Set Goals serve many functions. Gold is indeed written in a way that plays heavily with dramatic irony and a strong separation between character knowledge and player knowledge. I think it’s worth pointing out that characters don’t have to pursue the Set Goal at all - they can completely ignore it. What matters is that the players know it’s an available option.
Additionally, if the Set Goal is important to the players but they find its resolution boring or feel it’s too risky for their characters, they can always spend Hunt Tokens to just resolve it :) That way, they can also create a fast montage out of what would otherwise be monotonous fiction or avoid the risks tied to that goal’s resolution in fiction.
Great post :) I think there’s also an opposite extreme, where there’s so much visual information available that it becomes confusing. I had that experience playing Icarus an endless number of times - every action generates an index card that goes on the table. These cards are meant to represent the state of the city, but at some point, there are so many that it becomes completely unreadable.
In those cases, I think it might be helpful to use classic mind maps with a hierarchy of topic + color + size.
Most of my story game sessions happen online, though, so I usually rely on Miro for that kind of thing :) And also 12 open PDFs during every session of The Between :D
Index cards are so tough!!! I play so many games that are like "now put your character name on a table tent in front of you" and that shit just gets lost. I should have mentioned that -- how I've become increasingly skeptical about little note cards and shit that end up floating around.
I now have to start looking into Miro in case I run games online.
Ugh, now just imagine playing Icarus with 20-30 of those little cards scattered across the table and everything starts visually blending together…
I think the visual representation in The Quiet Year and the use of iconic thinking through symbols on the map was an absolute bullseye from Avery Alder.
I’m not sure if Miro is the best tool - I’m just the most used to it. It definitely works better for me in online play than Mural or apps specifically designed for mind mapping.
High time to start writing! :) We’re organizing a small design-focused con where we’ll be exploring how trad RPGs, story games, larps, freeforms, FKR, OSR, narrative board games, social parlor games, facilitation techniques, and experience design can all learn from each other - sharing tools and models along the way :) I hope that after this event I’ll have tons of inspiration and examples to write about on the blog :)
Set Goals serve many functions. Gold is indeed written in a way that plays heavily with dramatic irony and a strong separation between character knowledge and player knowledge. I think it’s worth pointing out that characters don’t have to pursue the Set Goal at all - they can completely ignore it. What matters is that the players know it’s an available option.
Additionally, if the Set Goal is important to the players but they find its resolution boring or feel it’s too risky for their characters, they can always spend Hunt Tokens to just resolve it :) That way, they can also create a fast montage out of what would otherwise be monotonous fiction or avoid the risks tied to that goal’s resolution in fiction.
Great post :) I think there’s also an opposite extreme, where there’s so much visual information available that it becomes confusing. I had that experience playing Icarus an endless number of times - every action generates an index card that goes on the table. These cards are meant to represent the state of the city, but at some point, there are so many that it becomes completely unreadable.
In those cases, I think it might be helpful to use classic mind maps with a hierarchy of topic + color + size.
Most of my story game sessions happen online, though, so I usually rely on Miro for that kind of thing :) And also 12 open PDFs during every session of The Between :D
Index cards are so tough!!! I play so many games that are like "now put your character name on a table tent in front of you" and that shit just gets lost. I should have mentioned that -- how I've become increasingly skeptical about little note cards and shit that end up floating around.
I now have to start looking into Miro in case I run games online.
Ugh, now just imagine playing Icarus with 20-30 of those little cards scattered across the table and everything starts visually blending together…
I think the visual representation in The Quiet Year and the use of iconic thinking through symbols on the map was an absolute bullseye from Avery Alder.
I’m not sure if Miro is the best tool - I’m just the most used to it. It definitely works better for me in online play than Mural or apps specifically designed for mind mapping.
P.S. I found your YouTube channel! It’s awesome!
I'm glad you dig the YouTube posts! I put them out so rarely, maybe a few more soon. I'm still waiting on those facilitation posts from you!
High time to start writing! :) We’re organizing a small design-focused con where we’ll be exploring how trad RPGs, story games, larps, freeforms, FKR, OSR, narrative board games, social parlor games, facilitation techniques, and experience design can all learn from each other - sharing tools and models along the way :) I hope that after this event I’ll have tons of inspiration and examples to write about on the blog :)