complete kobold guide to game design

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Jan 07, 2013 Lou Anders rated it it was amazing

One of the most interesting "how to" books that I have read in a while is the Complete Kobold Guide to Game Design, by Wolfgang Baur and including essays from such Role Playing Game Design superstars as Monte Cook, Ed Greenwood, Michael A. Stackpole, Keith Baker and others. The word "complete" is no misnomer, as this tome contains over forty essays, some original to the volume and others drawn from three previous volumes of game design advice.

The book covers everything from rule creation and se

The book covers everything from rule creation and setting creation, to campaign design, to understanding your audience, right down to how to craft a pitch for a publisher and how to handle rejection. It is valuable both for creating game systems from scratch or for writing inside existing properties. Michael A. Stackpole's essay "Designing Magic Systems" is priceless, likewise Rob Heinsoo's "Seize the Hook". But despite all the luminaries in the volume, it is Wolfgang Baur's own essays that stand out for me as the most useful, applicable advice of the book.

In fact, Baur's "The Process of Creative Thought" is worth the price of the entire collection alone. In the essay, Baur attempts to "systematize and demystify creative thought for the engineering and technical professions." His result, breaking creativity into the stages of 1. Defining the Problem, 2. Borrowing Ideas, 3. Combining and Connecting the Borrowed Ideas, 4. Incubation, 5. Judging the Work, and 6. Enhancing not only articulates processes that I have used for decades but provides a structure to writing collaborations that is invaluable to any team product. This is an essay that, like much of the Guide, has applications outside game design for any creative endeavor. Likewise his essay on "Using and Abusing Misdirection." And I wish all writers would read "The Three Audiences."

I have read a great many books on creativity and writing across the years and very few of them offer much of lasting value. The Complete Kobold Guide to Game Design sets in a place of honor amid this very select list. I highly recommend it not only to game designers but to anyone involved in any creative narrative undertaking. And look, Baur has just come out with the Kobold Guide to Worldbuilding. I don't see how I can resist the urge to start into that soon.

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D&D centric platitudes

If you are planning on writing exclusively for Dungeons and Dragons, this is not a bad book. It's dated but the advice is not bad. You may be out of the loop on some of the jargon, but it mostly hangs together.

However, this is a "you can do it" self-help guide, not a bunch of design best -practices. If you are waiting for permission, this is a helpful book. If you need advice, you'll find none here. Middle through and trust your process. Go fight win. Hardly illuminating.

D&D centric platitudes

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Mar 01, 2013 Sean rated it liked it

Reasonably interesting, not-too-helpful essays on how to create new RPG material. The only thing that makes this a decent book on the subject is that there are few others. Otherwise, you could just have someone remind you periodically to "make it good" and you'd accomplish the same end. Reasonably interesting, not-too-helpful essays on how to create new RPG material. The only thing that makes this a decent book on the subject is that there are few others. Otherwise, you could just have someone remind you periodically to "make it good" and you'd accomplish the same end. ...more

A good collection of essays; some more useful than others. What you get out of this will probably depend on your aims in reading. Reading this as a DM looking for tips to make more engaging adventures, there was lots of good stuff, but some of the parts related to overall game design and the publishing industry were beyond what I was really looking for. That being said, it presents a wide range of info, so lots of lots of different types of readers to get out of this. In the least I will say the A good collection of essays; some more useful than others. What you get out of this will probably depend on your aims in reading. Reading this as a DM looking for tips to make more engaging adventures, there was lots of good stuff, but some of the parts related to overall game design and the publishing industry were beyond what I was really looking for. That being said, it presents a wide range of info, so lots of lots of different types of readers to get out of this. In the least I will say the book game me wider perspectives on TTRPGs beyond just the D&D 5E system that I play in. ...more

Sep 15, 2017 Stan rated it liked it

While there was some content about game design, a better title for this book might have been the complete kobold guide to writing adventure modules for dungeons and dragons and trying to get them published. Doesn't exactly roll of the tongue though. I guess I was disappointed about the lack of game design content and the amount of time dedicated to writing D & D adventures. Worth a look if you are an aspiring dungeons and dragons adventure module writer. While there was some content about game design, a better title for this book might have been the complete kobold guide to writing adventure modules for dungeons and dragons and trying to get them published. Doesn't exactly roll of the tongue though. I guess I was disappointed about the lack of game design content and the amount of time dedicated to writing D & D adventures. Worth a look if you are an aspiring dungeons and dragons adventure module writer. ...more

May 17, 2020 Nathaniel L rated it really liked it

Plenty of interesting thoughts and (possibly) good advice. If I have criticism, then it would be that many of the articles feel outdated and target the TTRPG industry from 10 years ago.

Aug 26, 2013 John rated it liked it

This compilation of The Kobold Guide to Game Design volumes 1-3 starts with some general advice on RPG game design, but soon narrows down to fantasy RPGs and by the time it moves into adventure design is focused mainly on Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 and 4th Edition.

Despite the narrowing focus, there remains a lot of good advice here not just for general RPG game design, but also advice applicable to any GM creating content for his home campaign. Even the last section of the book, which is titled "Writing, Pitching, Publishing" contains a lot of advice that would be useful to GMs. The articles focused solely on issues pertinent to professional game designers are in the minority.

Overall, it's a worthy edition to my growing library on game design and theory.

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Feb 25, 2016 Mackenzie marked it as to-read

I own this book and haven't fully read it. I think it will be very helpful though because it has so many essays from great designers and will help me find new avenues to wander down. I own this book and haven't fully read it. I think it will be very helpful though because it has so many essays from great designers and will help me find new avenues to wander down. ...more

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"Even if your game has frequent rewards rather than a single overarching victory condition, I'd recommend that your find those reward moments and make them clearer, brighter, and shinier." — 0 likes

"Worldbuilding is dull. Worldbuilding literalises the urge to invent. Worldbuilding gives an unnecessary permission for acts of writing (indeed, for acts of reading). Worldbuilding numbs the reader's ability to fulfill their part of the bargain, because it believes that it has to do everything around here if anything is going to get done. "Above all, worldbuilding is not technically necessary. It is the great clomping foot of nerdism. It is the attempt to exhaustively survey a place that isn't there. A good writer would never try to do that, even with a place that is there. It isn't possible, and if it was the results wouldn't be readable: they would constitute not a book but the biggest library ever built, a hallowed place of dedication and lifelong study. This gives us a clue to the psychological type of the worldbuilder and the worldbuilder's victim, and makes us very afraid." — 0 likes

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