Doctor Who: Solitaire Story Game - Designer Blog

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Theme vs Mechanics - A Good Game Goes to War

Posted by simon cogan

27 Aug 2011

simon cogan

(dragoncymru)

United Kingdom

Having just finished 'The Silver Screen' yesterday for DWSSG, I can take a little time of design and do some of that most important past-time of designers - playtesting.

The expansion deals, naturally, with adventures in and around Hollywood, giving players the chance to get characters into the movies (Donna Noble in a Comedy? Or Astrid in a musical? What about getting Amy Pond in the latest Horror flick?) as well as meeting some of the most cinematic icons of the last century - Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Laurel and Hardy...they're all here.

I'm sure that the expansion won't stand the playtesting without a few tweaks and I'll be changing bits all week.

This is a very 'thematic' expansion and DWSSG is very heavy on theme, perhaps to the detriemnt of the mechanics of the game which are very simple. I'm sure that if a 'power gamer' were to take a look, they would be able to walk over the system in a breze, finding the optimum routes for 'winning' and getting great Characters with loads of Traits, high Qualities and loads of cool gadgets that stomp all the Enemies into the ground.

But that's not the point. It's not called a 'Storytelling' game for nothing and I have always emphasised story over mechanics, theme over bare numbers and stats.

I've always said that 'Barbarian Prince' was the key inspiration for this game (along with it's sci-fi brother 'Star Smuggler'), but I think 'Tales of the Arabian Nights' was also a big influence on the design too (especially in the 'Legends' expansion which is my take on Places of Power from TOTAN).

I'll nail my colours to the wall and say |I would prefer theme over mechanics any day of the week. TOTAN is almost totally theme and I've always had a great time playing that game. When new games which should be greatly thematically - and I'm going to mention FFG's 'Star Wars' and 'Lord of the Rings' Living Cards Games here - my first question is always 'do they get the theme right? Both of these card games and their themes interest me greatly - I love the films and books - but do they capture the thrill of exploring the Old Forest with hobbits or entering the Mos Eisley cantina? Or is it all big battles and numbers, numbers, numbers, numbers?? I haven't bought LOTR and am watching SW carefully to see if it will appeal to me.

Perhaps anyone reading this can answer my questions?

And so, we're only a few hours away from killing Hitler (you know what I mean...) so I've just watched 'A Good Man Goes to War'! Here's what I said after transmission:

"It was totally bonkers, looked amazing and yet...I don't know, I just have a nagging feeling in the back of my mind. It reminded me of 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' a bit and I'm just not sure of the plotting. Someone has said this was Doctor Who as sponsored by Character Options who make the figures. I just wanted to spend more time in each of the scenarios at the start - especially with the Victorian Silurian! The big reveal I had guessed at earlier in the season and as soon as the baby was named then it was a no-brainer. Where to from here? I don't know but the next title 'Let's Kill Hitler' has just got to be the most slutty (as Moffat puts it) title yet. No rating yet - I've got to get my head around it..."

So, what did I think this time?

It was GREAT as long as you don't think about it TOO hard! There were loads of great moments, great acting, funny gags (love the Stevie Wonder one), exciting set pieces, fun characters - so it should be a 10/10 right? Hmm - I'm just a bit of a plot bunny sometimes and can't help thinking it's all so convenient and great swathes of plotting are just swept under the carpet...

Where did all those Silurians come from? And the Judoon? Why get 'Danny Boy' to blow up the comms array? There's a fantastic line said by Jenny as she walks into shot that goes something like 'oh well, that's Danny Boy taken back to their normal time zone'

Pardon me? She's a maid from the 19th century and everything is just so - well - mundane for her!! Time travel - no probs, armies of soldiers fighting for the Doctor - sure thing.

I think the best thing for me to do is go with the flow and not analyse it too hard (don't get me started on River, her diary and her timeline). If that's the case - 9/10. If I start to think, it drops lower.

Much lower....

But what did YOU think?

3 Comments

Sat Aug 27, 2011 4:30 pm

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Troy Nies

(InnsmouthMedic)

United States
Killdeer
North Dakota

I'd have to agree with not thinking too hard about the details in this current chapter (actually, season). I was really hoping Mr. Moffat was going to get back to a darker Who, juxtaposed with probably the youngest cast since Nyssa, Tegan, Adric, and Turlough. Unfortunately it appears they are really playing to the younger demographic and it has taken (in my opinion) a turn to the mediocre. Production values are probably the best they've ever been and continue to astound in many cases. Performances, for the most part are also excellent, but when I step back and ask myself and my family questions about what we just watched - there is a lot of shoulder shrugging and lukewarm response. Why? I think the story has become a bit convoluted and even at times lame. I really start to cringe when a long-standing series such as Dr. Who resorts to using the 'lineage' card: i.e., a baby is introduced, who's is it(no pun intended, or is it?), who is married to who, (again no pun intended) and offspring, etc. etc. The Who-universe is so rich with material that I find it surprising - especially since Moffat CAN be a brilliant writer, and yet go back to soap-opera mechanisms. Again - apparently this appeals to the masses. I'd much rather see the interaction and adventures, as mentioned - between the Victorian Sillurian and her counter-part - perhaps more history on the Judoon. Get us off earth or the not-to-distant-future of earth and get us back out into space, exploring the Who universe. In contrast to my rant - I suppose an argument could be made that this series is largely about character development and after we get through the 'soap-opera' nature of the material, we can get into some real adventuring in future seasons. I'd take that, if that is the case, but slogging through babies and wives and who's sleeping with who etc. has become (quite quickly) boring. Just my 2 cents...

Edited Sat Aug 27, 2011 6:21 pm
Posted Sat Aug 27, 2011 6:17 pm
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John Paul Messerly

(mermuse)

United States
Sherman Oaks
California

I've found that the games that keep the theme alive and active in my imagination as I play are primarily text or image based. Your Doctor Who game, Ranger, and TOTAN are driven more by text then by stats or resources.

I've been playing Ranger a lot recently and am amazed at how easily I can get lost in the experience and forget I'm playing a game. This game is truly unique because the primary actions you are doing as you play are the same as what your character is doing in the world... plotting and checking the units progress on a map and worrying about what you might stumble into around the next corner.

You mentioned the FFG Lord of the Rings game. Ive played this several times and I'm a big fan of its approach to creating a powerful story arcs but like most games the theme tends to drain away after about ten minuets of play. After a few minutes I forget I'm characters on a quest and I'm simply a gamer counting threat ratings and resources. Most of the theme is in the flavor texts or in special character abilities but theme must be part of the most common and repetitive actions of play. If all I really do while playing the game is look at stats and count resources then the theme contained in text and art will quickly fade.

Ranger and LOTR couldn't be more different. The LOTR system guarantees that there will be a slow build to an exciting conclusion while Ranger doesn't make any promises about how the story or tension will unfold. Many games of Ranger end without a shot being fired and nothing going wrong but have more tension because the flow is so unpredictable. As unsatisfying as this unpredictability may seem it actually adds to the theme. As much as we expect massive gunfights in a wargame on a recon patrol a successful mission is usually one with no shots fired.

I mentioned image based games being important for theme. I recently discovered a print and play game called "Queens of Fate" that uses a tarot deck. The strong images of the tarot made for a very dark and thematic experience but once again I found that because that imagery had no effect on my choices or actions the theme would fall away after a few minutes of play. If that game simply had unique effects or actions when the major arcana came into play I believe the theme would have stayed at the forefront. Text and Art needs to stop being secondary to stats or suits...

Posted Thu Sep 8, 2011 9:16 pm
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Steve Mackenzie

(Epicurean)

United Kingdom

IMO LotR gets the theme and flavour right by setting the game before the main events of the books - therefore allowing us to create our own adventures without having to worry about following a prescribed storyline too closely, and without jettisoning all thought to context and characters.

Posted Sun Sep 11, 2011 9:55 pm
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Doctor Who: Solitaire Story Game - Designer Blog

Theme vs Mechanics - A Good Game Goes to War

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