I really wanted to like Polaris after listening to Canon Puncture 89: Game Advocates – Polaris, but it fell a bit flat at the table. I would have liked to see more free roleplay, and more epic tragedy, but somehow the magic didn’t happen. The other players have scheduled a second session a few weeks from now, but I’m not so sure whether I want to join. For the moment Harald has lent me his Polaris book, and I’ll have a read through the book.
Canon Puncture 89: Game Advocates – Polaris
Regarding that Canon Puncture link above... That’s an RPG Podcast with Indie game focus I really recommend.
In their own words:
“Game Advocates is a miniseries of interviews about a single game, not with the game designers but with people who have thoroughly played the game. In Game Advocates, we ask about how the game plays, what’s fun about it and what players enjoy about it. We also chat about possible pitfalls for new players.”
At the end of the Polaris session Harald, Lior, and I were talking about our plans and I mentioned that I was starting to see the end of the line of Indie game one-shots for me. It was an excellent opportunity to quickly play through a lot of games that are being talked about online, and that was good. I was also looking for a new game to play for a longer time, and testing various systems is going to help me make an informed decision. Unfortunately that also limits my interest in games that cannot be played long-term. My Life With Master, Mountain Witch – I guess not.
Twelve hours later, I’m listening to Podcasts and as luck would have it, Canon Puncture is talking about using Indie games for longer campaigns! Canon Puncture 96: Indie Campaign Games. I agree with the suggestions of Burning Wheel, Dogs in the Vinyard, and The Shadow of Yesterday. We haven’t played Prime Time Adventures, yet.
Canon Puncture 96: Indie Campaign Games
I’m still bummed that my Burning Wheel _ Blossoms are Falling one-shot didn’t work out. I still want to like the game! Perhaps if I just started a campaign and pushed! ... Irrational, I know. :braindamaged:_
What I’m really afraid of is contracting Gamer ADD. 😄
For more on that topic, I recommend the following recent blog posts:
Combating Gamer ADD for 30 years
I think that’s key. Deciding on six sessions in my Burning Wheel Campaign:Krythos game worked but at the same time it made clear that we were not serious about the game, that we were just trying to experience some of it instead of making it our own.
I don’t mind a campaign folding after half a year, but I fear the encouragement of Gamer ADD.
#RPG #indie
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Gamer ADD – I like that term and it resonates somewhat. I feel I like the Traveller game – it may be moving slowly, but it’s moving and ongoing for about a year now. IMHO, there’s no reason to stop it. Change characters? Find another focus? Sure, why not. But that wouldn’t be the end of the Traveller game.
– Harald Wagener 2010-06-29 11:51 UTC
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I’ve read the Polaris rules by now. I still want to like it. 😄
Alex, thanks for the kind words about Canon Puncture. I agree that Gamer ADD can creep up on you when you have so much you can choose and such limited time to play.
– Rich Rogers 2010-06-30 13:01 UTC