Obsessing Over the Words
I really, really like to write, and in the process of developing a TTRPG, I've found out just how much less writing I should actually be doing.
As it turns out, being concise is far more difficult than being wordy.
For the past few days, I've been working on the next alpha of Distal, which includes going back through all my old writing and figuring out how to do it better.
I've seen a lot of folks get caught in this loop on the indie-dev side of video games, too. Re-doing your old work because you know you can do it better with your newly acquired knowledge... and failing to finish the game because "getting it done" was never more important than "getting it perfect."
I don't think this is where I'm at right now, because after all, Distal is already in a decent spot as a system.
That frees me up to get it into a better place, and that better place comes with a lot of fun puzzles in recent days.
Check this out.
I've been exploring the idea of revamping ability descriptions to use abstract range values, alongside the hard values where needed.
For example instead of:
Creatures within 10ft. must withstand (DC10 Str/Fort) the blast...
It would be:
Nearby (10ft.) creatures must withstand (DC10 Str/Fort) the blast...
Since Distal isn't explicitly designed for use with a VTT, having abstract ranges (in this case, the word "nearby") alongside the hard value of 10ft. allows you to use theatre of the mind more easily.
But... You run into issues with there just not being enough words in the English language to convey everything cleanly, unless you resort to jargon, which starts walking away from the potential benefits.
For example:
As a Reaction to a creature you see within 60ft. being slain...
Couldn't become:
As a Reaction to a distant (60ft.) creature you see being slain...
...because while the word "distant" describes an abstract range increment, it doesn’t describe a target being within that range.
The less pretty alternative is to do something like:
As a Reaction to a creature in the vicinity (60ft.) being slain...
...with "vicinity" being the ugly abstract distance word. You could use "zone" or "region" or some other almost-there synonym, but you'll probably have a hard time making that sentence feel natural while also feeling concise.
So what's the solution?
There may not be one! That's the cool part about all of this... you don't really know what works until you find the problems, and then you need to make a decision on whether the benefits work enough and are worthy enough to keep in, despite their flaws.
The beauty of designing something is that your creations are ultimately a product of all of the ideas, decisions, and compromises you're making along the way. Embrace it!
It's fun to get it wrong, sometimes.
-Wrel
Support Distal, my d20 TTRPG here: https://www.playDisRPG.com