http://rpg-design-patterns.speedykitty.com/ Sun, 20 May 2012 10:25:21 -0400 FeedCreator 1.7.2-ppt DokuWiki http://rpg-design-patterns.speedykitty.com/lib/images/favicon.ico http://rpg-design-patterns.speedykitty.com/ http://rpg-design-patterns.speedykitty.com/doku.php/acknowledgements Before writing this book, I had been designing, writing, tweaking, and rewriting my own role-playing game, Legendary Quest, for over 20 years. In that time, I created seven editions of the game to which only my close friends and I had access. The experience gave me great practice in designing games and taught me much about how a role-playing game should work. Because I had approached my designs from the vantage point of making the best game possible for my gaming group, I didn’t look too far afi… Thu, 05 May 2011 04:36:11 -0400 http://rpg-design-patterns.speedykitty.com/doku.php/alphabetic_index_of_patterns Thu, 05 May 2011 04:36:13 -0400 http://rpg-design-patterns.speedykitty.com/doku.php/alphabetic_index_of_referenced_games Thu, 05 May 2011 04:36:02 -0400 http://rpg-design-patterns.speedykitty.com/doku.php/character_makeup_patterns * Attribute * Class * Class Tree * Gift * Hit Points * Level * Point Spend Attributes * Random Attribute * Skill * Skill Tree * Template * Trait * Trauma Gauge * Wound Trait Fri, 15 Jan 2010 02:45:24 -0400 http://rpg-design-patterns.speedykitty.com/doku.php/conflict_system_patterns * Contest Tree * Generalized Contest * Last Man Standing * Negotiated Contest * Safety Valve Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:29:15 -0400 http://rpg-design-patterns.speedykitty.com/doku.php/dedication I dedicate this book to my loving wife Melissa, who has not only patiently endured my obsession with role-playing over the many years of our marriage, but has damned well made sure I did a proper job of it. Thu, 05 May 2011 04:35:58 -0400 http://rpg-design-patterns.speedykitty.com/doku.php/definitions Needless to say, the research for this book entailed reading a lot of role-playing games. But, comprehension did not come easily. Picking up a new game and thumbing through its pages to extract the important bits was often painful. Game authors use popular terms like “attribute,” “skill,” and “trait” inconsistently. So, understanding an author’s intent required digging through the game text and then translating the terms into a common vernacular. Note that some of these terms are written up as f… Sun, 10 Jan 2010 09:53:17 -0400 http://rpg-design-patterns.speedykitty.com/doku.php/design_patterns To raise a “rule of thumb” to the status of design pattern, it must be formalized. Christopher Alexander stated that a design pattern must contain at least the following four aspects: a name, a problem statement, a proposed solution, and the consequences of using the pattern. The “Gang of Four” patterns have even more aspects, which are meant to further clarify the problem domain and proposed solution. The design pattern template used in this text mimics the Gang of Four format, with slight modi… Thu, 05 May 2011 04:36:03 -0400 http://rpg-design-patterns.speedykitty.com/doku.php/foreword I first got to know John Kirk through The Forge, and then giving him some design commentary for his game Legendary Quest (www.legendaryquest.com). John, well versed in legend, had put together a lot of research for the game, but the system was pretty traditional in some ways. But with definite potential. Often times when you try to give advice to an author like this, they decide that you're an obnoxious poof, and ignore you completely. Thu, 05 May 2011 04:36:10 -0400 http://rpg-design-patterns.speedykitty.com/doku.php/fundamental_gauge_patterns * Conflicted Gauge * Currency * Gauge * Rank * Resource Tue, 19 Jan 2010 10:54:47 -0400 http://rpg-design-patterns.speedykitty.com/doku.php/game_summaries * Ars Magica (Fourth Edition) * Call of Cthulhu (Sixth Edition) * Capes * Code of Unaris * Dogs in the Vineyard * Donjon * Dungeons & Dragons v.3.5 * Elfs * Fudge * GURPS (Third Edition, Revised) * HARP (High Adventure Role Playing) * HeroQuest * Hero System 5t Edition * InSpectres * My Life with Master * Nobilis * Paranoia xp * The Pool * Puppetland * The Riddle of Steel * RIFTS * Rolemaster Fantasy Role Playing (Second Edition) * Shadowrun (Second E… Tue, 02 Feb 2010 02:35:36 -0400 http://rpg-design-patterns.speedykitty.com/doku.php/gauge_diagrams Gauge diagrams illustrate a game’s core gauges and their relationships to one another. The purpose of creating a gauge diagram is to convey understanding of a game’s currency flow from one game designer to another. So, a solo designer that neither needs nor wants outside assistance will find gauge diagrams to have little value. However, most of us crave feedback on our designs and gauge diagrams can assist us in obtaining it. The diagrams ease the learning curve for those from whom we seek advic… Mon, 11 Jan 2010 11:46:03 -0400 http://rpg-design-patterns.speedykitty.com/doku.php/introduction In the 1960s, Christopher Alexander, an architect, proposed a practical new way to undertake urban planning. His idea was to first study the best examples of contemporary urban plans and buildings with the goal of finding common patterns in their designs. Once identified, these patterns could be exploited in future designs. He described this process of design by pattern (or, in his terms, diagrams) in his work Notes on the Synthesis of Form. In this text, Alexander describes patterns as being no… Thu, 05 May 2011 04:35:54 -0400 http://rpg-design-patterns.speedykitty.com/doku.php/miscellaneous_patterns * Alignment * Game Master Tue, 19 Jan 2010 11:21:10 -0400 http://rpg-design-patterns.speedykitty.com/doku.php/priority_grid Intent Provide a means to design a game tool (such as a character) by forcing players to irrevocably prioritize various important concerns. Also Known As Not applicable Related Patterns Class, Gift, Resource, Skill, Trait Motivation A Priority Grid allows a game designer to give players a simple means of designing game tools by trading-off features against one another based on their priorities. It is called a “grid” because the options are usually presented in a table format. Commonly, pr… Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:16:45 -0400 http://rpg-design-patterns.speedykitty.com/doku.php/reward_patterns * Attendance Reward * Failure Reward * Narrative Reward * Success Reward Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:03:56 -0400 http://rpg-design-patterns.speedykitty.com/doku.php/role-playing_patterns * Faction * Idiom Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:45:51 -0400 http://rpg-design-patterns.speedykitty.com/doku.php/rpg_design_pattern_catalog The following sections present a list of design patterns gleaned from the study. The design patterns are partitioned into several categories: * Conflict System Patterns * Character Makeup Patterns * Fundamental Gauge Patterns * Miscellaneous Patterns * Reward Patterns * Role-Playing Patterns * Story Patterns * Structural Patterns Thu, 05 May 2011 11:06:35 -0400 http://rpg-design-patterns.speedykitty.com/doku.php/start Design Patterns of Successful Role-Playing Games a book by Whitson John Kirk III Edited by Michael R. Cantrell Foreword by Mike Holmes 9 / 13 / 2009 Copyright © 2006 by Whitson John Kirk III. Some rights reserved. If you make changes, add your name to the Contributor’s section on the cover. Please do not alter the Dedication, Forward, or Acknowledgements sections. Thu, 05 May 2011 11:37:53 -0400 http://rpg-design-patterns.speedykitty.com/doku.php/story_patterns * Endgame * Structured Story Wed, 20 Jan 2010 02:46:40 -0400 http://rpg-design-patterns.speedykitty.com/doku.php/structural_patterns * Anonymous Rule * Loose Coupling * Modularity * Priority Grid Wed, 20 Jan 2010 03:56:32 -0400 http://rpg-design-patterns.speedykitty.com/doku.php/table_of_contents * Acknowledgements * Introduction * The First Step in Designing an RPG * Definitions * Gauge Diagrams * Design Patterns * RPG Design Pattern Catalog * Conflict System Patterns * Character Makeup Patterns * Fundamental Gauge Patterns * Miscellaneous Patterns * Reward Patterns * Role-Playing Patterns * Story Patterns * Structural Patterns Tue, 02 Feb 2010 03:00:09 -0400 http://rpg-design-patterns.speedykitty.com/doku.php/the_first_step_in_designing_an_rpg Design Patterns won’t help you to design anything if you don’t have an idea of what it is you are designing. First of all, let’s suppose you have the following goals: * You want to design a “pen and paper” role-playing game, where real people sit around a real table and talk to one another face to face. * You want the game to be fun. Thu, 05 May 2011 04:36:07 -0400