In 2002 at about the same GNS was muddling up RPG Theory, Robin Laws would publish a short book (all of 32 pages) titled Robin's Laws of Good Game Mastering. Here (in a method very similar to Balcow and Allston before him), he’d define a number of Player Types.
The book was very advice focused, intended to give exactly what the title indicates- hints for GMs. This may be why it has a better reputation (both in being known, and in being liked) than nearly any of the other works I’ve covered. It goes for crazy money today, especally considering its 32 page length.
The Player Types break down as follows:
The Power Gamer – power and shiny things for the win
The Butt-Kicker – killing things for the win
The Tactician – wants to deal with complex (often battlefield problems) with an focus on realism
The Specialist – the guy who always runs the same character
The Method Actor – the role-player of the group
The Storyteller – wants a fun narrative that feels like a book or movie.
The Casual Gamer – there for social reasons, not really game ones.
I actually don’t care much for this model. It has no structure to its creation like Bartle’s, and it has too few types compared to Allston’s.
More importantly, Laws lumps too many characteristics into each type. It’s one thing to say that the Tactician wants detailed combat problems that he has to think his way through, but it’s quite another to say that he also rejects playing in-character and wants realism. This was the problem with the Threefold, assigning undesired and possibly untrue traits to a gaming style. If it had been an online theory instead of a printed one- I think it would have suffered much the same fate.
I do however really like the inclusion of the Casual Gamer. This is a player type that is IME very common, and very useful to gaming groups. This is a type of player that is typically forgotten by these models, with Allston being the only other one to cover them (as the Buddy).
In the end I consider this useful work. While it has serious flaws from a theory point of view, that really wasn't it calling. As a set of hints and advice, it more serves as things to consider and try. If they work great, if not go do something else.
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4 comments:
Yeah, trying to find a copy of this for a reasonable price is tough. I always liked the common-sense, mostly system-generic approach of Rolemaster's Gamemaster's Law myself. But Robin's Laws have a lot of good content from a GM's tips point of view. I'd never really considered it a heavy theoretical work.
You can get the PDF for sale from Steve Jackson Games eStore: http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=SJG30-3009
Good Call Johnn Four, at that price it may be worth picking up.
I love this little booklet. There's a lot more in it than just the player types. I need to read it again.
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