Innovation in RPG Design

On March 18th, on this blog, in response to my impressionistic narrative concept, Ryan Dancey said:

On a digital device there is no need to have "pages". A digital module should present items automically with hyperlinks. Each encounter would be a root page and the GM would access additional information as necessary via links. Rather than being a linear structure (ala a paper document) a digital module would be a matrix hub & spoke document.

I had forgotten this statement. And when I invented the Interactive Module, Ryan Dancey was far from my conscious thoughts. Yet, it seems that I lived up to his requirements.

I have mixed feelings about Dancey, but one thing I cannot deny is that he has been innovative. He has been looking for new ways of doing things. And I admire that. However, it seems that kind of perspective is largely missing in the bigger industry players in RPGs. They view themselves as publishing companies, not content delivery companies.

Ken Robinson has an anecdote where he talks about Wayne Gretsky. He suggests that maybe Wayne Gretsky isn't naturally good at hockey, instead he thinks about hockey all the time. And as a result of thinking about hockey all the time, he figured out ways to do things in an innovative and more successful way. It isn't physical talent, it is mental focus.

There are some people who play hockey and maybe they are really good, but they walk off the rink and they stop thinking about it. It is not something which consumes their thoughts every day. When something becomes your job, there is a tendency to adopt this stance as well. The activity is something you do, then you go back to your real life.

I feel like if you really want to be truly innovative and pushing the boundaries, you cannot allow yourself to adopt this stance. You must be consumed by your passion. Because if you aren't, then your idea of innovation becomes 4e D&D or their new cards. Your idea of innovation is nWoD vs oWoD. You repackage things, add some minor changes, maybe cut a few corners, and move on. Your work becomes mundane.

Like it or not, the future is NOT print media. I refuse to think like a print company. I don't want to go down that road. The world is changing. I don't want to end up like this.....

I want to push in new directions, try new things, and explore the possibilities of new mediums.

Sometime later this year, I am going to be buying Adobe CS5. My friend is able to get it for me under a student license, much cheaper than the street version. So I just need a few hundred bucks. All revenues from Aqualii Temple will be going towards this, as well as money I would otherwise spend on myself. This will allow me to push the envelope even further, expand my skills in graphic design, and so on. So if you are on the fence about buying Aqualii, know that this is where the money is going.

So here I am, still hanging out on the raggedy edge. Scrapping together funds to keep my ship flying. Pushing deeper and farther into space than most would dare.

I wonder what's out there. Don't you?