Gygax on Vance

While looking for something else, I stumbled upon an article Gary Gygax did for a fantasy magazine, talking about his love for the works of Jack Vance, and the influences "The Dying Earth" series had on his game design work. This is a nice insight into the thought processes of a game designer.

It says a lot about early D&D, that Gary says admiringly that the trait that both thieves and mages need to survive in The Dying Earth is cunning, not boldness. Honestly, based on the Gygax written D&D adventures I've read, this cunning element on the part of players is really the most influential element that Gygax took from jack Vance, for all that the magic system is called Vancian.  And this is why his adventures are called overly lethal by players used to just rushing in and killing anything that moves. 

By implication, there's  also a nice bit of advice for any game designer in this article.   For influences, find something that is exciting on both an ntellectual and emotional level.  Don't copy it directly, but let that excitement guide your writing.
 

It says a lot about my mood this week...

...that I'm reading Cally Soukup's List of Nicoll Events to make myself feel better. 

James, as Cally descirbes it, is "story prone", in a way that will make one either wince or laugh, or both.   Whether its a matter of near-death experiences, incidents with his cats, or his demonstration to a teacher of the difference between centipedes and millipeds, his stories are entertaining and oddly life-affirming.

I also can't help but think that even though there's a lot of repetition on this list (culled as it is from assorted usenet posts), that there could be  good material for a book here.