Reward system discussions elsewhere
I’m at a writers conference right now, so I’m not doing much writing. I’ll be back next Saturday with my own thoughts about what the use is of these various kinds of experience and advancement systems, but it looks like this is a somehow timely topic. Vincent Baker and John Kim are also talking about reward systems and how they contribute to play.
- Reward systems
- “Saying it that way, and having compared to poker, makes me think this question is almost like asking ‘Isn’t flipping cards its own reward?’ Ok sure, for some folks, in need of something mindless do just shuffle cards and such, and such fiddling is the reward.”
- A few thoughts on mechanical reward systems
- “Mechanical reward systems can serve very different functions. I think a simple approach would be to consider play which has only flat awards, and then ask how you would like play to be different than that. For example, if you want to emphasize teamwork, or competition, or showmanship -- then you can try to arrange mechanical awards which highlight these.”
- Freeform Reward Mechanics
- “In the absence of agreed upon procedures, the social interactions between players become the defacto system.”
- Forge: [Frostfolk, ] Carrying on
- “At this late date, it seems to me that mechanics like Luck/Unluck in Champions or Good Stuff/Bad Stuff in Amber were kind of transitional between a D&D model and a (for example) Shadow of Yesterday one.”
More reward systems
- Level drain in Gods & Monsters
- Why no level drain? Because levels are a reward; taking them away is a punishment.
- Experience and Advancement in Role-Playing Games
- Kill monsters. Take their stuff. How has character advancement in role-playing games changed over the years? Starting with original D&D and on up through a handful of modern games, I’ll be surveying methods of experience and character advancement over the years.