Shortform
I’ve been busy with school but have had a lot of ideas about games percolating, and still have several designs in a never-ending stage of development. It frustrates me to sit on these things, and not to be writing, so it’s become my intention to write more frequently here, in shorter posts.
I’m a little hesitant to embrace a more bloggish style, given that the internet has been trending toward shorter communiques that are predictably vapid and acid. Nor do I think it’s better to say something rather than nothing. But writing is also a form of thinking, so perhaps some will occur here.
I will also be continuing the release of my short-form games, which now include Blessed and Clash of the Ancients. These are not just small, or easily playable, but written more as proofs of concept, to other game designers, or vehicles for some other message. That is, the rules say something in themselves, without you ever playing—to people who can read them.
This may be pretentious, since I am saying rules are art, but I believe that. And it may be lazy, since I’m not trying to produce anything exactly playable, and thus not going through playtesting. But it’s an experiment. I’m basically exploring game rules as a medium, to think about games more generally, and extend that into areas gamers (or designers) don’t necessarily go.
I’ve toyed with calling these things “microgames” or “pseudo-games.” The latter might be more accurate. Suggestions, anyone?
Mar 22, 2009 | Filed in news