Tag Archives: story games

Things That Have Changed

Posted on July 22, 2010 by mcdaldno

Brian Peters asked me: “Can you tell me some about what’s sweeter and tastier about this new edition [of Perfect]? Game-wise, I mean.” Brian, I’d absolutely love to tell you about some of the changes I’ve made from the first … Continue reading →

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Simple, Single-Purpose Elegance

Posted on July 4, 2010 by mcdaldno

I hate Facebook. There’s lots of reasons to hate it, but I hate it for the reason that it is obtuse and sprawling. The worst part is that I used to love it. And back then, when we were starry-eyed … Continue reading →

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Ribbon Drive, on sale

Posted on July 3, 2010 by mcdaldno

I’m putting Ribbon Drive on sale, while I work to sell through the last of the current print run. It’s an interesting sale model: pay cost, plus what you want to. The physical product is really pretty. It’s sold as … Continue reading →

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What are story games? And why?

Posted on June 27, 2010 by mcdaldno

Let this post act as a primer, for anyone who’s interested in story games. Too few people know what story games are. There is a huge wealth of amazing, creative, social people in the world. People I’d love to play games … Continue reading →

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Reporting Back: Game Design In 48 Minutes

Posted on October 5, 2009 by mcdaldno

This Saturday, I ran a game design panel with Brad Murray, one of the authors of Diaspora. We were surprised and delighted to fill every chair in the room. Granted, there were 15 chairs in the room. I’d like to … Continue reading →

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How To Resolve Intense, Interpersonal Situations in Ribbon Drive

Posted on September 11, 2009 by mcdaldno

Graham Walmsley recently hosted a game of Ribbon Drive and his group encountered an interesting situation – two characters were locked in intense struggle, and the players didn’t know how to resolve this tense situation. To really zoom in on … Continue reading →

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Plugging in Scenes and System

Posted on August 25, 2009 by mcdaldno

I swore that I would never do this. That I would never make a story games theory post. But this feels different, and somehow allowable. I’m going to explore some theory, tie it directly into play techniques, and offer some … Continue reading →

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How to yell a poem & tell a game.

Posted on August 10, 2009 by mcdaldno

I like poetry. I especially like performance poetry. But sometimes it feels like we’re playing to format (*) and not to content. I’ve often gone to poetry slams and seen good poems put down by bad poems that are delivered … Continue reading →

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Soft Play.

Posted on July 15, 2009 by mcdaldno

I’m back! Summer has been going well. Ribbon Drive is nearing publication. My garden is doing fairly well. And I got back from Go Play alright. Go Play helped me realize something about my play preferences – a shift I’ve … Continue reading →

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No.

Posted on May 29, 2009 by mcdaldno

There’s a common adage in the world of story games, introduced through the text of Vincent Baker’s Dogs in the Vineyard: Say yes or roll the dice. Follow the link to read his words on the subject, and then meet … Continue reading →

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