Now I have to read it again

[Rob Lang]

The problem with creating a roleplaying game is that you spend an enormous amount of time reading it through. You almost get sick of reading the same paragraphs over and over. For me, reading Icar's character creation section is like pulling teeth. I've read and revised it so many time that I am unsure that my brain is even registering the text any more.

Once solution to this is to read it out of order. That is a good idea because some GMs will skip to the setting or jump to where there is a nice image. Do chapters still make sense if you dip in and out? I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that repetition is OK if it means that the book doesn't keep you jumping back and forth.

You can also get someone else to read it through. For me, that will be the Mrs (who doesn't roleplay). By getting a non-roleplayer to read it, you will get an idea of its newbie-friendliness rating. Also, you can get a better idea of how clearly and interesting the writing is. I am a little concerned that my default writing style is too dry (my science background). I'll give Mrs Lang a chapter of a professional RPG (probably Corporation or Deadlands) to read through first so that she knows what to expect.

Before all of that, I need to "force" my way through a read-through. Not easily done when is eating my soul and when work is interesting enough that I arrive home brain fried! I imagine the best way is to set a series of small targets: character creation done by Monday, Combat the following Monday, etc. Something I can measure against. I also have a nice task that I'm not touching until it's done: the new website. Having that fun thing to do at the end of this laborious task is a blessing.

How do you get through tough times like these? What techniques do you use to con yourself into doing the less interesting bits of design?

[Onix]

Brute willpower skill checks work for me occasionally. I also make some of my explorer playtesters read through to see what they make of it. One of my most revealing tricks is to tell a player they're GMing a one off game and leave the room with a voice recorder going. When they don't understand something or can't work their way through something, I know I've got something to work on. That only works if they don't know the game already though.