GM-less RPGs

So while my writing itch apparently gets scratched by the shorts that I've been writing for Lundy, I'm going to begin writing every weekday for a few minutes and then see if I can get more time in elsewhere, 'cause more is more.

Now I hadn't seen anything new in RPGs for a long time, a very long time if you discount Control: The Game of Absolute Corruption, but I recently learned about a new sub-category of RPGs that ... get this, don't require a GM. Check out this thread for more.

I've since acquired a copy of Mythic (Thanks for the Bday present, Lundy!) and I'm finding it pretty interesting. You've got real collaborative storytelling going on. The basic idea is the players agree on a setting and some basic premises and the Mythic framework leads them to situations via a series of yes-no questions and die rolls. I haven't finished the book yet let along playtested it but I'm excited by the possibilities.

Zero Punctuation

Yahtzee! No I didn't just roll all fives (or whatever the hell it is. I've never played the game). Instead I'm referring to Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw, the best video game reviewer I've seen yet. It's not just his breathless warp speed delivery and entertaining graphics but far more importantly his insight. This guy nails the good and bad, spot on, every time, and he manages to do so in less time that it takes the flashy intro animation at Gamespot or Gamespy to finish twirling CG thingies at you.

Take, for example, his review of Halo 3. He not only succinctly gets the terrible vehicle AI and campy covenant aliens in but also validates my contention that Bungee stole head crabs from Half-Life to create The Flood.




Mad props, btw, to The Escapist for hiring him. It was already an excellent magazine and his edition makes it that much better.