Uncertainty in Games: Development Anticipation

Building characters is sometimes one of the best parts of a game. You get to explore the game's mechanics, prepare your best for what is to come, and set off on a path of advancement. That path has many possible forks, however, and it's that uncertainty of what will come that makes character development so intriguing.

The min/max player may already have their entire advancement path planned out. I would argue that if you've purposefully removed this uncertainty from your RPG game, you're missing out on the excitement of various possibilities. But, even when planned, the anticipation and uncertainty of when development will happen still leads these players down the road.

A new character class or special ability that results from a surprise plot twist or random event feels alive, and is ultimately more memorable than one picked ahead of time. Likewise, an item looted from an ancient crypt or dragon's hoard feels more rewarding than one bought from a town shop. Lastly, NPCs that the characters meet can end up being important and powerful allies, and those that you meet organically are the ones that we talk about years after the game.

Most RPGs draw heavily upon development anticipation to entice players. It's distinct from narrative anticipation in that it focuses on how a single character evolves over time. Games that embrace this change can get the most out of the very start of all tabletop sessions: character creation.

Journal Entry: Kill Your Darlings

We've all heard it before. Kill your darlings. Not all of them, mind you; your game has to be about something. But if a mechanic is not about that thing... kill it.

In the case of Hostargo, I'm in a huge purging process. I've built it up with all my favorite things from every RPG game I've ever liked (exaggerated). But now that it's basically functional-complete, I have to ask myself if all of those functions are really necessary.

Just a bit ago I considered the point of the city of Hostargo. The idea started with a world around the chaos of a "gold rush". It's because of this I was planning on adding three distinct viewpoints from which the players could play: corp, crew, or gang. But I weighed the plusses, which are mostly just replayability, against the effort and complexity of both creating them and using them in game. Wasn't worth it. Slash it.

The idea of character "gears", or motivations, borrowed almost entirely from Cortex Plus's "drives", is something that I loved. It was even a major talking point on my sell sheet. It gives characters dynamic and ever-changing ideals, which I think is just so cool. But... this game isn't really about the characters. It's about the city. It's about the characters in the city, yes, but there's already so much to drive them forward that they don't need gears chugging away in the background. I had to tack on mechanics to fit them in, so it's best if I just rip that extra piece out right now.

Lastly, I love the idea of a meta-resource giving character's natural luck. Hostargo used to be all about the ebb and flow of luck, much like FATE points. But now it's a shell of what it used to be, after the much more integrated mechanic of Effort Pools was introduced. I even wrote a whole blog post about how I was still going to use luck... but in the end, was it necessary? Not really. It solves a problem that doesn't really need to be solved. Not when the rest of the advancement mechanics support a tight reward cycle already.

I'm enjoying the bonfire. Cutting back on some of the extra slack is a quick way to get to the finish line! It gives me some room to breath, and I plan on breathing life into this creation very soon.

Uncertainty in Games: Narrative Anticipation

There's nothing like a good nail-biting story. The excitement one feels in the pit of their stomach keeps them on the edge of their seat, anxious to know more. In RPGs, playing to find out "what happens next?!" increases the enjoyment players get out of narrative anticipation uncertainty.

Whether the GM is railroading, or the group is playing in an open sandbox, the table is involved in dynamically creating a story. Like a good book, even the most railroady of adventures can be enjoyed. While the character's fates may be sealed, unpacking and playing out those fates is still enjoyable to watch unfold. In a sandbox setting, the GM can be just as surprised as the players when the story that is produced is something they could never have anticipated. 

Many types of games use narrative uncertainty to drive gameplay, plunging players into various scenarios based on the current events of the story. Some games push the story with minimal gameplay elements, while others use it as an excuse to set up challenges. How much enjoyment is had by each person is based on that player's style, but both provide an uncertainty that is a force to drive gameplay forward.

The combination of forward gameplay momentum and nervous excitement of the unknown is what makes narrative anticipation one of RPG's most important uncertainties. In some games, it can be cast to the side as flavor, but when character-actors gather around a table, a unique story always emerges, whether the GM wanted it to or not!