Sean Merwin

And so I see the alien role-playing game, even though I don't know if we've seen the full hardcover book yet.

And so I see the alien role-playing game, even though I don't know if we've seen the full hardcover book yet.

And the fact that the game itself recognized that you need two modes of play with maybe a similar chassis but very different circuitry within that game goes to show what I'm talking about with this. You need these two different things. The next thing on my list is a diversity of story elements. So what I'm talking about there is there are certain games where you can tell a certain kind of story.

And the fact that the game itself recognized that you need two modes of play with maybe a similar chassis but very different circuitry within that game goes to show what I'm talking about with this. You need these two different things. The next thing on my list is a diversity of story elements. So what I'm talking about there is there are certain games where you can tell a certain kind of story.

Then there are certain games that expand that out so you can tell a variety of different stories. And what I'm thinking of now is Call of Cthulhu.

Then there are certain games that expand that out so you can tell a variety of different stories. And what I'm thinking of now is Call of Cthulhu.

It's not that Call of Cthulhu is a game where you cannot play a campaign in. But you are definitely confined to a certain kind of story with the system, at least with the base Call of Cthulhu basic role-playing rules. And you see this all the time, and I just experienced it the other day with my daughter, who is in a D&D group, and they've been playing a campaign here and a campaign there.

It's not that Call of Cthulhu is a game where you cannot play a campaign in. But you are definitely confined to a certain kind of story with the system, at least with the base Call of Cthulhu basic role-playing rules. And you see this all the time, and I just experienced it the other day with my daughter, who is in a D&D group, and they've been playing a campaign here and a campaign there.

And then they decided, let's try Call of Cthulhu, because Wizards has done all these horrible things. Let's try to support another game. And I knew what was coming. So she came home from the first session, and she was like, oh, it was kind of fun. We did these different, because they were making characters, which is fun. And then they get to the second session.

And then they decided, let's try Call of Cthulhu, because Wizards has done all these horrible things. Let's try to support another game. And I knew what was coming. So she came home from the first session, and she was like, oh, it was kind of fun. We did these different, because they were making characters, which is fun. And then they get to the second session.

She comes home, and she's like, yeah, that didn't go great. And I'm like, yes, because you are a bunch of D&D players who expect to be able to tell certain kinds of stories. And now you're stepping into a game where it's not like Roll for Initiative

She comes home, and she's like, yeah, that didn't go great. And I'm like, yes, because you are a bunch of D&D players who expect to be able to tell certain kinds of stories. And now you're stepping into a game where it's not like Roll for Initiative

we're going to spend 30 minutes in a combat this is now very complex clue-driven mystery-solving storytelling which doesn't tickle everyone's fancy for a full campaign so the story you're telling and the play styles that the game supports do not

we're going to spend 30 minutes in a combat this is now very complex clue-driven mystery-solving storytelling which doesn't tickle everyone's fancy for a full campaign so the story you're telling and the play styles that the game supports do not

Yeah. And so complexity on the complexity side, there needs to be, for me at least, as I've seen over the years, a complexity of play that allows people to expand their experience based on their desires. So if it's, you know, we hear about dread, right? The Jenga tower, you pull the thing. That is a great convention experience, a great one-shot experience to feel that tension, to feel that.

Yeah. And so complexity on the complexity side, there needs to be, for me at least, as I've seen over the years, a complexity of play that allows people to expand their experience based on their desires. So if it's, you know, we hear about dread, right? The Jenga tower, you pull the thing. That is a great convention experience, a great one-shot experience to feel that tension, to feel that.

That is not a system that you would want to say, OK, we're going to meet every week and play that game, because it is not designed that way. Could that randomizer, could that bit of game mechanics be used, possibly? But there's only so much you can do with that.

That is not a system that you would want to say, OK, we're going to meet every week and play that game, because it is not designed that way. Could that randomizer, could that bit of game mechanics be used, possibly? But there's only so much you can do with that.

You would need to add a bunch of complexity of different ways to engage with that in order to truly make that something that you would want to play every week for 50 weeks. Right.

You would need to add a bunch of complexity of different ways to engage with that in order to truly make that something that you would want to play every week for 50 weeks. Right.