Ongoing review part II - Chapters 6-10:
Ch.6 - Iantorno interviews Dancey on the OGL. I'm not sure if there is tons new here that we haven't heard before, but it was a solid interview with long answers from Dancey, and it's very nice to have it all in one place. I wish there could have been a short follow-up added for comments on the events of 2023 (the interview was conducted in 2021).
Ch.7 - I never played any of the D&D video games mentioned in Chapter 7 by Felczak about mods. (The OG Adventure on the 2600, Castle Telengard and Bard's Tale on the C64, and a really old Sid Meier's Pirates' are the closest I've come). I was still able to follow the chapter and it seemed a fine read. But I'll leave the review of this one to those who played at least one of the Gold Box, Infinity Engine, or Aurora or Electron games. (I will also note that Castle Telengard on the C64 could be broken open and you could change some of the basic code -- iirc if you set your hit points too high they would wrap around to negative when you leveled and stop things from popping up to steal from you).
Ch.8 - Webley provides a memoir laced with breezy historical reminiscence and tie-ins. For the part in the 80s, I'm not sure if all of it follows actual real world chronology. (Wait, when did you start playing? When did Tomb of Horror Come out - was it different in England? When did these video games with these things hit? etc...) For the part on the reformed group during COVID it was a bit wordy and repetitive at times without the hook of being about about my own formative years (like the part on the 80s) to draw me back in. I wonder what those who weren't teenagers in the 80s will think of the first part. I wonder what those who were teens during COVID and discovered gaming then will write about it in 40 years.
The second batch of Designer Vignettes didn't stand out to me like the first batch did.
Ch.9 - The title of MacCallum-Stewart's chapter is about the Mercer Effect and performative play, but I was pleasantly surprised that its true focus seemed to be on the switch from game rules heaviness to imagination heaviness (something that began happening in the mid 70s). I imagine some of the parts on 4th edition would lead to some quick thread closures if we tried to have a "discussion" about them. The switching between more academic and more personal/conversational stood at one point toward the end. And the author really loves to use the word "ludic" - I don't think that technical term is well played here for a general audience. Overall, as someone who been playing since 1981 but has never seen Critical Role, I was glad I read it.
Ch.10 - Hermann's chapter is on my favorite class, the Cleric, and who they serve. It's a seemingly thorough overview (with references) of everything clerical and divine in the various D&D editions. A few side notes: It took me a while to realize the (#) starting part way through were page numbers. I'm embarrassed to say I had never heard of "The Church of the Facts of Life" and "Church of Crom, Scientist" before. And it showed how many game supplements that I never played with or even saw, a few of which I might have to look into and maybe pick up.
Ch.6 - Iantorno interviews Dancey on the OGL. I'm not sure if there is tons new here that we haven't heard before, but it was a solid interview with long answers from Dancey, and it's very nice to have it all in one place. I wish there could have been a short follow-up added for comments on the events of 2023 (the interview was conducted in 2021).
Ch.7 - I never played any of the D&D video games mentioned in Chapter 7 by Felczak about mods. (The OG Adventure on the 2600, Castle Telengard and Bard's Tale on the C64, and a really old Sid Meier's Pirates' are the closest I've come). I was still able to follow the chapter and it seemed a fine read. But I'll leave the review of this one to those who played at least one of the Gold Box, Infinity Engine, or Aurora or Electron games. (I will also note that Castle Telengard on the C64 could be broken open and you could change some of the basic code -- iirc if you set your hit points too high they would wrap around to negative when you leveled and stop things from popping up to steal from you).
Ch.8 - Webley provides a memoir laced with breezy historical reminiscence and tie-ins. For the part in the 80s, I'm not sure if all of it follows actual real world chronology. (Wait, when did you start playing? When did Tomb of Horror Come out - was it different in England? When did these video games with these things hit? etc...) For the part on the reformed group during COVID it was a bit wordy and repetitive at times without the hook of being about about my own formative years (like the part on the 80s) to draw me back in. I wonder what those who weren't teenagers in the 80s will think of the first part. I wonder what those who were teens during COVID and discovered gaming then will write about it in 40 years.
The second batch of Designer Vignettes didn't stand out to me like the first batch did.
Ch.9 - The title of MacCallum-Stewart's chapter is about the Mercer Effect and performative play, but I was pleasantly surprised that its true focus seemed to be on the switch from game rules heaviness to imagination heaviness (something that began happening in the mid 70s). I imagine some of the parts on 4th edition would lead to some quick thread closures if we tried to have a "discussion" about them. The switching between more academic and more personal/conversational stood at one point toward the end. And the author really loves to use the word "ludic" - I don't think that technical term is well played here for a general audience. Overall, as someone who been playing since 1981 but has never seen Critical Role, I was glad I read it.
Ch.10 - Hermann's chapter is on my favorite class, the Cleric, and who they serve. It's a seemingly thorough overview (with references) of everything clerical and divine in the various D&D editions. A few side notes: It took me a while to realize the (#) starting part way through were page numbers. I'm embarrassed to say I had never heard of "The Church of the Facts of Life" and "Church of Crom, Scientist" before. And it showed how many game supplements that I never played with or even saw, a few of which I might have to look into and maybe pick up.
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