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Narrative Control - Episode 8
Pacing in games. Justin and I talk about mechanics and techniques we have used for pacing our games. These range from dice mechanics, to actual timers and at the end a discussion of player created urgency in the Sons of Liberty.
Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans
Length: 30:20 Minutes
Liner Notes
[00:30] Show Introduction - Pacing Mechanics. [01:24] RPGpodcast.com bumper [01:42] Definition of Pacing. A couple useless ones first. [02:00] Controlling the urgency in the game upping the stakes. [03:19] Preventing analysis paralysis and encouraging immersion. [03:47] Pacing built into most games, usually in combat systems. Something we are all familiar with. [04:32] The same hit point system most gamers are familiar with from Dungeons and Dragons are used in Burning Empires to represent Disposition. [05:47] Situation: Disarming a bomb in Spirit of the Century. Creating pacing for a non-combat conflict to create urgency. [07:48] Another SotC mechanic extended skill challenge. [08:15] How Justin used an extended skill challenge in a Firefly game to represent the race to find an outlaw before he was caught by a bounty hunter. [10:42] Using props as a visual aid to represent margin of success and chance of failure. [11:11] Skill Challenges in 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons are very similar. [12:10] This form of pacing comes form game mechanics. [13:00] Bringing in outside elements. Sand timers, egg timers. Not giving players enough time to analyze all the information available. [13:50] Introducing a mini game as a spotlight moment. [14:45] How Justin escalated things even further, causing distractions. [15:58] Potential backfire? Does this still work if the characters fail? [16:37] Using a timer in My Life with Joker to trigger random events. [18:24] Ding! Ding! Ding! A bank blows up! [18:57] An extreme example in John Wick's Play Dirty. [19:44] Applying the mechanics as in game effects. In a Matrix game "Time is always against you." [20:49] Doom in Roanoke. Affects narration of end game. [21:42] Sean was disappointed there wasn't more doom. [21:52] Pace set by the players in Sons of Liberty [28:54] Pacing is game agnostic. Try it out. [29:04] Another RPGPodcasts.com bumper [29:09] Show Recap [29:50] Let us know what you think: [email protected]
Links
RPGpodcast.com Dungeons and Dragons Burning Empires Spirit of the Century My Life with Master Play Dirty Roanoke Sons of Liberty Post Feedback Here: Comments
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By Sean Nittner, Justin EvansPacing in games. Justin and I talk about mechanics and techniques we have used for pacing our games. These range from dice mechanics, to actual timers and at the end a discussion of player created urgency in the Sons of Liberty.
Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans
Length: 30:20 Minutes
Liner Notes
[00:30] Show Introduction - Pacing Mechanics. [01:24] RPGpodcast.com bumper [01:42] Definition of Pacing. A couple useless ones first. [02:00] Controlling the urgency in the game upping the stakes. [03:19] Preventing analysis paralysis and encouraging immersion. [03:47] Pacing built into most games, usually in combat systems. Something we are all familiar with. [04:32] The same hit point system most gamers are familiar with from Dungeons and Dragons are used in Burning Empires to represent Disposition. [05:47] Situation: Disarming a bomb in Spirit of the Century. Creating pacing for a non-combat conflict to create urgency. [07:48] Another SotC mechanic extended skill challenge. [08:15] How Justin used an extended skill challenge in a Firefly game to represent the race to find an outlaw before he was caught by a bounty hunter. [10:42] Using props as a visual aid to represent margin of success and chance of failure. [11:11] Skill Challenges in 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons are very similar. [12:10] This form of pacing comes form game mechanics. [13:00] Bringing in outside elements. Sand timers, egg timers. Not giving players enough time to analyze all the information available. [13:50] Introducing a mini game as a spotlight moment. [14:45] How Justin escalated things even further, causing distractions. [15:58] Potential backfire? Does this still work if the characters fail? [16:37] Using a timer in My Life with Joker to trigger random events. [18:24] Ding! Ding! Ding! A bank blows up! [18:57] An extreme example in John Wick's Play Dirty. [19:44] Applying the mechanics as in game effects. In a Matrix game "Time is always against you." [20:49] Doom in Roanoke. Affects narration of end game. [21:42] Sean was disappointed there wasn't more doom. [21:52] Pace set by the players in Sons of Liberty [28:54] Pacing is game agnostic. Try it out. [29:04] Another RPGPodcasts.com bumper [29:09] Show Recap [29:50] Let us know what you think: [email protected]
Links
RPGpodcast.com Dungeons and Dragons Burning Empires Spirit of the Century My Life with Master Play Dirty Roanoke Sons of Liberty Post Feedback Here: Comments