Most RPGs have delivered with them a summary. When checking out a new game, it is often the first thing players look at. Experienced players can read a lot from this summary: the basic mechanics, which things are important, the tone and theme, the genre, emphasis on different areas in both mechanics and gameplay, and, most importantly, whether or not they are interested to keep reading and try this game out. Most experienced players will also already know what I'm talking about here.
The character sheet.
A lot game designers underestimate the power of a well-made character sheet, as well as the power of a poorly made one. The character sheet is one of the most used things during a gaming session, in some games even more so than dice. Players will constantly use it to look up their character's abilities. And just like a logo and a name, the character sheet is often representative of the RPG it belongs to. Which is why a well-designed sheet is not only nice to look at, and easy to use, it also shows how much care and thought went into the designing process.
Which is why, in my opinion, the character sheet is one of the big three pillars in a game (the other two being mechanics and focus, I'll get to those in some other posts). A good character sheet needs to have several aspects: Easy to use, nice to look at, and representative of the game.
Easy to use is almost a no-brainer. Nobody wants a character sheet where they have to spend five minutes looking for their strength score, or not be able to find their attack values next to their parry values. Most designers already take the first step in doing this right: They group all the information on the sheet by category, such as all the skills, all the stats, all the equipment, and whatnot. But there is room for more. A character sheet is (preferably) an A4 sheet, one-sided, or two-sided if need be. Having pertinent and often-used info on one side, and less important info on the other side helps a lot. This way, the sheet doesn't have to be flipped around all the time, and you can get most of the important values for most game situations with a quick glance. With gaming tables being crowded as they usually are (what with drinks, dice, pizza boxes and rulebooks cluttering the space), anything that makes gaming faster and easier helps.
Easy to use also includes stuff like font size, spaces big enough so that even people with big handwriting can fit their character's info on there, and actually having space for info that might come up. I've seen character sheets where stuff like equipment gets thrown overboard and does not appear on the character sheet. Or where the entries were written in 6-point font, in order to cram more onto there.
One last thing that falls under ease of use is not having too many sheets. Ideally, one sheet is all that is needed, plus a piece of scrap paper for any passing information. Many professional games offer "Deluxe" sheets which consist of four papers, two-sided. Who wants to juggle around four sheets on a full table? Sure, they are grouped, like the combat sheet, the general sheet, the magic sheet, and whatnot. But is that really so handy? Besides, it takes more paperwork if every player has four sheets to take care of. Of course, this whole "only one paper" thing goes until that one piece of paper becomes too full. If there is info in the game that does not concern all characters, but is vital to others (such as spell lists), then a second sheet with just this information is good. No need to sacrifice a whole lot of space on the main sheet for information that will just matter to a few players.
Next, a character sheet has to look good. That means layout, background art, and any additional art. Layout is both a tool to make things easier to use, and to make them catching to the eye. There really isn't too much to say about that. Art on the character sheet, however, is a bigger deal. Most sheets have a nice border art, perhaps something put into the background, and smal images that divide the various sections of the sheet. If done well, this art can really enhance a sheet, and make it more representative of the game. Dividers can also help players find the information they need: A sword and shield divider for combat values, a pouch for inventory, a group of people or so for the stats. But there is the danger of getting a sheet that is too colorful, or where the art obstructs a player's ability to read what's actually on the sheet. As good as art is, the text on the sheet has priority. And, naturally, more art means less space for text. It's really about finding a balance between making a sheet functional and making it look good.
The last point is something that might be a bit difficult to implement, but, with the right mindset, happens as a side effect anyway. The sheet must be representative of the game it belongs to. In this aspect, the whole sheet is like a work of art which should remind the player of what the game is about, and what the tone of the game will be like. That includes something as simple as no images of guns for a medieval fantasy game, but it can also mean things like dark colors for a gritty or horror game. The mechanics should also be considered. In one of my own games that uses three stats, the stats were arranged in a triangular order on the character sheet.
Overall, the character sheet is a very powerful tool to help the game become popular. Most players don't want to have a simple MS Word table that covers the entire sheet and is subdivided into various partitions. And while all three of these aspects are important, one has to remember that in the end, the character sheet is just a tool used during the game, much like dice and pencils. And even though a sparkling pencil that glows in the dark might be pretty, nobody will use it if it doesn't write.
Qi
The character sheet.
A lot game designers underestimate the power of a well-made character sheet, as well as the power of a poorly made one. The character sheet is one of the most used things during a gaming session, in some games even more so than dice. Players will constantly use it to look up their character's abilities. And just like a logo and a name, the character sheet is often representative of the RPG it belongs to. Which is why a well-designed sheet is not only nice to look at, and easy to use, it also shows how much care and thought went into the designing process.
Which is why, in my opinion, the character sheet is one of the big three pillars in a game (the other two being mechanics and focus, I'll get to those in some other posts). A good character sheet needs to have several aspects: Easy to use, nice to look at, and representative of the game.
Easy to use is almost a no-brainer. Nobody wants a character sheet where they have to spend five minutes looking for their strength score, or not be able to find their attack values next to their parry values. Most designers already take the first step in doing this right: They group all the information on the sheet by category, such as all the skills, all the stats, all the equipment, and whatnot. But there is room for more. A character sheet is (preferably) an A4 sheet, one-sided, or two-sided if need be. Having pertinent and often-used info on one side, and less important info on the other side helps a lot. This way, the sheet doesn't have to be flipped around all the time, and you can get most of the important values for most game situations with a quick glance. With gaming tables being crowded as they usually are (what with drinks, dice, pizza boxes and rulebooks cluttering the space), anything that makes gaming faster and easier helps.
Easy to use also includes stuff like font size, spaces big enough so that even people with big handwriting can fit their character's info on there, and actually having space for info that might come up. I've seen character sheets where stuff like equipment gets thrown overboard and does not appear on the character sheet. Or where the entries were written in 6-point font, in order to cram more onto there.
One last thing that falls under ease of use is not having too many sheets. Ideally, one sheet is all that is needed, plus a piece of scrap paper for any passing information. Many professional games offer "Deluxe" sheets which consist of four papers, two-sided. Who wants to juggle around four sheets on a full table? Sure, they are grouped, like the combat sheet, the general sheet, the magic sheet, and whatnot. But is that really so handy? Besides, it takes more paperwork if every player has four sheets to take care of. Of course, this whole "only one paper" thing goes until that one piece of paper becomes too full. If there is info in the game that does not concern all characters, but is vital to others (such as spell lists), then a second sheet with just this information is good. No need to sacrifice a whole lot of space on the main sheet for information that will just matter to a few players.
Next, a character sheet has to look good. That means layout, background art, and any additional art. Layout is both a tool to make things easier to use, and to make them catching to the eye. There really isn't too much to say about that. Art on the character sheet, however, is a bigger deal. Most sheets have a nice border art, perhaps something put into the background, and smal images that divide the various sections of the sheet. If done well, this art can really enhance a sheet, and make it more representative of the game. Dividers can also help players find the information they need: A sword and shield divider for combat values, a pouch for inventory, a group of people or so for the stats. But there is the danger of getting a sheet that is too colorful, or where the art obstructs a player's ability to read what's actually on the sheet. As good as art is, the text on the sheet has priority. And, naturally, more art means less space for text. It's really about finding a balance between making a sheet functional and making it look good.
The last point is something that might be a bit difficult to implement, but, with the right mindset, happens as a side effect anyway. The sheet must be representative of the game it belongs to. In this aspect, the whole sheet is like a work of art which should remind the player of what the game is about, and what the tone of the game will be like. That includes something as simple as no images of guns for a medieval fantasy game, but it can also mean things like dark colors for a gritty or horror game. The mechanics should also be considered. In one of my own games that uses three stats, the stats were arranged in a triangular order on the character sheet.
Overall, the character sheet is a very powerful tool to help the game become popular. Most players don't want to have a simple MS Word table that covers the entire sheet and is subdivided into various partitions. And while all three of these aspects are important, one has to remember that in the end, the character sheet is just a tool used during the game, much like dice and pencils. And even though a sparkling pencil that glows in the dark might be pretty, nobody will use it if it doesn't write.
Qi
No comments:
Post a Comment