] Wow.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Christopher Kubasik, contracycle, WDFlores, Alan, pete_darby, Shreyas Sampat, Jared A. Sorensen, adaen, Ben Lehman, Marco, Jeffrey Miller, SFEley, Ian Charvill.

5/24/2003 Jonathan Walton: Player-Character Distinctions
Wanted to bring this up, since many people seem to have very strong feelings about this subject that are baffling to me. Some comments were made recently that brought this…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, clehrich, Alan, Jeffrey Miller, jdagna, Jack Spencer Jr, M. J. Young, Reprisal, Kester Pelagius, Mike Holmes, Thierry Michel, Jack Aidley, simon_hibbs.

5/20/2003 Jonathan Walton: Argonauts: Narrativist d20 Supers?
Hey All, So this thread is a combination of several things I've been thinking about recently: 1. My game concept Argonauts, which basically involves doing a supers game set in…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Sidhain, Valamir, Emily Care, Matt Snyder, Paul Czege, talysman, Mike Holmes, Piers Brown, John Harper.

5/14/2003 Jonathan Walton: Nobilis: The League of Extraordinary Americans
So, after seeing the trailer for "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" during one of the early showings of X2, I decided to finally pick up the infamous graphic novel by…
In Actual Play
Participants: Jonathan Walton, clehrich, sdemory.

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Subsequent Topics

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.

1/29/2004 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.

1/30/2004 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.

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.

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.

2/20/2004 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.

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.

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.

3/8/2004 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.

3/17/2004 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.

3/22/2004 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.

3/25/2004 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.

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.

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.

4/22/2004 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.

4/25/2004 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.

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.

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.

6/22/2004 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.

6/25/2004 Jonathan Walton: 1001 Designs: New Site, Screen Test
Hey Folks, So, I've got a new site design for 1001 Designs (and a new effort of mine called "Hundred Flowers") and I'd like some assistance. It used to be…
In Publishing
Participants: Jonathan Walton, ethan_greer, Matt, jrs, Jürgen Mayer, Jasper, John Harper, MarktheAnimator.

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