Daniel Solis

I sometimes hear about game designers who are just naturally mathematically gifted. Not being one of those designers, I am fortunate to have Mark Sherry as a contact. Here's our process. I'll tweet a random game idea or mention it on the blog, without really considering the long-term mathematical implications. That's where Mark's giant brain steps in, working out every idiosyncratic permutation of every variable. At times, he'll even create simple AI players, each with different strategies, just to see how those players stack up against each other. He shares his observations and I'll be confused for many hours until he dumbs it down enough for me. Eventually I sorta "get" it and I'll get back to work tweaking rules if necessary. Here's an example of Mark in action, analyzing Split Decision . We know from these charts that if a player chooses the highest pair at all times, he's probably going to get a 10. Working from that base, you...

Rob Donoghue lays out his throbbing brainmeats for Split Decision . Check it out for his thoughts on why narration should follow dice rolls with a system like this, the ways it can map to Paul Tevis' discussion of "but," and the important lessons of Gerald Cameron's Principles of Dice Games. ...if the dice chosen reflect behavior and that behavior is not reflected in the narration then you can end up with situations where the fiction has you saving kittens but the dice say you're showing a callous disregard for all life. If making the choice in the dice means making a choice in the fiction, then the fiction needs time to reflect it. All this and more at the links below. » Rob Donoghue: Rich Dice Extravaganza » Paul Tevis: Insert your own "but" joke here » Gerald Cameron: Four Principles of Dice Game Design

Split Decision is a method of creating temptation and dilemmas in your role-playing games and story games. » Original lab notes » Many thanks to folks on my Twitter feed for your great ideas! » Translated into Spanish Split Decision models two mutually opposing forces tempting a protagonist. Those forces might be cosmic (light and dark), moral (good and evil), romantic (Betty and Veronica), or personal ("Loyalty to My King" and "Love of My Family"). Additionally, Split Decision works best if you agree to an end state for whatever character you're playing. At some point, he becomes irreversibly "light," devotes himself to "evil," chooses to marry "Veronica," or prioritizes "Love of My Family." After that point, the character is retired, meaning that each short-term decision has real, lasting impact in that character's story. Stuff You Need Two red dice Two blue dice A pencil and paper How to Play Ste...