Hierarchy of Interface for Tabletop Games

danielsolisblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/hierarchy-of-interfa...

 

 

Hierarchy of Interface for Tabletop Games as observed by John Stavropoulos

 

 

TOOLS

The actual components of play, like character sheets, cheat sheets, boards and bits.

 

TEXT

The actual documented rules and how they are presented, including exact wording, procedures and game terms.

 

RULES

The parameters of play as best recalled by the players. Less formal than text, but more formal than the basic design intent.

 

INTENT

The assumptions of how a game would be played, often expressed directly by the designer with minimal formal documentation.

 

Source:

“This is why I feel game interfaces (character sheets, cheat sheets) are more important than rules text and rules text is more important than rules and rules are more important than design intent when it comes to actual play... we generally can’t assume players will read the rules, that GMs won’t remember more than 5-7 distinct pieces of information at a time without reference, and if we don’t provide teaching tools, that the game will be taught correctly.”

plus.google.com/u/0/111266966448135449970/posts/aqxmnLe61rg

 

DESIGN: Daniel Solis — danielsolis.com

 

“Dice,” “Pencil” symbol from The Noun Project collection.

“Paper” symbol by Tom Schott, from The Noun Project collection.

“Quote” symbol by Henry Ryder, from The Noun Project collection.

“Note” symbol by Brendan Lynch, from the Noune Project collection.

“Pawn” symbol by Kenneth Von Alt, from The Noun Project collection.

“Dialog” symbol by Dima Yagnyuk, from The Noun Project collection.

 

Done