Goals and Principles of Liminal En Garde! (metathread)
Nov 8, 2019 0:00:00 GMT
Dieudonné Lachapelle likes this
Post by Ymbert Montgomery on Nov 8, 2019 0:00:00 GMT
Some thoughts on how I see the game in no particular order.
I very much see the Parisian social scene and player interaction as the "core" of the game.
The military game plays a support role to that, although I obviously recognise it's an important part of the game for many players so needs to be as fun as possible.
Good press! I enjoy writing press as people can probably tell and try to make it entertaining. (What this does mean is that we don't have a "turn report" in the sense of a full list of actions).
Liminal En Garde! is genre emulation, not a simulation. By this I mean the game is a lot more about getting the right "feel" and "story" than historical accuracy. I find historical posts interesting and encourage them, but by themselves they aren't really an argument for changing things.
Interesting to En Garde veterans while accessible to newbies. At the moment, the latter is one of the things I think the game could do better on. Although hopefully the "Spotlights" help.
As I'm sure people have noticed, I enjoy tinkering with rules and trying out new ones. As such, Liminal has a "living rulebook". As we see what works and what doesn't things are likely to solidify, but if you want a game where the rules are set in stone this one probably isn't going to be for you.
I like chrome; little rules that are there in case anyone wants to use them. Preferably modular so they can be implemented easily as necessary. (The merchant rules are the best example of what I mean here).
Unpredictability and randomness are also important parts of the game. Things like the drunkeness tables and the chances of mistress pregnancy are there for that reason and this is something I'm looking at increasing.
As much as possible, the high SL and low SL game need to be equally rewarding. There may be low status characters, but there are no unimportant players.
On the flipside, players are going to get more out of the game if they put more in. If you want to play the game entirely mechanically you can do, but you're unlikely to enjoy it as much.
Liminal obviously is a magpie that steals bits from lots of other games. However, it's still its own thing. "I have seen this in another game and it added to the fun" is a strong argument. "I've seen this in another game and it didn't work" is almost as strong". "This was not in my last game" or "I haven't seen this before in a game" isn't something likely to influence me either way.
Liminal! isn't going to be for everyone. I don't think any game of En Garde! can be; every GM has different focuses and approaches. As such, as long as it's not lots of players seeming unhappy, I'm likely to assume that an individual player not enjoying the game is just finding it a bad fit for their playstyle and would be happier elswhere. On the flipside, this obviously means I won't take players dropping out personally!
That's me brainstorming. Feel free to ask about anything I haven't covered.
I very much see the Parisian social scene and player interaction as the "core" of the game.
The military game plays a support role to that, although I obviously recognise it's an important part of the game for many players so needs to be as fun as possible.
Good press! I enjoy writing press as people can probably tell and try to make it entertaining. (What this does mean is that we don't have a "turn report" in the sense of a full list of actions).
Liminal En Garde! is genre emulation, not a simulation. By this I mean the game is a lot more about getting the right "feel" and "story" than historical accuracy. I find historical posts interesting and encourage them, but by themselves they aren't really an argument for changing things.
Interesting to En Garde veterans while accessible to newbies. At the moment, the latter is one of the things I think the game could do better on. Although hopefully the "Spotlights" help.
As I'm sure people have noticed, I enjoy tinkering with rules and trying out new ones. As such, Liminal has a "living rulebook". As we see what works and what doesn't things are likely to solidify, but if you want a game where the rules are set in stone this one probably isn't going to be for you.
I like chrome; little rules that are there in case anyone wants to use them. Preferably modular so they can be implemented easily as necessary. (The merchant rules are the best example of what I mean here).
Unpredictability and randomness are also important parts of the game. Things like the drunkeness tables and the chances of mistress pregnancy are there for that reason and this is something I'm looking at increasing.
As much as possible, the high SL and low SL game need to be equally rewarding. There may be low status characters, but there are no unimportant players.
On the flipside, players are going to get more out of the game if they put more in. If you want to play the game entirely mechanically you can do, but you're unlikely to enjoy it as much.
Liminal obviously is a magpie that steals bits from lots of other games. However, it's still its own thing. "I have seen this in another game and it added to the fun" is a strong argument. "I've seen this in another game and it didn't work" is almost as strong". "This was not in my last game" or "I haven't seen this before in a game" isn't something likely to influence me either way.
Liminal! isn't going to be for everyone. I don't think any game of En Garde! can be; every GM has different focuses and approaches. As such, as long as it's not lots of players seeming unhappy, I'm likely to assume that an individual player not enjoying the game is just finding it a bad fit for their playstyle and would be happier elswhere. On the flipside, this obviously means I won't take players dropping out personally!
That's me brainstorming. Feel free to ask about anything I haven't covered.