Dave Arneson interview spinoff - "I didn't worry about any kind of world"

[hengest]

Again, from this 2004 interview with Gamespy.

GameSpy: How consistent was your fantasy world? Could you develop a whole history right at the beginning or did that come later?

Arneson: No, that came later. I needed the first couple games to work out the rules. I came up with the maps and the castle, and [then] I came up with the characters and monsters. I didn't worry about any kind of world. Frankly, I didn't think it was gonna add up to some sort of campaign that was gonna last 35 years.

This has to be my favorite part of working on materials for this kind of thing: starting from one random thing and building outwards from there, whatever it is.  So often it's something trivial or a random limitation.  But always it seems that you get (I get) better results when you start with one of those trivial things and justify it, then justify that, and so on.  Rather than deciding "this item is going to X, Y, and Z and be useful in-game because we need this kind of item for these people to want to steal and..." and so on.

So it seems to me.  DA isn't pushing this as a creative method here, just reporting that that's how it worked.  Maps, then later characters and monsters.  With no worries about the wider world.  

Seems to me this is the only comfortable way to do this kind of work.  

Thoughts?

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

hengest I agree with those thoughts.  I've tried to plan out things and set up all sorts of details but it has yet to prove satisfactory to me.  If you start small and let things grow and develop organically through play then the results are much better than trying to have it all sorted out before play.  It's like throwing a rock into a pond and watching the ripples in the water go out from the center.  Follow those ripples and see where it leads you.  

[The Perilous Dreamer]

I do the view from space detail of the world and a little more than that from top down. After that I just pick a spot and build bottom up and let it grow as it will. I just know how big the islands and continents are and let it sprawl within that. I started with the biggest continent first.

[Slinger]

Aug 6, 2021 21:53:20 GMT -5 hengest said:

Again, from this 2004 interview with Gamespy.

GameSpy: How consistent was your fantasy world? Could you develop a whole history right at the beginning or did that come later?

Arneson: No, that came later. I needed the first couple games to work out the rules. I came up with the maps and the castle, and [then] I came up with the characters and monsters. I didn't worry about any kind of world. Frankly, I didn't think it was gonna add up to some sort of campaign that was gonna last 35 years.

I like this part, he never suspected that this would turn into something that would run a long time.

[simrion]

The beauty and yet frustration of the hobby we all enjoy. We want to play (or think we should play) a certain way. And yet the "chaos?" of our fellow players tend to drag us into new territory. Mine constantly surprise me with the things they ask about, often the most minute details I then have to make up "on the fly." Keeps my mind so active I rarely worry about mental degradation! I try to return the favor in the rear occasions I get to torture a DM

[El Borak]

Mar 12, 2023 8:16:55 GMT -5 simrion said:

The beauty and yet frustration of the hobby we all enjoy. We want to play (or think we should play) a certain way. And yet the "chaos?" of our fellow players tend to drag us into new territory. Mine constantly surprise me with the things they ask about, often the most minute details I then have to make up "on the fly." Keeps my mind so active I rarely worry about mental degradation! I try to return the favor in the rear occasions I get to torture a DM

Playing Old School D&D is IMO an effective way to stave off senility. At least it is working so far.