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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I'd note three things in connection with Ars
Magica, and time taken to produce characters. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Firstly, we only had one rulebook between the four
of us, and only one of us - me - had read it recently, or at all. Character
creation is always faster if all the players have the rulebook, and have read
it. That applies even to good old Heroquest:)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Secondly, what slows character creation down in
most systems, and in AM4 as well, is the wide variety of choices. It's what I
call the Video Store Syndrome. You know how you can wander into a vid store, and
there are THOUSANDS of movies to choose from. You can easily spend an hour or
two wandering around and choosing nothing. Whereas if they had one shelf with
twenty movies, you might curse the lack of choice, but you'd choose pretty
quickly! </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> I think it's one reason for the
success of systems like D&D, class-based systems. Players' choices are
limited. Lets you get into play fairly quickly. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thirdly, what also slows character creation down in
game systems is if knowledge of the setting is required to create a character.
In Heroquest, you can't say, "I want a "Heortling Warrior, devotee to Humakt" if
you don't know what a Heortling or Humakt is. (I assume everyone knows what a
warrior is!) </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> So if your system is tied to a
setting, then knowledge of that setting will be required before a character can
be created. This is another thing which slowed down our character creation last
night;) And this of course ties back in with the first point, of whether people
have read the rulebook or not.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Combining only one rulebook with the Video Store
Syndrome and lack of setting knowledge, and you get slow character
generation!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>So these are certainly things to consider in game
design, yes. When designing a game, you must consider whether you want a group
to be able to run off just one copy of your rulebook, or whether you want them
all to buy it. The more detail you put in the rules (d4-d4 through to GURPS),
and the more you tie your rules to a particular setting (GURPS through to Ars
Magica), the more need there is for each person to have a copy of the rulebook,
and to have read it before play. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Tightly tying your system to a
particular setting leads you to develop strange and obscure rules. This means
that you may have one system for skills, another for attributes, another for
magic, and so on. This will confuse new players. The good side of the
development of strange and obscure rules is that sometimes you develop quite
unusual and interesting things, like the Ars Magica magical system. No-one would
have developed such a magic system if they were aiming for some
universal system. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> It's also a consideration, do
you want new players to be able to get straight into play, or should they have
to have read the rulebook (Ars Magica, etc) or have a tutor to take them through
its complexities (GURPS). </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Detail of rules, and detail of
setting, and rules strongly tied to a particular setting. Important things to
consider in game design.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>[Sidebar] In my own game's
design, I was aiming at achieving a few particular things. I wanted to create a
game the rules of which could be explained to a new player in under ten minutes,
and where a character could be created as quickly as that, too. I wanted
non-roleplayers to be able to look at the character sheet and understand it
immediately. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> I wanted a system which would
welcome the newbies, and which would work well over 1-12 game sessions; in my
experience and those of many people I've spoken to, that's a typical length for
a campaign. After a dozen sessions or so, either the group breaks up or they
switch to some other game. Certainly there are many long-term campaigns and
groups out there, but like the fantasy rpg market, I felt they were well-served
by existing rules systems. [/Sidebar]</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Of course, this is also why GMs provide
pre-generated characters. But I didn't know we'd end up playing Ars Magica! I
had pre-gens ready for GURPS Immortals, GURPS/d4-d4 Harn, and GURPS/d4-d4
Postapocalyptic, and GURPS/d4-d4 Stargate, too. Naturally, you guys chose the
one setting and system I didn't have any pre-gens or other material prepared
for!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Pesky players!:)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Cheers,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Kyle</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>