Monthly Archives: May 2013

WIHILA D&D Next (Accessibility)

After a series of diversions, I’d like to return to form with this column. WIHILA is kind of my way to deliver a hypothesis about a game before I’ve played or finished playing it. This hypothesis is generally prompted by the questions ‘What do I hope I’m going to like about this specific game?’ or ‘What is this game in a position to do, from which I might learn?’ This week, that game is Dungeons & Dragons, and more specifically D&D Next (the next iteration of D&D, currently in open playtesting).

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Playing with Odds (Part I)

Link Eyes

Playing games has helped me grasp the variety of settings where applying probability can be valuable. More specifically, it has aided me in getting a handle on how to use probability to assess acceptable risks and then accept losses given these risks. Continue reading

WILA Extra Credits (Core Aesthetics)

Though a shout-out on its own is not really this column’s style, there’s a lot to be learned from the many sources of insight and information out there on the expansive and noisy internet. This is a bit of a departure from the usual, but I’d like to touch upon one general game design concept (Core Aesthetics) that a weekly webseries titled Extra Credits has covered quite well with their own experiences and examples.

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