![A.A. Voigt](/img/default-banner.jpg)
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A.A. Voigt
Добавлен 20 янв 2022
TTRPG reviews, essays, and other writing
Beach Episode is Not a Cozy Game
This is a review of the TTRPG "Beach Episode" written and published by Emily Zhu 朱保敬. It is available on itch.io- emilyzhu.itch.io/beach-episode
Categories: interstitial, character development
Players: 2-6
Supplies: writing utensils
Time Commitment: 1-3 hours
Disclosures: big fan of the designer
Content Warnings: NA
A written review of this game can be found on my website- aavoigt.com/f/beach-episode-is-not-a-cozy-game
If you'd like to support my work, you can buy me a coffee here! ko-fi.com/aavoigt
Follow my other stuff!
Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/aavoigt.bsky.social
Tumblr: www.tumblr.com/monsterfactoryfanfic
Instagram: a.a.voigt
Bible Boys: bibleboys666.podbean.com/
Mortified! The Fr...
Categories: interstitial, character development
Players: 2-6
Supplies: writing utensils
Time Commitment: 1-3 hours
Disclosures: big fan of the designer
Content Warnings: NA
A written review of this game can be found on my website- aavoigt.com/f/beach-episode-is-not-a-cozy-game
If you'd like to support my work, you can buy me a coffee here! ko-fi.com/aavoigt
Follow my other stuff!
Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/aavoigt.bsky.social
Tumblr: www.tumblr.com/monsterfactoryfanfic
Instagram: a.a.voigt
Bible Boys: bibleboys666.podbean.com/
Mortified! The Fr...
Просмотров: 939
Видео
The Hidden Lore of Wanderhome
Просмотров 949Месяц назад
This is a lore video about the TTRPG "Wanderhome," written by Jay Dragon and published by Possum Creek Games. It is available on itch.io- possumcreekgames.itch.io/wanderhome Categories: BOB, token, animals, non-combat, story Players: 1-6 Supplies: game book, playbooks, writing utensils Time Commitment: 1-4 hours Disclosures: None Video Content Warnings: discussions of violence, revolution, mona...
The History Behind "They Took Our War" and "Before the Boats" Solo Journaling RPGs
Просмотров 387Месяц назад
This is a review of the TTRPGs, "They Took Our War" and "Before the Boats," written and published by Kevin Thien Vu Long Nguyen. They are available on itch.io- itch.io/s/32763/the-war Categories: W&A, FTQ, solo, journaling Players: 1 Supplies: writing materials, jenga tower, deck of cards, tokens Time Commitment: varies, likely 1 to 2 hours, but could stretch to multiple days or weeks Disclosur...
Un-Navigtable: Losing That Which Cringes
Просмотров 7352 месяца назад
This is a review of the TTRPG, Un-Navigatable, written and published by Kaden Ramstack. It is available on itch.io- k-ramstack.itch.io/un-navigatable Categories: W&A, solo, journaling Players: 1 Supplies: writing materials, jenga tower, deck of cards, tokens Time Commitment: varies, likely 1 to 2 hours, but could stretch to multiple days or weeks Disclosures: friendly with the designer Content ...
The Heart of a City: Examining Some City Building TTRPGs
Просмотров 7953 месяца назад
Games discussed: City Planning Department by Kaelan Doyle-Myerscough, Andrew Tran, Alex Dawson, William Wu, Paul Geldart, and Raul Altosaar The Quiet Year by Avery Alder Ex Novo by Martin Nerurkar and Konstantinos Dimopoulos We, the City by Teo Kai Xiang I Went to Bourbon, Indiana Once by Beth Jackson Tales of a City by Hessan Yongdi A transcript of this essay can be found on my website- aavoig...
Fetch My Blade and the Canine Legacy of Loyalty
Просмотров 4964 месяца назад
This is a review of the TTRPG "Fetch My Blade, written and published by Ethan Yen and Kelly Tran. It is available on itch.io- ethanyen.itch.io/fetch-my-blade Categories: solo, journaling Players: 1 Supplies: 3 six-sided dice Time Commitment: 30 to 60 minutes Content Warnings: violence, discussions of animal death Disclaimer: I am pretty friendly with Ethan Yen. This essay will be biased in the ...
We Are But Worms- Infinite Jest: Hamlet, RPGs, and the Human Condition (April Fools 2024)
Просмотров 1,1 тыс.4 месяца назад
This video was an April Fool's prank for 2024. It's actually mostly an essay about Hamlet, but the game it's based on is "We Are But Worms: A One Word RPG," by Taylor LaBresh. It can be found on itchio here: riverhousegames.itch.io/we-are-but-worms-a-one-word-rpg This is the most important essay in RPG history. 0:00-6:11 Prologue 6:12-15:54 Act I 15:55-23:35 Act II 23:36-31:14 Act III 31:15-42:...
Spy in the House of Eth and Automating Exploitation
Просмотров 5096 месяцев назад
This is a review of the TTRPG module, "Spy in the House of Eth," created by Zedeck Siew, Ben Brown, and Zach Cox, and published by SoulMuppet Publishing. It is available on itch.io- soulmuppetpublishing.itch.io/spy-in-the-house-of-eth Categories: OSR, hexcrawl, horror, Best Left Buried Players: 2-6 Supplies: Best Left Buried rules, rpg die set Time Commitment: multi-session hexcrawl campaign Di...
The Antagonistic Design of Mork Borg
Просмотров 7 тыс.6 месяцев назад
This is a review of the TTRPG, Mörk Borg, written by Pelle Nilsson, with layout by Johan Nohr. It is available at morkborg.com. Categories: OSR, metal, apocalypse Players: 2-6, including GM Supplies: standard set of RPG die Time Commitment: 1 to 3 hours per session Disclosures: none Content Warnings: graphic violence, descriptions and depictions of dismemberment, child death, apocalypse A trans...
Godkiller: Justifying Deicide
Просмотров 1,7 тыс.7 месяцев назад
This is a review of the TTRPG, "Godkiller," written and published by Connie Chang. It is available on itch.io- byconniechang.itch.io/godkiller-first-blood Categories: duet, PBTA Players: 2 (including GM) Supplies: 2 six sided die Time Commitment: Campaign-length, one-shot compatible Disclosures: None Content Warnings: cannibalism, deicide, blasphemy, arachnophobia, depictions of punishments by ...
Ross Rifles, “Fluff Text,” and Establishing the Playground
Просмотров 6128 месяцев назад
This is a review of the TTRPG "Ross Rifles," written and published by Dundas West Games. It is available on DriveThruRPG- preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/325966/ross-rifles-core-rulebook Categories: PBTA, military, historical Players: 2-5, plus GM Supplies: 2 six sided die Time to Play: 1 to 3 hours Disclosures: none Content Warnings: war, descriptions of firearms, descriptions of trench wa...
The Endings of Hellwhalers and the Fewness of the Saved
Просмотров 1,2 тыс.8 месяцев назад
This is a review of the TTRPG "Hellwhalers," written and published by Brewist Tabletop Games and Bogus Cheesecake. It is available on itch.io- brewisttabletopgames.itch.io/hellwhalers Categories: token, sailing, ocean, religious horror Players: 3-6 (including GM) Supplies: 3 six sided dice, token materials, sic bo board (included) Time to Play: 1-3 hours per session Disclosures: received free P...
Dicebreaker's 2023 Rising Star Designers
Просмотров 4079 месяцев назад
"Dicebreaker's" 2023 Tabletop Awards nominees were announced last week (www.dicebreaker.com/events/tabletop-awards-2023/news/tabletop-awards-2023-finalists). To see why the Rising Star Designer nominees made the cut, I threw together a quick profile video. You can find all designers mentioned below: A written transcript of this video can be found on my website- aavoigt.com/f/dicebreakers-2023-r...
Ten Thousand Days for the Sword: A Wuxia Wildfire
Просмотров 7889 месяцев назад
This is a review of the preview of "Ten Thousand Days for the Sword," written and published by Emily Zhu. It is available on itch.io- emilyzhu.itch.io/10kpreview Categories: Wuxia, Cyberpunk, martial arts, duels Players: 2 to 5 Supplies: At least 4 six sided die Time to Play: 1 to 3 hours Disclosures: Big fan of the author’s previous work, nominated them for a Diana Jones (didn’t work out, whic...
Heart RPG, Annihilation, & Sangfielle: Brainworms All the Way Down
Просмотров 3,5 тыс.10 месяцев назад
This is an essay about the TTRPG, "Heart: The City Beneath," written by Grant Howitt and Christopher Taylor, with illustrations by Felix Miall. It is available here: rowanrookanddecard.com/product/heart-the-city-beneath-rpg/ Other works discussed in this text are "Jeff VanderMeer's "Annihilation," and Friends at the Table's, "Sangfielle." They can be found at the following links: us.macmillan.c...
Spire RPG and Babel: The Monstrosity of Empire, The Necessity of Violence
Просмотров 3,4 тыс.Год назад
Spire RPG and Babel: The Monstrosity of Empire, The Necessity of Violence
Into the Riverlands: Maps with Blank Spaces
Просмотров 615Год назад
Into the Riverlands: Maps with Blank Spaces
Apocalypse Keys and Desperation to Belong
Просмотров 2,4 тыс.Год назад
Apocalypse Keys and Desperation to Belong
Stoneburner: Breathless All Grown Up
Просмотров 1,1 тыс.Год назад
Stoneburner: Breathless All Grown Up
Solo But Not Alone 3: My Five Favorites
Просмотров 190Год назад
Solo But Not Alone 3: My Five Favorites
Apocalypse Frame: Mechs at the Speed of Lumen
Просмотров 2,1 тыс.Год назад
Apocalypse Frame: Mechs at the Speed of Lumen
The Spider and the City: The Web of Revolution
Просмотров 346Год назад
The Spider and the City: The Web of Revolution
Super interesting video. To quibble I'm not sure the assessment you make about cozy games not being centered on personal development is quite reasonable, as someone who hasn't played many but has read lots of cozy fantasy novels, the genre in literature feels like it centers personal development over plot 1000%. Found family is one of the biggest tags you'd see overlapping with cozy fantasy stories (the likes of Becky Chambers, Travis Baldree, TJ Klune).
I would argue that the medium matters here. I am not saying that cozy novels do not have personal development in them. Characters in novels are often written to have specific arcs and emotional development throughout. By contrast, the cozy games I cite in the essay have no character arcs, because that's not really why someone plays Stardew Valley or Animal Crossing.
I’ve been a big fan of this designer for years. delighted to see Zhu get the credit they deserve!!
"You do have to leave Eden. But you have to live with yourself too." is such a powerful point. It is really worth putting int context how much our characters deal with it the narratives we tell and how they usually just don't get a break from it. It is also worth looking at how Eden exists as a response to such a violent world. In a weird way, it shares an underlying narrative similar to Wanderhome. A world born from violence but the text explicitly states, no harm will come the character. Not sure if that connection was something you considered. (Also got to get aroudn to playing one of Emily Zhu's 朱保敬. games.)
I did think about how this game does the Wanderhome "no violence" rule nearly 2 years before WH was published! Dragon even shouts Zhu out in the Wanderhome director's commentary, so it seems like they had some influence on Dragon's work.
Amazing! I'm gonna check this out. I wonder if it would pair with Mothership as a piece of slickware the crew can access at a port during shore leave?
I think that would definitely work! It's a very simple game, I think it would pretty easily slot into Mothership's setting with a few tweaks
A solution to premature completiation (It's happened to a friend of mine) is to adjust the challenge rank after the fact; turns out the quest was Troublesome, not Dangerous. The only mechanical effect is you gain that little less XP. But that's no big deal as ISworn doesn't really emphasize levelling and XP farming. It's more about character development than min/maxing your stats. But then there really is nothing like just rolling with it. The main problem for a solo paper&pen game is how do you keep the suspense going when you're the reader and the writer at the same time; what makes you want to turn to the next page? The unwanted Miss does. A Miss is the element that's outside you or your character's control, but it shouldn't be seen as just "You failed Your Vow." The best description of a Miss in ISworn I've taken aboard is that it's not necessarily that you didn't get what you want, it means that you get what you _didn't_ want. Put it this way: Strong Hit: You did it. Weak Hit: You just did it. Miss: You did it, but... You completed the vow, saved the day and rescued the princess, but it's not all cheers and medal ceremonies with John Williams music walking you down the aisle. For whatever reason things have become more complicated. Your heroics have made things worse in an unexpected way. A friend has become an enemy. The princess you rescued turns out to be a raging psychopath bent on world domination. Bottom line? The story gets more interesting in a way you didn't expect before you rolled Fulfill Your Vow. Fundamentally, the only negative effect game mechanic wise is you just didn't get the XP this time. But how does that new adversity change the character? How are they different now than they were when they Swore and Iron Vow? I really think it's one of the most important (and difficult at times) lessons to learn in Ironsworn/Starforge: learn to love the Miss.
Listening to this and realising i need to read everything Zhu's written immediately
This is my recommendation!!!
i HAD to get a copy after watching this
I'm so glad! I genuinely recommend everything Zhu's written, they're SUCH a good writer
"Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you have to live with yourself." -- MAN that goes so hard!
i’m absolutely enamored of this video, and especially how it’s the complete opposite response of what my Wanderhome playgroup did. during session zero, we decided that we would never, ever set in stone what exactly the last war was about. even the kith who fought in the rebellion relinquished the authority to determine (and set in our game’s canon) what the war was fought over or who ended it. wars are bigger than any one person or group of people and our game focuses on the immediate, the lives of people and places who live their lives on the ground. we can talk about how the war affected them, and even how they participated, but we won’t give the war respect by paying attention to it.
Love the video! When you said "Minos, but with fish" that of course made me think of a daemon called the Minnowtaur that I fear I must now incorporate into one of my Wanderhome games.
Thank you that was amazing!
Thanks for watching! I'm really proud of this one and its sister essay on Spire!
Tack!
Thanks so much!
I'm so glad you actually went for the thumbnail hahaha
Awesome video! I have a copy of wanderhome from a charity bundle a while back, I read it and it looked cool but never ran it, I'm definitely gonna have to play it someday now when i have the opportunity
can't wait to learn how the Veteran is connected to Marika's lineage via her marriage to Godfrey
IF YOU FACTOR IN MARIKA’S RELATIONSHIP TO THE CRUCIBLE, ALL EVIDENCE POINTS TO- *I am forcibly ejected from the golden order barbecue*
Hey, sorry if this isn't something you wanna say publicly, but your local game store wouldn't happen to be Atomic Empire would it? I run the rpg book club there, and that isn't a concept I've seen very often elsewhere, so I was curious if I maybe played at the same table with you!
Not me, sorry!
What a great premise!
the REAL truth that Jay Dragon is hiding from you is that you can cut your way through the veil and through to the palace of the lightning bugs using a tonal wiseblade forged with true intention of ego-violence (Vascral told me this)
Thanks for this great video, it's even more inspiring for a project I'm working on involving a Star Wars game in a Folk Horror atmosphere!
AAAAAH WANDERHOME IS ONE OF MY FAV GAMES AND THIS VIDEO MAKES ME SO HAPPY!!! The way you create a framework of time and certain specific characters from the bits and pieces Jay Dragon has laid out thru the years, while still leaving room for interpretation is so cool! Honestly one of the coolest parts of the game for me as a GM is the wiggle room to create folklore (I made up some city now ruined by the war, that worshipped the so called Gods of the Rose Dawn) that has all the plausibility to have been real. Can I extend a request for you to post links to the sources of the video? (aside from the og book print)
Glad you enjoyed it! Sources for the videos, music, and information used are in the transcript. If you're looking for the Guest Playbooks, they're on Possum Creek's website. aavoigt.com/f/the-hidden-lore-of-wanderhome possumcreekgames.com/products/wanderhome-stretch-goal-pdf
@@aavoigt thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu <3
Rise up Mörk Borg kult, Vehru speaks true.
I had this video on my watch later list for a while A.A Voight and you have not disappointed at all! Honestly this quote right here: “The Americans thought we were followers of Marx. No, you were wrong. We fought for this country, so that there would be no more bombing, no more war. There would be no more death, no more destruction.” hit me like a truck. As a leftist, I definitely came in with sympathy,but that contextualization really grounded this essay. Seriously this project must have been emotionally a lot, so its greatly appreciated the work you put into this.
Glad you enjoyed it Blerdy. I'm really grateful to Kevin Nguyen for writing these games, because as an American, I can often get caught up in the historical atrocities we committed, so much so that I center my thoughts on America as an imperial power itself. Nguyen's games remind us that real people with complicated, personal beliefs were affected by this conflict, and I hope to keep those people in mind when talking about the war in the future.
WE FOUND HIM! HE'S THE ONLY IMAGINE DRAGONS FAN! JUMP HIS ASS!
I love when an analysis of art is so artfully done. Fantastic work
There is so much here! These games and video are an integral part of how to history…also a crucial part of and way of tabletop role playing and award nominee and ‘Best of/ Essential’ list type material. I’m reminded of some of Jason Morningstar’s history or contemporary issues in his designs as well.
This was a great video! It's criminally unfair that it doesn't have more views, you did a phenomenal job
Thank you. Unfortunately I think because of the content warnings in the description, RUclips flagged it as 18+ only, which it will recommend to new viewers less frequently. I plan on doing a more popular RPG for my next video, which I hope will bring in more viewers to see less-well-known games like these two!
This is an amazing piece. I have just recently discovered these games and a friend turned my own to your video. Heart breaking.
Glad you enjoyed it. Most of my videos aren't as heavy as this one, but I hope it goes to show how wide-ranging the world of tabletop games can be!
What a gut wrenching essay. Excellent work as always, Aaron. These games really speak to the power of ttrpgs and their ability to transport the player to the past and make them make the choices someone must have made back then. As a Spaniard I feel like these two games have a lot in common with another wartime game that puts the victims of the conflict as the protagonists: La Desbandá, by Pablo López, set in one of the most gruesome points of the Spanish Civil War. I still have to read that one. I am glad to live in a time when this kind of games are becoming a little bit more common. It is a really powerful way to leart about the nuances of the past. Thank you for this essay and the musings it has brought up.
Thanks for watching. I will have to check out La Desbandá, it seems like a fascinating exploration of history. I hope we get more games like this that can both function educationally, as well as provide an avenue for empathy.
Great essay as always. Reminds me of Viet Thanh Nguyen's _The Sympathiser_, a great spy novel that starts at the fall of Saigon. Have you read Dog Eat Dog? It's another TTRPG I heard a lot about, one which also puts the players in the roles of the colonised.
Yeah, Kevin Nguyen also recommended "The Sympathiser" as a parallel text for these games! And I have not read Dog Eat Dog, but I have heard of it, one on my long list of "games to read someday!"
@@aavoigt There's a limited series adaptation of the novel, too (which i haven't seen, but its creative cohort and direction seem pronising)! The novel's sequel' _The Committed_ starts on a refugee boat like the one the essay ends on. (Then it moves to Paris.) I can't wait for the concluding book in the trilogy.
i love the fact that Nietzsche wrote all this because he was rejected by the girl he had a crush on
we all deal with rejection in our own, totally normal, ways
eyyyyy john
That was great fun, an interesting delve (fittingly)! I shared on the RRD server and a few other places. Have you read/played Luke Gearing's Mothership module *Gradient Descent*? Not entirely similar themes, but definite crossover with exploring a new environment and emerging... changed... crossover w Rocco's Basilisk in there, too!
Thank you for sharing it! I haven't read much of Gearing's work unfortunately, but I'll have to take a look!
I have a deep attachment to that era of the internet. Never used xenga specifically, but I absolutely would have _lived_ there if I'd heard about it. Mine were mostly deviantart and forum games where you'd roleplay as one of the two genders: vampire or fairy. I'm grateful to any and all projects that aim to at least try to show others that part of my history.
That reading around 3:10 truly made me cringe the hardest and sigh. Good job there. As someone who was heavily into roleplaying on tumblr in the 2010s, there is something lovely about re-reading the old cringy stuff you wrote. It can be admirable to look over the cringy stuff we wrote and did in our younger periods. So having a solo rpg that covers that is legit wonderful. I am curious, how many takes did it take for those lines?
Surprisngly not many! I did burst out laughing the first few times, but I think all in all it was about 3 or 4 tries to get through the whole paragraph
This was a great and emotional essay for me. I am lucky that a lot of my early internet experience is saved in word docs on my computer, but I have already lost my earliest digital RPG experiences are long gone as a part of a dead Pern fan roleplay forum.
I'm sorry to hear your old RP stuff is lost! I do genuinely think it's a loss for future generations to not have archives of what culture was like in this weird, early period of the internet. Jacob Geller's essay "How Can We Bear to Throw Anything Away" gets deep into the logistical nightmare of actually documenting any significant part of media history, but it does feel like the Library of Alexandria is just constantly burning down around us
@@aavoigt Thank you! In this case though, I am glad that Warrenguard is coming out soon so I can share some similar experiences with my kids and other friends. Things like the wayback machine, while highly imperfect, are a treasure for us that should really be doubled down on. I have experienced the same problem of inaccessible data with non-internet digital files too, so I think that is one reason why I have taken to trying to print out a lot of my games and got so interested into bookmaking.
Another great video! Digital preservation and reconnecting to my teenage self have both been on my mind a lot recently. I really enjoyed hearing your thoughts.
Why are you making me nostalgic about my angsty xanga...? Oversharing, emo thoughts of a teen-to-early-20s me, set to the music of a band that hasn't made an album since 2004...
Listen Linkin Park is still my favorite band, you can’t take the emotions out of the emo!
This video introduced me to City Planning Department. I brought it to the TTRPG night I run at a community center and it was a hit! It also started a great conversation about municipal politics. Thank you for the effort you put into your videos!
I'm so glad it helped you find a game to play! City Planning Department is such a neat exploration of the difficulties in consensus building, and how hard it is to get things done. My favorite comments are ones like this where folks are inspired to check a new game out, so I'm very grateful you took the time to let me know!
Great great essay. First video I find from you, looking forward into more.
Another great video, AA!
Adore "Invisible Cities." Always thought that would be a killer jumping-off point for TTRPG settings.
Was just thinking about this very topic. Another A.A. Voight banger
Thanks!! Would love to see your take on a city building game, if you had the interest
@@aavoigt already ahead of you mate hahaha
Thanks for the shout-out for Tales of a City! If anyone is interested, the same mechanics are also present in The Tutelary Society if you want it in a full game and Heliopolis if you prefer a sci-fi or post-apocalyptic version of it. A great video as always! They always inspire me to push my creative means in new ways. Now I want to do some revising to one of my games to include the community evolution aspect that I have been meaning to incorporate into it since before its original release! 😂
You hit it right on the nail! A city is more than its landmarks. A city reflects the people who live in it. One could even make the argument that a city reflects the interests of the powerful against the marginalized especially in the game: We, The City. As someone who studied cities and geography, place and space play an important part in how we create our games too. So city building games are extremely interesting to me! Hyped to see more games mentioned down the line. Thanks again for having me on your video. It definitely got me back into my world building mood!
Thanks again for your help!
awesome video as always, every day im finding reasons to play more city building games and also read italo calvinos invisible cities
It’s a weird book, but really interesting one! Less than 200 pages, definitely give it a read!
This video rules! Can't believe I haven't caught this channel before now, it is so my jam. So cool to also hear my boi Blerdy on the mic, an absolutely lovely creator in the space too! I can't wait to check out the games from this list I haven't heard of and definitely can't encourage enough for folks to check out Ex Novo at the least! I played Ex Umbra (made by the same designer) earlier this year to build out a custom DCC Death Funnel and if Ex Novo is even half as interesting it is more than worth the purchase. I'm also pretty fond of _i'm sorry did you say street magic_ and have really wanted to do something with _Beak, Feather, & Bone_ lately. The latter of which I noticed you did a video on as well! :D
Great video 👍 and The Death and Life of Great American Cities is one of my favourite books! As a civil engineer and gamer, the planning of cities across the world, and how they subsequently grow through use by their residents, has always fascinated me
Another well-made vid! I just find it weird that you managed to avoid talking about the grandaddy of city builders, Sim City, and how it's the natural extension of the Sims and the simulation games in general. I still remember the pure bliss of managing an entire city for the first after being limited to a single Sim household.
for years i've been lurking in the darkness, just waiting for someone to finally make a kingdom hearts ttrpg MY TIME HAS COME!
This looks really cool, might snag it Working on a hack myself atm and stumbled across this - really like entitlement