#68: Transparency
Soren joins Jon and Dirk to discuss transparency: what a game does and does not reveal to players. The discussion ranges from unpredictability in deckbuilders like \u2018Dominion\u2019 and \u2018Ascension\u2019, to fog of war in \u2018Civilization\u2019, \u2018At the Gates\u2019 and \u2018War Stories\u2019, to the need to memorize past actions in games like \u2018El Grande\u2019. They wrap up with a lengthy discussion about the transparency problems Dirk and Soren have with the baseball sim \u2018Out of the Park\u2019 and why Jon still loves it all the same.---------------------------Contact InformationJon Shafer - @JonShaferDesign, www.JonShaferOnDesign.com, Jon.Shafer@ConiferGames.comDirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.comSoren Johnson - @SorenJohnson, www.Designer-Notes.com, www.MohawkGames.com---------------------------Episode Outline0:00:24 - What IS Transparency?0:13:50 - Deckbuilders0:18:02 - Fog of War0:26:12 - Dirk\u2019s Games0:31:15 - Replayability0:38:18 - Memory0:45:35 - The Designer\u2019s Preference0:50:04 - Out of the Park Baseball1:12:00 - Designing Our Baseball Sim