As I’ve been working on Microscope: Chronicle, I’ve been revisiting all the core principles of Microscope, taking the watch apart and re-examining each gear under a (don’t say microscope)… magnifying glass to see what could be improved. And now we have these codified Ground Table principles laying out the kind of games we want to […]| ars ludi
All the hammering and pounding and forge-labor is done (for now). The first draft of the Ground Table principles has been nailed to the door. But how do you test a thing like that? How do you know you got it right? Well one test is the basic gut-check: does it *feel* right. Another is […]| ars ludi
It occurred to me that even though our crew has all these ideas about how we think games should be — all these principles and conclusions from years and years of play, including eight years of Story Games Seattle — they are not all together in one nice, neat, easy-to-read place. So we decided to […]| ars ludi
What is a game? What is a role-playing game? What is a story game? Buckle up because today I am tackling the big fish: definitions. When I talk about definitions, what I’m looking for is a *useful* definition. I want something that reflects the truth of what we actually do. A definition that sheds light […]| ars ludi
I had never watched Bob Ross’s Joy of Painting series until that magnificent twitch run back in 2015. The thing that really stuck with me (other than the fact that Bob Ross was a saint now but had clearly been through some shit) was how much he emphasized that paintings were entirely optical illusions. It’s […]| ars ludi
I've seen some game creators say that if you don't agree with their politics or their worldview -- or frankly just hold hateful or bigoted opinions -- they do not want you to play their games. And I get it. I get wanting to punish bad people, to tell them they don't deserve to enjoy the art you m| ars ludi
