Comments on: A Cover Is A Promise

By: Daniel M. Perez

Daniel M. Perez — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:39:07 +0000

@Mick – It was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw where the thread was going.

By now it is slowly devolving into a meme with people posting alternate covers, which is a bummer because what I really found fascinating was reading how the game was different for a group based on the cover they gave it.

By: Mick Bradley

Mick Bradley — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:35:13 +0000

I think it’s way cool you made an explicit connection between that SG thread and the convo Ryan and Daniel had in MP-23. I missed that until you connected the dots.

By: Daniel M. Perez

Daniel M. Perez — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 03:24:59 +0000

@Ryan – You know, reading back my statement, that’s actually what I meant to say, not the opposite. Fixing it. Thanks.

By: Ryan Macklin

Ryan Macklin — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 03:21:08 +0000

It’s not that a game shouldn’t be able to deliver a variety of play experiences, but if the game consistently is delivering a particular kind of play experience which is not the one promised by the cover, then there is a problem with the original design that should be addressed.

Or the design is great, and the problem is with the cover.

By: Daniel Solis

Daniel Solis — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 03:15:31 +0000

Oooh. Thanks for linking to that thread. It’s an interesting twist to the axiom. “Our Experience Is This Cover” or something to that effect. Huh!

It also now occurs to me that all art in a game book is, to some degree, a promise as well. I imagine they’re more specific promises than the cover though.

By: Daniel M. Perez

Daniel M. Perez — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 23:49:20 +0000

That’s always an issue when playing. I myself have fallen prey to it as GM at times, though I’ve learned to save the game, so to speak, here and there.

By: Ravyn

Ravyn — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 23:26:49 +0000

Agreed. The most annoyed I’ve ever been with a game was when it was billed as one thing and ended up being another (I have an annoying tendency to get thrown into war stories when I create a noncombatant), or when it began as one theme but then dropped into another for the last half hour or so.

By: If they sold games based on the way we played them… | Conjunction

If they sold games based on the way we played them… | Conjunction — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 23:12:01 +0000

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