Design

mythusmage · December 06, 2012, 06:15:52 PM

What would you say are the signs of good design and bad design?

Good Design: Clear writing.
Good Design: Coherent writing
Good Design: Organized writing
Bad Design: Needlessly complex mechanics/rules

Any more out there?

eykd · December 31, 2012, 01:49:56 AM

I'm reminded of Raph Koster's "Good Design, Bad Design, Great Design" presentation. He's got a long list, but here are the first three:

QuoteGood design is familiar.
Bad Design is boring.
Great Design is exciting.

Good Design embraces human nature.
Bad Design exploits human nature.
Great Design is humane and humanistic.

Good Design guides.
Bad Design controls.
Great Design invites.

Lots more behind the link, with explication that takes it beyond just a collection of proverbs..

mythusmage · December 31, 2012, 06:29:13 PM

Quote from: eykd;613132I'm reminded of Raph Koster's "Good Design, Bad Design, Great Design" presentation. He's got a long list, but here are the first three:

Lots more behind the link, with explication that takes it beyond just a collection of proverbs..

I'm gonna have to remember those, and the others you put up on your site.

soviet · January 01, 2013, 09:10:38 AM

Good Design: "This is my personal model for a fun way to play an RPG, come and join in if it sounds like your cup of tea!"

Bad Design: "People like X so here's a bit of X, Y is the new cool thing so here's a bit of Y, please tell me if there's anything you don't like and I'll change it!"

Melan · January 01, 2013, 09:14:15 AM

Quote from: soviet;613450Good Design: "This is my personal model for a fun way to play an RPG, come and join in if it sounds like your cup of tea!"

Bad Design: "People like X so here's a bit of X, Y is the new cool thing so here's a bit of Y, please tell me if there's anything you don't like and I'll change it!"

Yes indeed.

rway218 · January 20, 2013, 10:31:56 PM

Good Design: I started out with everything, and boiled it down to something simple.
Bad Design: Here is everything from save VS itch, to roll for sneeze.
Great Design: I wrote for a long time before I play tested, then play tested for a long time before I edited. I used good advice for changes, and read EVERY comment both negative and positive about the game. Now I've repeated the process over, and over until I present to you this... Clear, simple, and fun.

Keep it simple, keep it fun, and (for all that is decent and holy!) give it your heart. Game design is not a pay day, unless you only want paid in people saying "thanks".

Anon Adderlan · January 21, 2013, 10:07:23 PM

Quote from: mythusmage;606277Good Design: Clear writing.
Good Design: Coherent writing
Good Design: Organized writing

But these are all the SAME THING!

Quote from: Raph KosterGood Design guides.
Bad Design controls.
Great Design invites.

And these are probably the most applicable design proverbs I've ever seen for RPGs.

mythusmage · January 21, 2013, 11:24:27 PM

Quote from: Anon Adderlan;620583But these are all the SAME THING!

Not to some writers.