PinkFae Archive #28: How to GM Part 3: Designing Your Campaign (2nd of 2)

Last week's article was the first part of a two-part entry from the PinkFae Archives. So this week we will post the second half of that article. This finishes up Part 3 of the 'How to GM' series. It was originally posted on 5 August 2016.

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Last week, we began looking at the essentials of designing your campaign. It was a big topic, so I had to split it into two sections. Today's entry will finish what we started, as we look at the remaining three basic campaign arrangements. In case you've forgotten, last week we discussed the 'Episodic' and 'Set-Piece' design systems. Today, we will cover 'Branching,' 'Puzzle Piece,' and 'Enemy Timeline.'

PinkFae Archive #27: How to GM Part 3: Designing Your Campaign (1st of 2)

The first post of 2019; a new year, full of hope and promise, and we start off with a doozy. Today is another PinkFae Archive, but this one is a two-parter. So today, we'll have part one, and next week, we'll see part 2. This entry was first posted on 24 July 2016.

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Things are looking up for you; now you've chosen a game and have a group of players willing to play it. What do you do next? The first step, obviously, is to design the overall campaign. This sounds like a daunting task, so let's look at some advice and tips on how to do that in the most effective manner possible.

Please note that this section is going to cover a lot of material. I don't want to overwhelm you, though, so I'm going to break it up into two parts. We'll do part A today, and I'll finish with part B next week.

A Legitimate Complaint Concerning GURPS

I recently encountered an article about GURPS. In the article, the author outlines some of the problems he has with GURPS (and, in particular, with the 4th edition of GURPS). Many of the things he has to say on the issue are valid, and as I've recently done a bit of dabbling in GURPS again and had a number of thoughts on the topic, it helped me to crystallise what I was thinking. So today, I'm going to discuss my reactions to the article.

A quick summary of the article, for those who don't want to click on the link above (and it is a lengthy read, so I don't blame you if you don't):

GURPS 3rd Edition was great, but in translating the system into a 4th edition, they made the game incomprehensible for new players, and their ancient, arcane, and inflexible policies on intellectual properties only exacerbate the problem.

So, in order for my attitudes towards GURPS to make sense, I'm going to provide a little bit of context in the form of my personal history with the system.

What makes a game good?

I found myself sitting around with a few friends last night talking about games. This is not surprising, as we had gotten together for the specific purpose of playing some games. In between games, we talked about gaming, gamers, conventions, and some specific games.

There's a sentiment that I hear often when talking about games. I heard it last night, and I've heard it many times before. We'll be discussing a particular game, and someone will say some variation on:

• I have a great time playing that game even when I lose.
• That's a game I love to lose.
• I don't care if I lose this game, because it's so much fun to play.

I've found it to be true for me in many cases: The Red Dragon Inn, Dominant Species, and The Resistance: Avalon to name just a few. 

Now, I will readily admit that these games are not perfect. The Red Dragon Inn, for example, features player elimination. Dominant Species can be pretty intense, complicated, and lengthy. The Resistance: Avalon is difficult for people who are not good liars.

Accomplishing Big Things

I'm going to post something a bit meta today. I'm not going to talk so much about games, but a little bit more about the games industry. In fact, I'm even pulling back my perspective to talk a little bit about creativity in general.

Let me set the scene. I currently live in central Oklahoma. There's not a lot in Oklahoma. There are farms, there is oil and natural gas, and there is a smattering of a few other things. If you live in one of the two major urban areas (the Oklahoma City metro area, and Tulsa), there's a slightly broader array of things to do and see. A small handful of companies have their headquarters here (most notably, the drive-in fast food chain Sonic), and downtown OKC and Tulsa have some offices for various corporations.

But otherwise, there's not a lot to Oklahoma. The state tries to rely on its Native American heritage (all of which was basically imported from other parts of the country anyway) to promote tourism, but not many people think of Oklahoma as a vacation destination.