Synthesized Ludology: Notes on Game Design

I don’t intend this piece to be a pure review of what other people have said; I have written a number of things on a variety of subjects, and there are a few ideas I wish to bring in. Chief among them are the concepts of the “Paradigm-Syntax” dyad (which can be connected to the GNS or the MDA sections) and that of “Complex Pleasures” (which connects to the Eight Kinds of Fun.) I also have the compulsory commentary on Nostalgia and Genre that readers of this blog will know is coming.

Make an Insight Check: A Brief Comment on Tabletop Gaming

I’ve been playing tabletop games for at least half of my life, and it’s been a rewarding hobby. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without it, and I think I’d be a measurably worse person without it. From Dungeons and Dragons in high school and college, all the way up to more recent experiments with Powered by the Apocalypse, FATE, and Chronicles of Darkness games, it has been a constant for me.