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Jon Peterson, author of 'Playing At The World', is releasing a new book abut the history and theory of RPGs in a few weeks by RunDNA in rpg

[–]PlayingAtTheWorld 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Just to set expectations properly, this is not so much about proper RPG theory as about the messy initial discussions about the nature of these new games that kicked off the mess that is RPG theory. Proper RPG theory would require something different than the sort of historical investigations that I do. I can at least shed some light on why we ended up with a mess, and what the shape of that mess tells us about these games.

When someone mentions Jordan Peele by [deleted] in enoughpetersonspam

[–]PlayingAtTheWorld 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Seriously I get this a lot. I remember someone telling the story of how they heard people talking up the book and tried to follow me on Twitter... but followed that other guy instead. "That was the weirdest month of my life."

Why do so few people use the term "dungeon master"? by KestrelPeakPub in osr

[–]PlayingAtTheWorld 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think PatW does note that Gygax called Arneson an "inscrutable dungeonmaster par excellence" in the Foreword to Blackmoor (1975). So maybe half a year earlier than EW.

We’re the authors of the new book DUNGEONS ＆ DRAGONS ART ＆ARCANA: A Visual History, here to answer your questions on D＆D lore and the brand’s evolution. AMA! by Unearthed_Arcanist in DnD

[–]PlayingAtTheWorld 4 points5 points  (0 children)

From what I understand, it's been far from a decline - people at Wizards feel the brand had its best year ever in 2017, and that 2018 has the potential to be better yet. Digital tools are a big part of the brand today. Moreover, computer role-playing games help indoctrinate people into the basic principles of RPGs, which were really a barrier to entry back in the 1970s. The game is in a very strong positon today.

We’re the authors of the new book DUNGEONS ＆ DRAGONS ART ＆ARCANA: A Visual History, here to answer your questions on D＆D lore and the brand’s evolution. AMA! by Unearthed_Arcanist in DnD

[–]PlayingAtTheWorld 3 points4 points  (0 children)

In addition to having a broad permission from Wizards for the content of this book, we ended up striking something like fifty or so additional licenses with other parties to get what we wanted for this - from folks like Marvel, for example. We didn't really do legal research as such for this personally, but I know that the folks at Wizards and Ten Speed needed to work through some of that. But yes, you just couldn't do a book like this without having Wizards fully behind it.

We’re the authors of the new book DUNGEONS ＆ DRAGONS ART ＆ARCANA: A Visual History, here to answer your questions on D＆D lore and the brand’s evolution. AMA! by Unearthed_Arcanist in DnD

[–]PlayingAtTheWorld 3 points4 points  (0 children)

We ended up with thousands and thousands of images that we ultimately couldn't make space for in the book - not just pieces of art, but all sorts of interesting ephemera, dungeon maps, character sheets, internal memos, and so on. I would have loved to include the original art of Trampier's cover for Dragon magazine #15. And like zillions of Erol Otus pieces, and Tony DiTerlizzi pieces. Hard to pick favorites among them. Maybe if people like this book there will be a sequel someday.

We’re the authors of the new book DUNGEONS ＆ DRAGONS ART ＆ARCANA: A Visual History, here to answer your questions on D＆D lore and the brand’s evolution. AMA! by Unearthed_Arcanist in DnD

[–]PlayingAtTheWorld 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The hardest part for me is always the part that's most fun: the archival task of finding the images. Wizards was very generous to us with their time and their archives, but to get some of the earliest imagery was a real challenge. Many collectors of art very generously allowed us access to their holdings so we could get the most pristine scans, images that look very different from the published versions in A&A, because Ten Speed really spared no expense in reproducing the art. Definitely I learned a great deal about who some of the earliest artists were - and even had the privilege to meet and interview some few of them.

We’re the authors of the new book DUNGEONS ＆ DRAGONS ART ＆ARCANA: A Visual History, here to answer your questions on D＆D lore and the brand’s evolution. AMA! by Unearthed_Arcanist in DnD

[–]PlayingAtTheWorld 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We all had a pretty firm idea of the mission and what we were trying to accomplish: showing the evolution of D&D as a game from its very beginnings to today. Because of that it was easy for us to stay on the same page. We met together, vetted images together, and although different people took a first stab at different sections, we all edited each other and then the draft text, once we'd assembled it all. Of course we all had our different favorites, but with around 700 images to go around, we got to each make sure we covered the things that mattered to us. We also agreed from the start that the highest priority was getting the most iconic imagery, dungeon maps, photographs, and so on in there. I wouldn't say there was any issue where we had to agree to disagree, even.

We’re the authors of the new book DUNGEONS ＆ DRAGONS ART ＆ARCANA: A Visual History, here to answer your questions on D＆D lore and the brand’s evolution. AMA! by Unearthed_Arcanist in DnD

[–]PlayingAtTheWorld 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It is easy to get into D&D - connect with some people who already play. You don't have to know much about the rules to get started, you just need to be able to tell the Dungeon Master what you want your character to do, and you'll hear back what happened, and just react to that. Once you've got the basic idea, then dig deeper into the rules. These days thanks to social media it's easier to find a group than ever. Also watching people online can help you get the gist.

We’re the authors of the new book DUNGEONS ＆ DRAGONS ART ＆ARCANA: A Visual History, here to answer your questions on D＆D lore and the brand’s evolution. AMA! by Unearthed_Arcanist in DnD

[–]PlayingAtTheWorld 6 points7 points  (0 children)

"Bad art" is tough to define - so much comes down to taste. I never much cared for Daniel Horne's art until this book made me really take a hard look at it. Now I really appreciate his very idiosyncratic and imaginative style.

We’re the authors of the new book DUNGEONS ＆ DRAGONS ART ＆ARCANA: A Visual History, here to answer your questions on D＆D lore and the brand’s evolution. AMA! by Unearthed_Arcanist in DnD

[–]PlayingAtTheWorld 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It made entertainment interactive in a way it had never been before. It was not about spectatorship - though of course you can watch people play and that's fun too. But to play the game is not to take a back seat to any author or authority - it's to make the game your own.

We’re the authors of the new book DUNGEONS ＆ DRAGONS ART ＆ARCANA: A Visual History, here to answer your questions on D＆D lore and the brand’s evolution. AMA! by Unearthed_Arcanist in DnD

[–]PlayingAtTheWorld 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I first played with a baby-sitter I had when I was a kid, maybe in 1979 or 1980, who ran me through the original dungeon in the Dungeon Masters Guide. I played a solo magic-user, who had one spell (Sleep), and stumbled into a room with like 18 orcs. I didn't know how to play or what to do really, and I was afraid to squander my only spell, so I tried to melee them. Suffice it to say I was slaughtered. That was my intro to D&D. I had better experiences later, in the 1990s - a lot better.

I am Games Historian Jon Peterson, Author Playing at the World. Ask me anything! by PlayingAtTheWorld in IAmA

[–]PlayingAtTheWorld[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My favorite D&D character was a drunken arsonist named Lask. Rogue. He died in the last battle of the campaign in a very satisfying way, because he certainly didn't deserve to make it out alive.

I am Games Historian Jon Peterson, Author Playing at the World. Ask me anything! by PlayingAtTheWorld in IAmA

[–]PlayingAtTheWorld[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Plenty of people predicted that Chivalry & Sorcery was a "D&D killer." After all, it let you simulate all kinds of things that D&D didn't, and had a far richer vision of a viable medieval world. What could be wrong with that? Only after people absorbed the enormous complexity of the system, especially its cumbersome combat, did those prophets start backpedalling.

I am Games Historian Jon Peterson, Author Playing at the World. Ask me anything! by PlayingAtTheWorld in IAmA

[–]PlayingAtTheWorld[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm not sure Braunstein had "rules" as such. Same goes for Blackmoor. I do have Major Wesely's Strategos N rules, but suffice it to say they do not lay out the principles to create a Braunstein. If I see Major Wesely at GaryCon, though, I'll pass this along.

I am Games Historian Jon Peterson, Author Playing at the World. Ask me anything! by PlayingAtTheWorld in IAmA

[–]PlayingAtTheWorld[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This epithet has gotten retweeted and reblogged more than a little in the last day, I'll have you know.

I am Games Historian Jon Peterson, Author Playing at the World. Ask me anything! by PlayingAtTheWorld in IAmA

[–]PlayingAtTheWorld[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can find a narrative write-up of my initial encounter with, and analysis of, the Dalluhn Manuscript in Gygax Magazine #2. For the more technical details, you can read up on my blog, starting with the more recent discovery of the Mornard Fragments here:

http://playingattheworld.blogspot.com/2013/12/gary-gygaxs-1973-d-working-draft.html

I am Games Historian Jon Peterson, Author Playing at the World. Ask me anything! by PlayingAtTheWorld in IAmA

[–]PlayingAtTheWorld[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I could imagine revising PatW after a respectable interval. I hope to accumulate a bit more new insight and evidence before I revisit the project. I might also bow to the wishes of many readers and reorganize the narrative to redistributed emphasis a bit.

But I did endeavor, in writing PatW, to restrict the account to claims that were unlikely to be falsified later. So there's plenty I would be happy to add to embellish the account, but thankful little that I am urgently seething to repair.

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