#157: Everything Is Narrative

After 3 years of doing this, it is still amazing how much good stuff I find every week.

I. Dear Reader

I really loved this video essay that I more or less stumbled upon randomly. It’s a very careful and insightful exploration of the idea that narrative is something that is happening all the time. Every game mechanism is contributing to it. It’s not a plot in the way we think of it normally but it is a narrative. This video makes an argument that is always in my mind and is central to how I want to think about and talk about games. I’m very excited for the rest of the series.

Yours narrativistically,

Thomas

PS. Thanks for everyone who got my game last week. During the week, I made a audio recording where I teach the game. Just a reminder in case you miss it, you can get it for free by signing up for the mailing list for the New Madras Design Lab, which is now my official label for all my various design work. I don’t think I’ll send an email on that more than once or twice a year to be honest. The link to that list is on the itch page.

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II. Media of the Week

• On the Inside The Table podcast, a nice interview with Riley Daniels, the designer of As The Sun Forever Sets, a War of the World-style RPG which is going to be published by Evil Hat.

• The big story was already a video so I’ll just link a very short one here about a weird, poetic bestiary.

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III. Links of the Week

Reviews

• On Age of Ravens, a review of Dreams and Machines, the Horizon Zero Dawn inspired 2d20 game from Modiphius

• On Bones of Contention, a review of Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: Th Adventure Game

• Three reviews of solo games, this week:

  • On Sidequest Zone, a review of a game about magical libraries, The Librarian’s Apprentice

  • On Cannibal Halfling, a review of Desperation, a tragic game from Bully Pulpit.

  • On Gnomestew, a review of O Captain, a game of constellations and voyages (which I contributed to, as a stretch goal writer)

Articles

• On Sandy Pug School, Jess Levine talks about her approach to writing game texts and what becomes a rule and what becomes a “note” on the side.

• On GameTek, how do you pick numbers for your game? Should it be one card? Twelve health? One answer seems to be the Fibronacci sequence.

• Intrinsic rewards, extrinsic rewards, and the idea of games as didactic moral stories.

• On RPG.net, a thread carefully explains all the differences between the systems in Shadow of the Weird Wizard and Shadow of the Demon Lord

• This is a nice jam (with prizes!) that offers a simple SRD for games based on blackjack.

• Two complementary pieces on being bad at videogames: the first is an interview with Bennett Foddy who makes games where you fail a lot and the other is an experiment to hack Disco Elysium to make your character a super-cop.

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IV. Small Ads

All links in the newsletter are completely based on my own interest. But to help support my work, this section contains sponsored links and advertisements. If you’d like your products to appear here, read the submission form.

• Into the Veils Kickstarter is LIVE. It is available in Print, VTT modules, and Interactive PDF. Get a free adventure while the Kickstarter is live. Thanks for the look!

• Step into a bizarre, post-apocalyptic America. Explore four regional settings inspired by American Gothic fiction and with contributions from local artists and authors. Follow the prelaunch page for Backwards: Regional American Gothic Horror on Kickstarter!  

This newsletter is currently sponsored by the Bundle of Holding.

• Coinciding with the kickstarter for his new game, Robert Schwalb’s Shadow of the Demon Lord has two bundles running! Core rules and supplements!

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Hello, dear readers. This newsletter is written by me, Thomas Manuel. If you’d like to support this newsletter, share it with a friend or buy one of my games from my itch store. If you’d like to say something to me, you can reply to this email or click below!