Designing TTRPGs… and Feats of Strength

More musing on the nature of “games”. (Why do I put that quotes, anyway?)

What is a game? (Incidentally, yes, I’m well aware that question is a well trod path in academic and popular consideration. But ths is my blog, so go get yer own.)

What’s a game, yeah. A game is something you can be “good at” or “bad at”. A game takes skill (and/or talent) to play. You can get better at a game, if you practice and develop your skill.

In the context of TTRPGs, this crucial distinction applies: games test Player skill, not Character ability. (See cuz in TTRPGs we have that Player/Character duality.)

Game elements (mechanics) fundamentally engage human player skills. Meanwhile, Character attributes (classes, skills, Dexterity scores) provide context for player decision-making. The more heavily a TTRPG leans into pure character-skill-based systems, the more it reduces player engagement and agency.

There’s probably a sweet spot here, too. Between “Allan works in sales, so he’s good at talking, so his character will talk to the King and convince the King to give us the magic knick-nack,” (not enough character characteristics informing player choice) and “I magic missle again” (reducing player agency because spamming magic missle deals the most damage per round).

Anyhow “I’m not good at X” misunderstands gaming as player skill development. “I’m not good at socializing.” “I’m not good at puzzles.” “I’m not good at making stuff up on the spot.” We all have these (real or self-imposed) insecurities and weaknessess. But part of the fun of the game is being someone else - someone who “IS good at puzzles.” You want your character to be something you’re not. But that shouldn’t obviate the armature, the mechanics of the game, which is something that can be mastered.

I see what I’m doing. I’m saying it’s both-and, not either-or. A good game allows me to be something I’m not (like “good at puzzles”) but also should reward me for learning how to “play the game well”.

This suggests TTRPG design should focus on creating meaningful Player decisions, where some decisions are more optimal than others. Knowing when and how to pull those optimal levers is the “game skill”, the human Player skill.

Interestingly, board games offer a huge range of modalities of testing Player skill:

Social/Audience Forces

• CAH: Playing to judge’s preferences
• Dixit: Balancing clarity vs ambiguity
• Werewolf: Social deduction

Pattern Recognition

• Azul: Spatial relationships
• Ticket to Ride: Route building
• Pandemic: Threat assessment

Timing/Tempo

• Real-time games like Space Alert
• Press-your-luck mechanics
• Action programming

TTRPGs would do well to consider a broader range of mechanical forces. Dread does this with the Jenga tower. Many TTRPGs are just resource management games. Low on Mana, low on Hit Points, low on Spell Slots. (D&D, Cthulu) Low on meta-points (Fate). The same chorus of “Do I have enough X points to do Y?” That’s tiresome, isn’t it?

Also, TTRPGs should use character abilities to frame, rather than replace player choices. They should provide context, and open doors, rather than close them (I spam magic missile… again.)

This set of game design thoughts applies heavily to the experimental game I wrote: Hand In Your Puppet.