Who killed notorious 1940s gangster Benjamin ‘Bugsy’ Siegel, the father of modern Las Vegas? Was it another mob boss? The lover of his best friend's wife? One of the men he was embezzling money from? His Mafia spy girlfriend? His own bosses? The possibilities are endless—and puzzling.
(Note: be warned, kind of long background info here, but I think it’s needed) As far as interesting lives, few can beat Benjamin ‘Bugsy’ Siegel. Born February 28, 1906 in Brooklyn, New York, Siegel came from a poor Jewish family. Before he was even twenty, he’d established a profitable protection racket and a lengthy rap sheet, including armed robbery, rape, and murder. Siegel had connections—he was childhood friends with Al Capone and familiar with many of the well known New York City mobsters of the day—and he also had a taste for violence. Soon, he’d established a small mob specializing in hits for the numerous bootleg gangs of the time with Meyer Lansky, a fellow mobster. His violence and short temper led some to say he was “crazy as a bedbug,” giving him his famous nickname ‘Bugsy,’ which he even more famously despised. Siegel was making money, which he was happy to flaunt, but he wanted more. He carried out several hits for Charles “Lucky” Luciano, and eventually formed Murder Inc. with his associates, establishing himself as a skilled hitman for the National Crime Syndicate, an organization of mob families. But Siegel was already making enemies, and several assassination attempts were made on his life, some of which came very close to being successful. So, it was time to move out west. In California, Siegel helped establish gambling rackets, drug trade routes, and prostitution rings. His star was rising outside of the Underworld too, and in addition to the numerous politicians and police on his payroll, he befriended stars like Cary Grant and Clark Gable. Incredibly, while in Italy with a socialite in 1938, he met Hermann Goering and Joseph Goebbels, whom he immediately disliked and offered to kill. The offer was declined by his lady friend. Yet Siegel was not always looked upon fondly by the upper echelons of Hollywood; he borrowed exorbitantly from celebrities, knowing he would never be asked to pay it back, and began to develop extensive plans to extort movie studios. After several trials and acquittals for failed and successful hits, it was time to leave California. Siegel’s next stop was Las Vegas where, in 1945, he purchased and developed the Flamingo Hotel & Casino, the first luxury hotel on the Vegas strip. As you might imagine, that was expensive, and over the course of its construction, costs were equivalent to over $61 million in today’s money each year. Siegel’s checks were bouncing, and many of the locals felt threatened by him. Mob bosses were beginning to lose patience with Siegel too, and he was refusing to report on business, claiming he was running the California Syndicate himself. For now, they left him alone—he'd been valuable in the past, after all. The Flamingo Hotel was a dismal failure, and people—very powerful people—were starting to get tired of waiting for the promised money to materialize. By 1947, it was gradually turning around—with the help of Meyer Lansky, now in Vegas—but for most, it was too little too late. Death: On June 20, 1947, Siegel was gunned down in the Beverly Hills home of his sometimes-girlfriend Virginia Hill. He was 41. Somewhat suspiciously, Hill had taken an unscheduled flight to Paris the day (or by some sources, week) before. As Siegel sat reading the newspaper with associate Allen Smiley, an unknown assailant fired with a .30 caliber military M1 carbine through the window, striking Siegel many times (NSFW). Two shots hit his head, with one passing through his right cheek and the other his nose. Though he was not hit directly through the eye (NSFW), a bullet-in-the-eye death became a popular trope in Mafia media, including in the Godfather, where a character based on Siegel is murdered in the same manner. The death was covered extensively in the media, which portrayed Vegas as a bastion of sin and mafia activity. As early as the day after Siegel’s death (or, as some sources have it, during Siegel’s death), however, more personal things were changing: Lansky walked into the Flamingo and took over operations. Theories: The mob is famously tight-lipped, and Siegel’s death was no exception. Despite the extensive speculation, no precise motive has ever been confirmed. There was a massive police investigation, but in a case like this, that doesn’t mean much, nor does the media coverage. The media in particular salivated over the potential for splashy crime stories, and the circumstances of this case have been complicated by contemporary coverage. Several days after Siegel’s death, for example, one newspaper ran the headline “BUGSY'S BLONDE EX-WIFE GIVES CLUES TO HIS KILLERS,” while another read “BUGSY'S EX NO AID IN HUNT.” As far as the most popular theories: A Mob hit: A mob hit seems like the most obvious cause, and it's a theory that’s been popularized by several novels and the 1991 movie Bugsy. It would certainly make sense; it was the mob’s money Siegel had been spending wildly on his unsuccessful hotel after all, and he’d been growing uncooperative. Of the proposed hitmen, the most often mentioned are Frankie Carbo (Ralph Natale, former Philadelphia boss and Mob squealer, claimed Carbo as the true killer) and Eddie Cannizarro, both Syndicate hitmen. But even here, there are several proposed reasons for the hit. As some have it, mob money from the Flamingo’s funding was going missing and Siegel was skimming off the already meager profits. Skimming could have been forgiven, if the Flamingo was a success. It was not. After a meeting of the Syndicate’s “Board of Directors,” it was allegedly decided that Siegel would die, with Lansky reluctantly agreeing. Others believe that a hit might have been ordered whether Siegel was skimming or not; the Flamingo was simply too expensive. As one historian put it, “Bugsy was a dreamer. And he was dreaming with other people’s money.” Yet many have also argued against this theory. According to one of Siegel’s emissaries in Vegas, for example, no one would have dared to order a hit on Siegel. He and Lansky were close until the end of their lives, and Lansky would never have agreed to it. And if Lansky would not agree, then Charles “Lucky” Luciano, who was “the head of everything,” would never have agreed either. And as others have argued, the method of execution (NSFW) didn’t match with typical mob methods; firing a weapon from outside a house increased the risk of missing as well as the risk of being seen. The preferred method was a clean shot to the back of the head. According to some, the oft-referenced money problems of the Flamingo also wasn’t an issue. At the time, Lansky was paying back any investor who wanted out, and the gradual uptick in its profits was quickening by the day. Personally, I don’t think the financial uptick invalidates the theory. If the hotel was starting to make more money, then that might be all the more reason to get rid of the difficult-to-manage Siegel and take over. Wire Business: At the time of his death, Siegel was embroiled in a dispute with Jack Dragna, dubbed the Capone of Los Angeles. Siegel and Dragna had had an uneasy partnership in previous years, but Dragna, far less powerful than Siegel and the New York gangs, resented the income and respect Siegel commanded. This came to a head when a racing wire service (a way of cheating on bets) between the two of them soured. Siegel wanted control for himself, and ordered Dragna to turn it over or be killed, to which Dragna agreed. After Siegel’s death, control was returned to Dragna. He had a motive, but his story would only have been one among many for a man as ruthless as Siegel, which, in a way, complicates things further—there’s a real possibility that the culprit in Siegel’s murder was someone never even considered. His list of enemies was long, varied, and probably mostly unknown. Yet another man who had reason to want Siegel dead, for example, was his bodyguard and muscle Mickey Cohen. A Cleveland gangster, Cohen was given control of the Syndicate’s West Coast gambling operations. If Siegel still lived, he would never have gotten it. Interestingly, he, like Al Capone before him, was eventually felled by tax evasion. Virginia and/or brother: The same emissary of Siegel who shot down the mob hit theory believed that Virginia Hill’s brother had carried out the murder. The brother, a marine stationed at Camp Pendleton named Bob or Bill, had seen Siegel and Virginia fighting outside the Flamingo as well as the bruises Siegel had left on her and threatened to kill him. Another of Virginia’s brothers, Chuck, was also at the Beverly Hills house when Siegel was murdered. Virginia herself has also been the subject of suspicion. Nicknamed the “Queen of the Mob,” Hill worked, among other powerful jobs, as a cash courier, laundering money and stolen goods as well as blackmailing high-ranking men through sexual liaisons. Her relationship with Siegel was tempestuous at best, and she may have been embezzling from the Flamingo. She’s also been accused of two-timing with rival mob operations, though this is unconfirmed. Eventually fleeing to Europe permanently, Hill died of an overdose in 1966, though some have alleged that she was actually murdered after she, completely broke, attempted to leverage her intimate knowledge of the Mob. Rival Mobs: Unfortunately, I can’t find much concrete information about this theory (note: story of my life researching these posts haha), but some believe that rival mob operatives wanted Siegel gone. He was a powerful—and very public—figure, which made him something of an obvious target in the cut-throat world of Mafia politics. Moe Sedway: This is a relatively new theory, emerging after Robbie Sedway was interviewed for LA Magazine after his mother’s death. Here, he alleged that Siegel’s murder was ordered by his mother Bee, the wife of powerful mobster—and childhood friend of Siegel’s—Moe Sedway. According to Bee, who wrote and scrapped a book proposal called Bugsy's Little Lunatic (Siegel’s nickname for her), Siegel had threatened her husband, who was the Flamingo’s numbers man, and therefore watching Siegel—who, remember, had been accused of skimming—closely. So Bee contacted Mathew “Moose” Pandza, a truck driver whom Bee married after Moe’s death. Moose, the perfect killer, since he had no connection to the Mob, then shot Siegel to death. The problem with this theory, however, is that Bee is the only source; as she herself said, anyone who could contradict her was dead. She also squandered most of the fortune left to her by Moe over the course of her life, and died almost penniless. All of the above: Some believe that almost all the suspects were involved. Usually, it goes something like this: “Virginia supplied the location and received some reward. Cohen knew Bugsy's schedule for the evening, but happened to not be watching him that night…Dragna ordered the hit, with the approval of Lansky and Luciano.” It’s unlikely, but it certainly has its believers, if only for the convenience of it. Final Thoughts & Questions: This case is interesting to me because of the sheer number of suspects. In the end, a mob hit seems the simplest and most likely explanation. But there were so many people with means, motive, and opportunity. So:
Why was Siegel killed and who killed him? The Syndicate, rival mobs, Virginia Hall, her brother, Mickey Cohen, Jack Dragna, Mathew Pandza (as ordered by Moe and/or Bee Sedway), several of the suspects, or someone else entirely?
Previous thread(s) Neutral Monsters Scoia'tael Characters that are bold are some that I think could fit leader characters/reward trees (if they are painfully obvious like Northern monarchs then I won't highlight them just because there's so many). Of course you are free to disagree with my choices! (If they appear in multiple sections I will only highlight them once.) Syndicate:
Missing leaders: Sigismund Dijkstra, Cyrus Hemmelfart, King of Beggars, Gudrun Bjornsdottir, Whoreson Junior, Cleaver
Unused card arts: Tuur
Vizima: Ramsmeat/Jeremiah Trick, Coleman, Mr Glover and his two pet wyverns, Angus, Jethro, Carmen, Raymond Maarloeve, Ralf Duben, Haren Brogg. Possibly Ori Reuven too.
Flotsam: Bernard Loredo, Marietta Loredo, Vencel Pugg, Dmitri, Louis Merse, Clovisse Merse, Margot, Arnolt Malliger, Alphonse and Myron, King Ziggy, Fioravanti, Vilmos Bartok.
Dijkstra's "gang": Sigi, Bart, Happen, Madame Serenity, Fonce, Vespula (she was working for Dijkstra at the bathhouse and also seemed to be getting in some trouble with Junior's goons). Sigi's henchmen also have various designs in W3, so the devs have things they could work with for bronzes.
Blindeyes: Hattori - it's criminal that Hattori and Sukrus can't be played in the same faction. For others maybe Paliga (a Novigradian pickpocket in one of the comics), Eustace, Elihal? There's also lots of Novigradian working girls that could fall under Blindeyes (such as Madame Serenity, Salma, Crippled Kate), but I gave them their own section later in this list.
Crownsplitters: Ernst van Hoorn, Ginter de Lavirac, Grun, Pup. Cleaver's business ventures like horse racing, or maybe even racing pigeons.
Cutups: Olgard, Vick, Junior's casino dealer (he didn't have a name in W3 afaik but that's an easy fix), possibly Gustav Roene. Novigrad has a zoo apparently, so wouldn't be surprised if some more exotic animals show up in the arena - Zanguebarian hyenas with their laughing would feel pretty fitting as Cutups, don't you think?
Tidecloaks: The Hairy Brothers from Junior's arena possibly. Sukrus's brother-in-law could maybe fit too.
Salamandra: Adda, Berengar, Azar's Koshchey, Angus, Vencel Pugg, Gavrilo, even Loredo affiliated with Salamandra remnants in Witcher 2 for his fisstech operation. The wiki mentions Louis Merse and Dmitri as being Salamandra, but from playing W2 I don't remember any explicit ties to Salamandra for those two myself but maybe I missed it.
Eternal Fire: Hieronymus Brunckhorst, Chappelle (both human and doppler), Reverend from W1, Odo, Hubert Rejk, Iron Mortimer, Fritz Kreft, Gilbert Witschke, Prochaska, Saint Gregory, Saint Anselm, Council of Electors. There is also the Temple Fleet, but maybe CDPR want to keep ships to the Tidecloak part.
Flaming Rose: Arthur Tailles, White Rayla, Polycarp of Rinde, Adalbert, Eric Vogel, Evariste of Metinna, Patrick de Wayze, Tybalt, Siegfried de Lowe, Supreme Council. More Fallen Knights: Tuur (we've seen leaked art for him), Fette de'Amin, Robbe, Ernst Goltz, Lewie, Thunder, Anselm, Antoine Pfeil, Peter Nayhaer.
Witch Hunts: Radovid, Triss, The Warden, Hubrecht, Dirk, Egbert, Yamurlak, Falka's Bed (witch hunter torture device mentioned in W3). Also mages/mage allies like Triss, Corinne Tilly, Arthur de Vleester, Kluhg, Moritz Diefenthal, Felicia Cori, Berthold, Anisse, Remi Villeroy, Albert Vegelbud, Olivier possibly. Worth mentioning that Triss was working for Dijkstra and King of Beggars at times, as they were helping the mages.
Jad Karadin's gang: Hammond is already in the game, so the remaining ones we know of are Jad, Lund, Vienne, Selyse (she also owns a brothel named Black Lily if it's relevant). Lund is also posing as a Novigradian councillor so he can continue criminal ventures without being caught as easily, which might also be a theme to expand on.
Borsodi auction house: Maximilian Borsodi, Max's (currently unnamed) brother, Abner de Navarette
Hearts of Stone heist: Eveline Gallo, Hugo Hoff, Quinto, Casimir Bassi, Otto Bamber, Maarten
Detective/Information agencies: Codringher and Jacob Fenn - for the right price the two would employ all sorts of shady tactics for their clients, and their clientele were often not the most honest of folk either. Also Raymond Maarloeve learned his trade from them, and is connected to Salamandra storyline. Victor Veritas/Truthseekers, since we have Walter maybe his father could appear too.
Working Girls: I suppose the Novigrad ones of these would probably fall under Blindeyes. Madame Serenity (she also worked with Dijkstra when he was planning his assassination of Radovid, so can fit Dijkstra's gang too), Salma, Whistling Wendy, Sweet Nettie, Crippled Kate, Narcissa, Amrynn, Viola, Mercia, Bertha, Suzy, One-Eyed Emmy, Carmen, Margot.
Mercenaries: Adrianna, Vincent Molnar, Hans of Cidaris, Nino Murk, Narsi Sattelbach, Ulster Hood. The Koviri mercenaries, like the Free Company with Adam Pangratt, Julia Abatemarco, Juan Gutierrez, Lorenzo Molla, could maybe fit too.
The Arts/Performances: Butcher's Yard, Irina Renarde, Madame Irina's Troupe (The Foxen), The Puffins, Callonetta (Priscilla), Crimson Avenger (Dandelion), Dudu, Abelard Rizza, Maxim Boliere, Sofus the Bull, Hal, Polly. Whoreson Senior apparently enjoyed the arts.
Monsters: Adda, Azar's Koshchey, Hubert, Chappelle, Janne the Imp, Salma, Bart, Glover's two pet wyverns, Pyral's Vigilosaur, possibly Little Red.
Novigradian families: Vegelbuds (Erasmus, Ingrid, Patricia, Albert, Luc), de Jonkheers (one of the de Jonkheers helped build Novigrad, later one of the descendents Rudolf de Jonkheer runs one of the biggest banks in Novigrad), var Attre (Henry, Rosa, Edna--more likely to be NG but they did live in Novigrad and Henry was mysteriously removed at end of beta), de Sepulvedas (Briana, Jacob, Xymena).
Kovir: Even though they don't entirely fit the crime side of the faction, they do fit the money side without question, especially Esterad Thyssen. The man was obsessed with coin. Plus, Kovir is defined by its profit and trade - money is their whole shtick, the same as Syndicate's. Both Kovir and Novigrad consider themselves neutral parties - Kovir is neutral kingdom, while Novigrad is the Free City not ruled by any king. When Esterad Thyssen aided NR he did so not through soldiers, but money through Hemmelfart that went onto Redania (and it wasn't even his own money that he used!). He released convicts from prison and sent them as mercenaries to aid in the war, not because he felt any sort of loyalty to the north, but because he wanted them to return after the war with lots of money for himself ("Cats always come home. Well, and when my cats return, when they bring their pay, their spoils, their riches... I shall tax them!"). The mercs (Sly Cats/Free Company) were in later years for hire for whomever would pay, such as Adam Pangratt working for Henselt and Dethmold in W2.
Aristide Vermuellen, Esterad's spymaster and son-in-law, worked with banks like Vivaldi and Cianfanelli. Dijkstra and Esterad were pretty fond of each other - and as above, it's very likely Hemmelfart and Esterad can be linked too. And speaking of Dijkstra he also broke Happen out of a Koviri prison, and his treasure was moved to a Koviri vault by Menge. Tancred accepted the mages fleeing Menge, and Esterad was distrustful of mages like Sile. Going back into the earlier days of Kovir, you have likes of Troyden or Scarab Thyssen, both of whom were considered slippery and shady individuals, Scarab being no better than bandit and robber. Ivo Mirce (aka Cicada) from Shard of Ice was also a wanted criminal in various Koviri cities. A more indepth list of Koviri characters will be in the NR list in a few days, but I think SY is a stronger possibility for Koviri content since it keeps them neutral between NR and NG as they like to be seen, while also fitting the money theme perfectly.
Merchant's Guild: Despite them not liking Salamandra (then again neither does Ramsmeat), they would fit the money theme, and Declan Leuvaarden employs all sorts of shady and illegal bribes, business ventures, and contacts. The organisation also has presence in Novigrad (unless it's a different one).
Other criminals: For these next few sections, it's totally possible that some of them could be put under gangs, I just am not gonna be the one to decide which and why. Ireneus var Steingard, Prince Adrien of the Sea Cat, Kiyan, Ralf Blunden (I know he was original basis for Professor but he could still get a card), Heimo Kantor, Little Yaxa, Michelet Brothers (Toublanc, Rizzi, Flavius, Lodovico), Bernard Tulle, Duke, Earl, Titus Gielas, Jerosa Fuerte/Needle, Blind Leon, Kranmer and Kwintensen, Lussi the Fox, Pyral Pratt, Antea Derris, Mikita, Pyral's Vigilosaur.
Others: Dainty Biberveldt, Ther Lukokian (Truffle), Joachim von Gratz, Walthemor Mitty, Henckel, Joachim Schwann, Marcus TK Hodgson, Henri Rautlec, Fabian Meyer, Gus Meyer, Muskrat, Beau Berrant, Bertrand Wirtz, Eberhartt of Rivia, Drofuss, Horvath. Issa, Tekla. Javil Fysh, Petru Cobbin, Kevenard van Vliet, Pudlorak, Boxcray, Parlaghy. Bea, Wolverstone, Liglad. Herbercks (Bruno, Lotta, Petunia), Detchka, Gunter Craggs, Marabella.
Fistfighting: Zdenek, Claytop, Durden the Tailor, Iron Mortimer, Archibald O'Neil, Georgius 'Piledriver' Georg, King Ziggy, Twigs, Matho, Smugface, Fat Fred, Butter Bean, Andrew Gablodda, The Rock (lol)
Possibly something from Zerrikania too: It's possible Dijkstra established some sort of ties and connections in Zerrikania while he was a fugitive. He also won Bart from a camel merchant there.
Locations: Temple Isle (Firesworn), Silverton, Gildorf, Farcorners (Crownsplitters), The Bits (Cutups), Harborside (Tidecloaks), Lacehalls (Blindeyes), Hierarch Square (Witch Hunters), Butcher's Yard, Dijkstra's Bathhouse, Junior's Arena, Putrid Grove, Deireadh Prison, Flotsam
It was interesting to me how much I found for Syndicate. I was expecting it to be a little light on future possibilites, but I think it has a healthy amount still to work with. Thanks for reading! Tomorrow will be the Empire's day!
How do you want to do this? A Discussion on Selective Rule Enforcement and the application of the "Rule of Cool"
Hello folks, For my research analysis and writing class my professor let me pick any topic I want. (her mistake) So for my final term paper I chose to come up with a method of determining a guide to the use of the "rule of cool." I got a A on the paper so I figured I'd share it with you fine folks as well. It is rather lengthy so I've included the abstract first. The 8 tips for dungeon masters is near the end (third session), the first and second parts deal more with the philosophical and ethics of games. So, if situational ethics and a discussion on the Mechanics, Dynamics, and Aesthetics of Play are of use for you, be my guess. I am a relatively new DM so I spent a long time researching and trying to absorb what would make me a "good DM". With that cavate please keep in mind I know next to nothing compared to a vast majority of the DMs here. I can think of no place better to have this paper peer-reviewed, picked apart and "rebutalled" to death than here. If you feel offended, challenged, or angry reading this... Please understand I am a moron borrowing the works and words of far smarter people. If you feel that "this is the WAY" again... I am a moron... so ... with out further ado.
Abstract:
The choice to be a stringent rule-follower without leniency using fanatical legalism in a game can be a source of contention between someone acting as a referee and/or “Game Master” and players of a game. Likewise, to approach games with a sense of fanatical antinomianism, or to completely ignore the rules and simply let players do whatever they want, tends to offer no challenge, and or reason to play that specific game. Using ethical theory frameworks such as situational ethics, natural law, and utilitarianism this paper seeks find the philosophical principles of what moments are acceptable and actually beneficial to bend the rules of a game. As such, it is important to define games, briefly discuss why games are played, and roles rules have on games. The game Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition will be used as the principal example. With “rule for rules” established, seven tips on how to implement it this rule using advice and guidance from some of the most well known “Dungeon Masters” in the modern era will be provided. Much of this paper relies on the works of Joseph Fletcher, Sheila Murphy; Benard Suits, Robin Hunicke, Marc LeBlanc, and Robert Zubek for the ethical and philosophical discussions around games. For the practical advice, it relies primarily on the works of Matthew Mercer, Brennan Lee Mulligan, Benjamin Scott, Patrick Tracy, Kelly Mclaughlin and Monty Martin. Players are your friends, or at the very least your fellow human beings. As such, seek out what is best for them. Games are about many things but principally about enjoyment. It’s okay if the player does not get exactly what they want, so long as they still had enjoyment. How it happens is up to the players, the one running the game, and whether the rules were used to enhance the experience or not. It’s possible to find that balance by asking these questions in order: “How will this decision affect: the final enjoyment of all at the table? the narrative? the rules in the future?”
**“Once upon a time, around a table…”
A man behind a cardboard screen sits across from a woman wearing a funny hat. He is frantically reading through the pages of the various books at his disposal. He finds the reference he is looking for, but it is not clear. “It is technically against the rules, it is barely within the realm of possibility, but the idea is so creative…” the man murmurs to himself. Exasperated, the man smiles a crooked grin and explains, “Well you can certainly try… give me an acrobatics check.” The woman throws a piece of plastic resin on to the table. The dice reads, “18.” The man sighs and then laments, “fine… how do you want to do this?” The table erupts in cheers, as high-fives are given from the others around the table. The woman adjusts her hat, as she gleefully explains how her character will use the momentum of several falling barrels to move across the map in a single turn without having to use all her character’s movement. As a “Dungeon Master” (DM) for the tabletop role playing game, Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), I can say without a doubt that many DMs have encountered extremely similar events as the one described above. The choice to be a stringent rule-follower without leniency can be a source of much resentment between the DM and the players around the table. Likewise, to completely ignore the rules and simply let players do whatever they want offers no challenge, no reason to play. In terms of D&D rule enforcement, as is with many events in life, the choice of always being either a “Harsh Disciplinarian” or the lenient, “Laissez Faire Guide” is a false dichotomy. Instead, seeking balance between the two choices based first on the overall needs of the players, second on the needs of the story, and third on requirements and rules of the game should be the norm.
Session 1: What is the Relationship between, Players, Games and Rules?
The 19th century philosopher and founder of modern cultural history, John Hughes once wrote, “Play is older than culture, for culture, however inadvertently defined, always presupposes human society and animals have not waited for man to teach them their playing.” 1 Why do humans play? Is it instinctual? Bernard Suits was a Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Philosophy for the University of Waterloo and his essays are in part responsible for the field of philosophy of games in the late 20th century. In his book, “The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia,” Suits’ book uses Aesop’s fable about the grasshopper to argue that play is what we would do in a perfect civilization. He believed that in a world devoid of work, humans would still seek out challenges through play, suggesting that it is human nature to challenge ourselves.2 But is that the only reason someone plays a game? One YouTuber opined that “In a practical sense, games facilitate systemic thinking by getting us to view abstractions, but also engender creativity by getting us to play.”3 If true, these are essential tools for humanity to function as an intelligent race. This makes sense from an evolutionary level as to why humanity would develop play, but is there more to it than “games encourage outside the box thinking?” The landmark paper titled, “MDA: A formal approach to game design and game research” is one of the earliest attempts to formalize the field of video game design theory and it is fundamental to how modern game designers look at these systems. It serves to define the importance of mechanic, dynamics, and aesthetics of play and is instrumental to helping understand what players will expect out of a game. We will discuss more about dynamics and mechanics later, but first let us focus on aesthetics. Aesthetics of Play Defined
Term
Definition
Examples
Sense Pleasure
Enjoyment derived from how it stimulates the senses
The visuals of a game, sound, and music, feel of the dice, etc.
Fantasy
Enjoyment derived from the ability to step into a role that cannot be experienced in real life
Playing a game as a magic wielding sorcerer or rocks in the far flung reaches of outer space
Narrative
Enjoyment derived from game as drama, it is about the stories and experience gained
Heavily story driven games such as Last of Us, Dungeons and Dragons, Final Fantasy
Challenge
Enjoyment derived from overcoming an arbitrary obstacle
Platformers like Mario, or even drinking games like beer pong, or corn hole; social games like charades, etc.
Fellowship
Enjoyment from working cooperatively as a group to accomplish a goal
Team based or social games such as Among Us, the card game Spades; save the world mode on Fortnite
Competition
Enjoyment from showing dominance
Chess or Go, Battle royal games such as Fortnite or PubG or Call of Duty; Fallguys; darts Poker; Uno, Killer bunnies or Magic the Gathering;
Discovery
Enjoyment from uncovering the new or discovering news ways to play a game.
These can range from searching to find things to choose your own adventure Minecraft; Zelda Breath of the Wild; simple matching games; the board game Betrayal at the House on the Hill; or games like Fable; Dragon Age Inquisition; or Mass effect
Expression
Enjoyment from showing an aspect of one’s self; or games that allow full customization of characters
Creation games like Minecraft; role play games like fallout 4; world of warcraft or Fortnite
Submission (aka Abnegation)
Enjoyment from being able to “turn of the brain; and tune out the world” or what is also known as zone out factor.
Bejeweled; candy crush; the lever-pull games at casinos, solitaire, etc.
(Source: Portnow & Floyd, October 2012)5
Aesthetics are things like sense pleasure, fantasy, the narrative of the story, challenge, fellowship, discovery, expression, and something called submission.4 There is an additional aesthetic that most game designers also consider when designing games termed as “competition”.5 These are all reasons people play games and it is important to keep all these in mind when acting as a DM. The table above works to define these terms more appropriately and makes it easier to reference later. The reasons a player may want to play a game vary and change over time. If a DM can understand their players’ goals (i.e., what the player hopes to get out of the game) the DM will be able to understand why someone might want to perform a certain action, play a game, or want to ignore a certain rule in the first place. On that note, what are rules in games? Think about it… Games are weird… well I should say the act of playing a game… is weird. Suits once wrote in his article, for the “Philosophy of Science Association Journal,” "To play a game is to engage in activity directed towards bringing about a specific state of affairs, using only means permitted by rules, where the rules prohibit more efficient [means] in favor of less efficient means, and where such rules are accepted just because they make possible such activity."6 In other words, to play a game we create rules that prevent us from achieving a goal through the easiest means available. Instead, we make something more difficult and we play a game. For instance, in basketball, it would be far easier to simply carry the ball all the way to the basket instead of dribbling it. In D&D, there is a similar activity to dribbling. It is called a “dice roll.” It is something that players must make to see if they succeed or fail at a task. The player rolls a 20-sided die and tries to get above a certain score to succeed. Players can roll normal, with advantage, or with disadvantage. Rolling with advantage allows the player to roll the D-20 (the 20-sided die) twice and use the higher number. Rolling with disadvantage also has the player roll the D-20 twice, but they must take the lower number rolled instead. It introduces a chance of randomness, and players will find any excuse they can to avoid having to make a roll with "disadvantage." In his book, The Grasshopper, Suits argues that we do this because it is the act of overcoming that limitation that we find enjoyment. By taking on these restrictions and accepting these limitations, we take on what he coins as a "lusory attitude" which allows us to play the game as it is meant to be played. Suits would argue that by not playing the game according to the rules as written, the player would have only achieved a “quasi-victory” not really worthy of achievement. He also goes on to say that even the act of “failing to win the game by virtue of losing it implies an achievement, in the sense that the activity in question -- playing the game -- has been successfully, even though not victoriously, complete.”7 So, according to Suits, it’s better to follow the rules of the game and loose than to not follow the rules and win. It’s important to point out that the aesthetics of play had not yet been defined and Suits’ work mainly focused on the “challenge” aspect of play. This is where many sports and game philosophers begin to find fault with Suits. In the “Journal of Philosophy of Sport,” a rebuttal of Suits’ work by David Myers asks, “What if the goal of the player isn't to follow the rules or even play the game?”8 For instance, what happens if the player is motivated by competition and doesn’t care about rules so long as “they win?” While an extreme example, this paradox isn’t out of the realm of possibility. Therefore, focusing on just the challenge aesthetic of game play and simply playing the game “rules as written” can lead to a disconnect between what the player desires and the game itself. Jesper Juul, an Associate Professor in the School of Design at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, wrote in his textbook on video game design, “Rules specify limitations and affordances. They prohibit players from performing actions such as making jewelry out of dice, but they also add meaning to the allowed actions, and this affords players meaningful actions that were not otherwise available; rules give games structure”9 Basically, without rules we cannot even have play. However, if the player ignores the rules that player won’t be able to enjoy the full experience of the game, because the rules both afford the opportunity to enjoy the game and provide the obstacles in the first place. How the rules affect actual game play is where Mechanics and Dynamics come into play. (See, I told you we would get back to it eventually.) Mechanics are the rules and systems that govern chance to create the game we experience. Dynamics are how those rules come together to govern the strategies of that game. In D&D, an example of mechanics is how a player would have to roll a 20-sided dice to see if an action would succeed. Dynamics are the actions the player takes to manipulate the situation and give themselves advantage in the roll. Some examples of this are using a spell caster’s familiar, flanking an enemy in combat, using the bend luck trait, or lucky feat. This is akin to how the rules of poker dictate that bluffing is allowed (mechanics); but how the bluffing player conceals their tells and bets is entirely up to that player (dynamics). What happens when the player’s desired aesthetics and the mechanics don’t allow for the dynamics the player wants to use? This is where it falls on the DM to determine if the game can handle a little rule bending. In the Dungeon Master Guide’s introduction, it states “The D&D rules help you and the other players have a good time, but the rules aren’t in charge. You’re the DM, and you are in charge of the game…” However! It goes on to say, “The success of a D&D game hinges on your ability to entertain the other players at the game table.” What is a good way to approach this? Is it THE DM IS ALWAYS RIGHT, able to enforce their will on the players whenever it suits their need? Should the DM strictly enforce the rules and narrative of their planned story without the need to appease the players’ wants and desires?... well… The DM COULD do it, but it won’t be long before their players stop showing to game sessions. Just like the rules, without players, there is no game. Or as one notable professional DM and YouTuber once put it:
“The game you weave belongs to the players as much as yourself… so make sure to humor them every once in awhile by giving them a chance to be extraordinary" - Patrick "the Goddam DM" Tracy 10
Session 2: The Ethics of a Dungeon Master
So how does someone seek a balance between the rules and the players? Enter situational ethics. Situational ethics, first proposed by philosopher and first professor of ethics at Harvard Medical School, Joseph Fletcher,** is an attempt to seek a middle ground between two ethical schools of thought: Legalism and Antinomianism. In legalism, morality must come from a strict set of rules that must be obeyed at all times and cannot be deviated from or broken for any reason. Antinomianism, on the other hand, is the idea that there should be no rules, you should be able to do what you want, whenever you want (lawless society). 11 In D&D terms, "Fanatical Legalism" would be similar to what many DMs would characterize as "Lawful Stupid," where a certain player's character enforces harsh judgement without ever showing mercy to those who would break the law regardless of the circumstances… even to the detriment of the party… or that small band of orphans who were stealing food out of desperation… Likewise, in D&D terms, "Fanatical Antinomianism" would be similar to what DMs would characterize as "Chaotic Stupid," where a player's character completely ignores consequences an action would bring and simply act according to their whims… even when it's an obvious trap… that has a 100 percent chance to damage not only your character, but the other players as well. Fletcher's work states that the morally right thing to do depends on the situation and can change throughout the situation, but at the same time, there is a universal “moral law” on which to base our actions that he called "Agape" love. Derived from the Greek word of similar pronunciation, Fletcher sought to define Agape as a means to show love for your fellow human. In his book titled “Situational Ethics,” Fletcher states, "All laws, rules, principles, ideals and norms, are only contingent, only valid if they happen to serve love."12 Or to put it a different way, a desire to see your fellow human be happy is and should be the goal. It is not really a feeling, but an attitude to do what is best for others. In terms of the D&D alignment chart, this would be easiest to define as whether someone is "Good" or "Evil." Whereas a “good character” is someone who acts for the betterment of others regardless of personal motivations, conversely an “evil character” acts out of their own self-interests regardless of how this action would affect others. Those that follow the concept of Agape would be “good characters.” Those that do not, would be evil. This is where the so-called “Rule of Cool” comes into play. Mathew Mercer, an extremely acclaimed DM, comedian, and writer of D&D’s “Explorer’s Guide to Wild Mount,” and host of the show “Critical Roll,” defines the Rule of Cool as a trope in the D&D community that is “the willing suspension of disbelief for the sake of a cool moment.”13 It’s used in moments where the use of an certain object or action would be nearly impossible according to the mechanics of the game, but because it is a “cool dynamic,” the DM allows it. But what is “cool?” Is it a player that is normally too nervous to speak up being able to do something unique on time despite it being against the rules? Is it a player that has spent considerable time perfecting a skill and being able to perform a truly “epic task” (such as the jumping across barrels to effectively triple their movement distance)? Is it succeeding in persuading the main villain to befriend the party through a series of increasingly complex but successful rolls? In all these situations listed above, there is a common theme that ties all the principles of what this paper is trying to address together in a simple phrase. As a DM, before making a ruling ask, "How will this decision affect the final enjoyment of all at the table?" Now a DM cannot give the players everything they want. Doing so cheapens the truly extraordinary moments. Finding the right balance can be difficult. That is why the flow chart above is suggested when trying to figure out whether it is a good time to “Remember the Rule of Cool.” https://i.redd.it/f362ghdjlqf61.png
Session 3: “Well… You can Certainly Try”- Some Famous DM
Finally, we can discuss how the desire to make the most enjoyable experience for everyone at the table plays out using real-world examples and advice from some of the most well-known DMs in the business. Using the concept of Situational Ethics’ Agape, we can see how to work in the rule of cool using eight tips for Dungeon Masters. Tip 1: It is advised to know your audience. Not everything is as it seems, so be sure to pay attention to your players and look at them when you are describing the situation. Make note of how they react when tones or themes change. Remember those reasons people play games mentioned earlier? This is where those come into play. Additionally, while not something outright suggested, it is nevertheless important to take team dynamics into account. The book “Four lenses unfolded” describes how various personality types can interact and work to solve problems. In it, the book describes four primary temperaments: Green (analytical), Blue (empathetic), Orange (adventurous), and Gold (goal oriented). Unlike most other personality tests, four lenses theory suggests that while we have a dominant personality at any given moment, other aspects of these personalities can manifest as well. Being able to draw on these aspects at will is the mark of a “mature” individual.14 As a DM/referee, coach, or manager, being able to do this and adapt to the needs of the players will take player engagement to the next level. Tip 2: Establishing and Managing Expectations Early and Often, Works to Prevent Disappointment and Confusions Mercer once put it this way, “Establish early on in your campaign how much of a level of crazy you're willing to allow. This allows for players to better understand what to try for and what not to try for.”15 Whether you are a teacher, referee, coach, parent, supervisor, or mentor, establishing expectations with those involved mitigates problems before they arise. One of the main tools DM’s have for this is that is recommended by Mercer, as well as nearly every DM in existence on the internet, is the “Session Zero.” Session Zero is a term used to describe a session where no play occurs but instead rules that will be used and rules that will be ignored or bent is established. It also serves to establish a theme the players can expect from any campaign. Using the first chapter of the DMs guide will help considerably in establishing this. Additionally, one of the best guides for this is laid out by the DM YouTubers known as “the Dungeon Dudes” in their video titled, “How to Run a Session Zero for Dungeons and Dragons 5e.”16 But always keep Agape in mind throughout this process. In this step, it means actively listening to the players. The DM may want a gritty, tough, realistic, and challenging campaign. But if the players want a high fantasy power trip, some adjustments are going to need to be made to the campaign. Listening to players and changing the plans accordingly is not easy. It requires A LOT of humility and ego suppression. Especially when the DM has already designed how the game is going to go… which leads us to the next tip. Tip 3: It is important to develop a healthy relationship with failure. Celebrated author Orson Wells once wrote; “If you want a happy ending, that of course, is dependent of where you stop your story.”17 This applies to both the players and DM. There will be times when the DM is tempted to ignore the rules because the consequences seem dire. The player fails an athletics check trying to use a dynamic that had a high-risk, high-reward moment. Now the player’s character is doomed to fall several hundred feet down a ravine to what is likely certain doom in lava. But this isn’t the end. That player’s character is most likely dead, but their death could result in a moment of drama and tension for the players. It’s the very real chance of failure that encourages players to think critically about a situation and experience excitement and tension. Brennon Lee Mulligan, the DM of the D&D streaming show, “Dimension 20,” put it this way… “if you are not allowing for failure, you are essentially just telling a story,” and thus never actually playing a game (make-believe as Suits would put it). 18 Another thing to consider is that through failure, we can often find comedy as well as ways to encourage players to think critically and find new escapes, 19 at least according to the mind behind the “Replaying the Curse of Strahd” videos, Benjamin (Puffin Forest) Scott. Lastly, Mercer strongly advises that if a DM allows too many “rule of cool moments” to happen in succession, the weight of the moments and consistency of the game will be lost. 20 Players that are afraid to fail will not try. Mercer explains that “Most role play games are designed to forge a heroic story (showing feats of legend) so let the players try! Let them fail, and occasionally succeed!” This is where his catch phrase “you can certainly try” comes from. 21 Tip 4: Whenever Possible, Avoid Taking Things Personally In his lecture on not talking things personally, soccer referee and public speaker, Frederik Imbo, explained there are two sides of a coin to keep in mind when trying not to take things personally: “It is not about you,” and “it is about you.” 22 Look at the other person’s intentions not just yours. With that in mind, it is okay to give yourself empathy and speak up. When someone seems upset with you, ask what are they hoping to get out of this releasing of emotions? Additionally, ensure that your pride isn’t preventing you from making the correct call. Yes I am talking about Ego again; it is that important! It is the DM’s world, but it is the players’ game. Without both, the world and the game, you do not have D&D. D&D has a weird paradox of being both a story and a game. It has both a narrative as its core premise, but it is, in fact, also a multi-player game. Without at least two people you cannot really have much fun. DMs should make sure that everyone at the table enjoys themselves. Tip 5: Mechanics are important precisely because they are a means of delivering impactful story moments. Remember that rule of cool concept? Extraordinary moments don’t happen often, and this is by design of the mechanics of the game. Humans remember the novel and unique way more often than the mundane. Mundane things tend to blend into the background. It’s the unexpected moments that highlight the more impactful story moments, especially if that moment is tied to strong emotions.23 With that in mind, Mulligan suggests looking at where the players are putting their resources before deciding how to rule on a situation. Have they invested experience points/levels into a specific skill that is relevant to this situation instead of just something they can use in combat? If so, reward them for wanting to do something that is a part of the world you are creating together. 24 Tip 6: Discourage metagaming but allow it whenever possible. Look for any and every excuse you can to give advantage on an arcana check by setting the DC low (10 or higher). If the player succeeds, they can use what they know… they are going to anyway, but at least then they can talk about it with the other players. According to the DM guide Chapter 8, metagame thinking means “thinking about the game as a game,” Examples would be thinking “the DM wouldn’t throw such a powerful monster at us so early in the game, so we will surely be saved and not have to take this fight seriously,” or “the DM spent A LOT of time describing that door… maybe we should search it again!” 25 The problem with metagaming isn’t really about what advantage the players are getting in the game. The problem is that manipulation of the dynamics, when used to extremes, can spoil the plot line of the cumulative story being told. This can lessen the drama and tension elements resulting in decreased enjoyment of those involved. Additionally, it can create a dynamic where the DM is constantly having to escalate encounters to challenge the player, encouraging a potentially toxic “DM vs player” mentality. For instance, how would a street orphan barbarian with no formal education and a wisdom of …let’s say very low…be able to know that liches phylactery is the source of their power. The solution here depends on why the players are playing this specific game. Is it the narrative of the story? Is it discovery? If these aren’t anywhere close to the reasons these players came to the game table in the first place, the narrative is not going to take as much of a factor into decisions. Metagaming in this instance isn’t going to be much of a problem. Tip 7: Keep in mind, the ending is “A” destination, but the story is about how you get there. A DM may hold off the extra cool moments for the final parts of the game, keeping their players in complete darkness and grit the entire way. However, without at least some levity along the way, some “water for the weary travelers,” as Mercer put it, they may not make it to the end.26 So, do not be afraid to relax the rules from time to time to give them those cool moments, but do so sparingly lest the destination lose its luster as well. Always keep in mind it’s about the enjoyment of crafting and playing in the world together that makes this, or really any game, fun. Tip 8: When all else fails… take a break and have the Tarrasque attack the party. When all else fails, roll two D-20s out of players’ views… fake a worried expression… role a D-100 (also out of player’s view) look over the score concerned as you pour through your notes… then explain sorrowfully… “I’m sorry… The Tarrasque has risen and has attacked the party. Everyone roll initiative.” This is actual advice from the DM manual. It is right under “faking illness and running away.”27 The point is this: never be afraid to pause or call a game when it’s over or needed. Maybe something incredibly uncomfortable for a player has happened. Maybe the DM has reached the end of what they were able to prepare for that session. Perhaps everyone is hungry or needs a bathroom break. Maybe the entire table has gotten to a point where no one can agree on anything and team dynamics are breaking down. That game world will always be there… but your friends won’t. Cherish that moment and make as many good moments as possible. Additionally, taking breaks both in-game and in the real world allow for quiet moments. These allow for the greater moments to shine through and the players will enjoy their experience more. https://i.redd.it/1ncu361zlqf61.png The graphic above serves to summarize the eight tips above and show their relationship with the narrative, enjoyment, and the rules when put in the context of situational ethics. From this graph, the relationship between the eight tips and how they play into the narrative, enjoyment, and rules of the game can be seen. Each of the tips can influence many parts of the game but they are intended to primarily influence the aspect of the game they are adjacent to. “Knowing the players” should influence the narrative and what kind of enjoyment the players receive. What mechanics are used to enable the game is causally related to how the rules are used and so on. Please note that Agape is at the center as, with every decision a DM makes, considering what is best for the players should be central to the experience of any game. The Epic Conclusion Through crafting a game-world together with your players, a DM has the potential to tap into one of the greatest traditions humanity has: camaraderie with friends. At the end of the day, these players are your friends, or at the very least your fellow human beings. As such, you should want what is best for them. Through trials, hardships, and drama, we get to put the punctuation on the moments of excitement, joy, happiness, and bliss. It is okay if the player does not get exactly what they want, so long as they still had enjoyment. This is because getting everything we expect is sometimes boring. However, always keep in mind that at the end of the day, games are about having fun. How that happens is up to the players, the DM, and whether the rules were used to enhance the experience or not. It’s possible to find that balance by asking these questions in order: “How will this decision affect: the final enjoyment of all at the table? the narrative? the rules in the future?” 1 Huizinga, Johan . "Homo Ludens". Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd. (1980), pp. 1., accessed January 19, 2021. http://art.yale.edu/file_columns/0000/1474/ homoludens_johan_huizinga_routledge_1949.pdf 2 Suits, Bernard, “The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia,” Broadview Press. Ed. 3. (November 29, 2005): 54–55. Accessed December 31, 2020. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/803547.The_Grasshopper 3 The Game Overanalyzer, The Aesthetics of Play | Why We Play Games, and the Search for Truth and Beauty in Game Design. The Game Overanalyzer. (January 11, 2020), accessed 6 January 2021. Video 18:44. https://youtu.be/lONsZwjVDzg 4 Hunicke, Robin, Marc LeBlanc, and Robert Zubek. "MDA: A formal approach to game design and game research." Proceedings of the AAAI Workshop on Challenges in Game AI, vol. 4, no. 1, p. 1722. (2004). Accessed January 11, 2020 https://www.aaai.org/Papers/Workshops/2004/WS-04-04/WS04-04-001.pdf 5 Portnow, James; Floyd, Daniel; Aesthetics of Play- Redefining Genres in Gaming. Extra Credits; (October 17, 2012), Video 9:13. Accessed December 30, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uepAJ-rqJKA&list=PL3N9QD4_yI-BlnwWUL8hhjpKgqRul3xAa&index=11 6 Suits, Bernard. “Discussion: Games and Paradox.” Chicago University Press. Philosophy of Science Association Journal, Vol 36, no. 3 (September 1, 1969). pg 316–.321. Accessed December 30, 2020. https://www.jstor.org/stable/186226 7 Suits, Bernard. “Discussion: Games and Paradox (1969) 8 Myers, David. “Game as Paradox: A Rebuttal of Suits.” Journal of the philosophy of Sport 39, no. 1 (May 1, 2012). Accessed December 30, 2020. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip&db=s3h&AN=87342252&site=ehost-live&scope=site. 9 Juul, Jesper. "Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds", MIT Press, (Aug 19, 2011) pp.57-59 10 Tracy, Patrick. DM Tips: The Rule of Cool. Fantasy Bango. (October 20, 2017). Accessed December 30, 2020. Video 2:23 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8aAIFalx6s 11 Fletcher, Joseph F. Situation Ethics: The New Morality. Westminster John Knox Press, (1997). Page 17-26 (accessed January 20, 2021) http://bit.ly/Googlescholar_SItuational_Ethics **Please note that just because Fletcher’s Situational Ethics is used prominently, this is not an endorsement of all his views. Fletcher’s work has been used to justify terrible atrocities, such as eugenics, this should serve to point out that any philosophy taken to extremes can lead to terrible outcomes 12 Fletcher, Joseph F. Situation Ethics: The New Morality. (1997) 13 Mercer, Matthew. The Rule of Cool! (Game Master Tips). Geek & Sundry. (February 16, 2016). Accessed December 30, 2020. Video. 5:52 https://youtu.be/fWZDuFIYkf0 14 Bryce, Nathan K., “Four Lenses Unfolded: A Deeper Understanding of Temperament Values,” Insight; (January 29, 2002,). 15 Mercer, Matthew. The Rule of Cool! (Game Master Tips). (2016). 16 McLaughlin, Kelly; Martin, Monty. "How to Run a Session Zero for Dungeons and Dragons 5e". Dungeon Dudes. (September 3, 2020), Accessed 12 30, 2020. Video. https://youtu.be/2MA-z5Ai-bQ 17 Wells, Orson, "The Big Brass Ring." Santa Teresa Press (1987, January 1) 1-148 18 Mulligan, Brennan; Scott, Benjamin. “Animating Your Table (with Benjamin Scott) | Adventuring Academy Season 2 | Ep. 16 |” Adventuring Academy. Dimension (2020, December 28). Accessed December 30, 2020. Video 1:24:18 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IbVxEKpipo 19 Mulligan, Brennan; Scott, Benjamin. “Animating Your Table (with Benjamin Scott) (2020) 20 Mercer, Matthew. The Rule of Cool! (Game Master Tips). (2016).. 21 Mercer, Matthew. The Rule of Cool! (Game Master Tips). (2016) 22 Imbo, Frederik, "How not to take things personally? | Frederik Imbo | TEDxMechelen" TEDx Talks; (March 4, 2020) accessed 10 Jan 2021, video 17:36 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnJwH_PZXnM&t=381s 23 Kensinger, Elizabeth. Remembering the Details: Effects of Emotion. US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. (May 4, 2009) Accessed 2021, January 30 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2676782/ 24 Mulligan, Brennan; Scott, Benjamin. “Animating Your Table (with Benjamin Scott) (2020) 25 Mearls, Mike, and Jeremy Crawford. "Dungeons Master's guide". Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast. (2014) accessed 29 January 2021 https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dmg/running-the-game#MetagameThinking 26 Mulligan, Brennan; Mercer, Matthew. Building Your Own Campaign Setting (with Matthew Mercer) | Adventuring Academy. Dimension 20. (2019, April 3) Accessed December 30, 2020. Video 57:01 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sig8X_kojco&t=2867s 27 Mearls, Mike, and Jeremy Crawford. "Dungeons Master's guide". Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast. (2014)-accessed 20 January 2021. https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dmg
[Spoilers for several endings] My ending has left me with more questions than answers
Spoilers for Rogue ending below: So I just finished the Rogue ending last night (with Johnny sacrificing himself for V) and I thought I'd get some thoughts out. So first things first, this was a sad (ish) ending. Rogue dead, Silverhand consumed by Alt, Judy leaving, V dying (maybe, more on this later). I wasn't expecting a particularly happy ending but this did feel like quite a downer. I understand there is one ending that is a little happier but on the whole no one does well out of this game. My V first and foremost was all about becoming a NC legend, so this felt like the most appropriate ending - running away to be a Nomad was never an option and neither was submitting to a corp. My girl Judy breaking up with me was sad, but appropriate - V wanted to rule NC and Judy wanted to be anywhere else. Ending up at the top of the NC mercs was what I'd been striving for the whole game, aside from revenge on Arasaka and surviving, so it felt good to get two (or possibly 3) of those checkboxes fulfilled. So onto the meat of the ending: Rogue gets her chest caved in by Smasher, Johnny executes him, plugs into the matrix and sacrifices himself for V - even though V will not have much time left - being consumed by Alt (much of this is the same as any other ending, though it is interesting to be controlling Johnny instead of V for this choice). V wakes up some unspecified time after storming Arasaka tower with {Romance Option}, for me Judy. If you explore the mansion a bit there are a few interesting emails, but there is not much else here. Has a brief discussion about the fact V is dying (and Judy basically breaks up with V, no idea if this happens in a RiveKerry/Panam romance as well), then V takes a Delemain to Afterlife during which it is revealed that Arasaka is reeling but not destroyed and given time will probably recover - though not in what remaining lifetime V has - and that V's dying is not something that can be helped by any known medical science - not a surprise given that Alt didn't believe V could be saved either. In Afterlife V catches up with a few people then meets Mr. Blue Eyes for a job, robbing a casino on Crystal Palace, the orbital hotel. The ending finishes with V attempting to breach Crystal Palace from the outside via a spacewalk. So this ending raised a few questions:
Why is V taking over from Rogue? Sure V pulled off a big job at Arasaka and in my playthrough at least had a whole bunch of street cred, but there are more established mercs out there to take over the scene - and since Rogue had a son ownership of Afterlife, if not control, should pass to him. This could just be the writers giving some wish fulfillment
Mr. Blue Eyes as several people may know is believed to be at least related to the Peralez questline, and possibly entirely responsible for it. There are suspicions that he is not entirely human, perhaps an AI in a humanish body? So why does he want to hit an orbital casino, what is he getting out of this? If he is indeed responsible for the Peralez questline he clearly isn't struggling for cash, but what else is a casino likely to hold?
V's conversation with Judy & Claire seems to imply this will be the last job, though that may be because it's difficult and odds of survival are low. V implies that that doesn't matter because she's dying anyway and wants to go out a legend. However there is another angle to this. Mr. B never specifies what the reward for the job is but he does have a line about 'doing anything to survive' and to me this implies that the reward for V could be a way to fix her so she doesn't die. Also V implies when talking to Judy that if the job goes well Judy will hear about hefrom her. This could be just referring to V becoming a legend that everyone is talking about, but it could So can V survive the game in this ending? Or is this ending just about going out as a legend and 'surviving' in the sense that people talk about her forever after?
What the hell is Alt going to do? This one applies to all endings I think, but Alt is clearly more AI than human, and the last time powerful AIs were unleashed they caused the destruction of the Net and necessitated the construction of the Blackwall. According to the Voodoo Boys the wall is weakening and will soon crumble, so is Alt aiming to be the top AI after the net falls? Or will she side with humans and fight to preserve the Net after the Wall falls? Or does she have some goal completely beyond human comprehension?
Overall I loved the ending, it felt like I got what I wanted out of the story - however it also confused me a lot. Maybe some of this will be expanded on in future DLC?
[TRADING PSYCHOLOGY] Nobody ever takes a trade thinking it's going to be a loser
I spent several hours this past week coaching traders at my prop firm. And something caught my attention… Every single one of these traders needed help with the same thing. It has to do with what I call the “reverse” gambler’s fallacy. And it’s something many traders struggle with. Today, I’ll show you how to get this common obstacle under control… and start earning more consistent returns year after year… What Most New Traders Get Wrong The obstacle I’m talking about is trading psychology. It’s a very broad term used to describe the emotional side of trading. Almost all new traders believe the most important part of trading is being able to analyze markets like a pro. On the surface, this logic makes sense. After all, if you can reliably forecast which direction to take on a trade, the money should take care of itself… right? What these novices don’t yet understand is that something special happens the moment you commit your money to a trade… You start feeling things. Whether it’s fear, excitement, anxiety, or a mix of all three, no one is immune to these emotions. And they can wreak havoc on even the best planned trades. You may be able to call the direction, the timing, and the target price to perfection… But it can all be for nothing if you are unable to stick to your trade plan. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen traders plan out a great trade… But then ended up somehow losing money, or not being in the market when the move they’d forecast played out. So how do you beat your emotions to become a better, more consistent trader? It comes down to the three key parts of trading. Let me explain… The Three-Legged Stool of Trading I think of trading as a three-legged stool. Your methodology/strategy for picking trades is the first leg. Your risk- and trade-management strategy is the second leg. And the third leg is your trading psychology. In my experience, most traders focus on the first leg (strategy and methodology), and they neglect the other two legs. But the stool needs all three legs to stand on its own. Over the years, I’ve honed my own proprietary method to develop well-rounded traders. Here’s what I’ve learned… The first fundamental building block of a profitable trader is to establish a proven strategy/methodology you can use to identify good trades. In my experience, everything follows from this foundation. How you manage your risk and your trades should be determined by the strategies you employ. Your trading psychology likewise will be influenced by your approach to risk and trade management. I’ve seen other trading instructors assign arbitrary percentage values to the three legs of the trading stool. Usually these values are divided up like this: 30% to the level of importance on the analytical strategy, 30% to risk and trade management, and 40% to trading psychology. But I don’t believe that any one leg is more important than the other. And yet I’ve found that, more often than not, traders neglect risk/trade management and psychology. So how do you stop neglecting these two important areas to become a more well-rounded trader? That’s where our reverse gambler’s fallacy comes in… Time to Ditch the Casino Mentality There is one block that seems to stop traders from progressing to working on the other two legs. That is, they don’t know how to flip the switch from thinking about their trades as individual trades in a vacuum… to thinking about them as a collection that relies on a statistical edge to net a profit. Most traders run into this problem at some point in their careers. And if you’re frustrated with your trading right now, chances are you may be struggling with this, too. It’s known as the casino mentality. And it’s the same mindset that amateur gamblers will take with them into Caesars Palace or the Bellagio. It doesn’t matter if they’re seated at the blackjack table or standing over the roulette wheel. Most gamblers believe that the hand or spin they are about to play is the opportunity to hit a winner. After all, if the roulette wheel has landed four black spins in a row, the next one surely must be red, right? In reality, the chances of the roulette ball landing on black or red is even, at about 47.4% each. This means each spin is independent of the last. This is also known as the gambler’s fallacy. What’s interesting is that I’ve observed a kind of reverse gambler’s fallacy from many traders… This occurs when a trader, who does in fact have a statistically proven strategy, goes on a losing streak… And then instead of continuing to trust their strategy, they abandon it altogether. How to Avoid the “Reverse” Gambler’s Fallacy I saw this logical fallacy in effect this past week during one of my coaching calls. The trader I was coaching had recently taken a technical setup that simply did not work. He was convinced he had done something wrong and wanted my help in improving his analysis. But his analysis was great. He didn’t do anything wrong in identifying the setup, which was textbook in nature. But the setup looked so good that, when it resulted in a loss, the trader was convinced that he was the problem… That he did something wrong. The lesson I imparted to him, which I now want to pass on to you, is this very simple truth… Nobody, and I mean nobody, ever takes a trade thinking it is going to be a loser. Every single trade you take will be because you thought it would make you money. Despite this feeling of confidence, out of 100 trades, you’d be lucky to win 50% of them. That’s why a great trader is not defined by what percentage of their trades end up as winners or losers. A great trader is defined by whether or not they are net profitable after taking 100 trades. If you win roughly as many trades as you lose, but your winners make you 2x or 3x the amount of money you give back on your losers, you will end up with a nice profit at the end of the year. Remember, nobody ever takes a trade thinking it is not going to work out. This is why it is absolutely crucial to abandon the idea of thinking about your trades as individual trades. Instead, start taking a more data-driven, statistical approach to your trading. What do I mean by that? Keeping a longer-term perspective on your trading is the key to longevity in this business. What your numbers look like over the next 100, 200, or 300 trades is far more relevant and important than losing your cool because you lost a handful of trades in a row. Of course, to be able to make it to 300 trades, you must have a rock-solid risk management plan in place. I don’t see gamblers at the casino take a professional approach very often. It’s rare to see someone bet small and stick to the odds on every play. It’s far more common for gamblers to be all over the place with the size of their bets. They may start off betting small, but after winning a couple of hands of blackjack, they get overconfident and take an outsized bet. Sure enough, on that next hand they go bust while the house just happens to hit blackjack. This is how casinos make money from gamblers. And it’s how the market parts amateur traders from their capital. No doubt, it takes a lot of hard work and discipline to make the transition from amateur to professional. But, I promise you, the rewards make it all worthwhile. Until next time. Regards,
As someone who spends $1000+ a year on video games, here's my perspective on what is putting me off from spending money on RDO
I feel like Red Dead Online in general has highlighted some worrying trends in regards to Rockstar's design philosophy and I am concerned about the online experience in their future titles such as GTA 6.
I don't expect this post to have any massive impact on the future of RDO, but I wanted to share my expectations and attitudes as a consumer in hope that it might help Rockstar gain a better understanding of their audience. After all I have money that I am willing to spend and they seem to be after, there just hasn't been a reasonable incentive to do so.
For a long time GTA:O was my main source of entertainment and I used to regard Rockstar Games as the best video game publisher in terms of quality and value of the experience their games provided.
When RDR2 released two years ago, I was excited by the massive step-up in terms of complexity and immersion from GTA:O. I was also quite burnt out with GTA so I was prepared to turn RDO into my main source of entertainment.
I didn't own a console so instead I decided to save and build a high end PC in time for the game's PC release. I was prepared to commit 100% to this game.
October 2019 came, my PC was ready and I pre-ordered the Ultimate Edition. I got the game, played Story mode through all of Arthur's chapters, but stopped when I reached the Epilogue - I was excited to get into Online and see how it felt. And then it all fell apart.
Meh, the game felt a bit GTAish at the start, but I didn't mind it so much. I think I experienced some bugs or technical issues that made me take a break from the game and wait for a fix.
I was away for the holidays and then travelling for work so I get back to the game in late January. I finish John's story too and then head back into online. At this point I'm greeted with a message that Outlaw Pass season 2 is in progress. "Great, so I've already missed one?" I tell myself. I was not aware at that point in time that Steam PC players didn't even have access to Outlaw Pass season 1. But this was already starting to become a deal breaker for me and I'll elaborate on it further:
What is the appeal of Rockstar's games?
Let's take a look at GTA:Online, Rockstar's most financially successful title, success which they are probably trying to replicate with Red Dead Online. I don't know what goes through the minds of other players, so I'll share my personal experience. Before I stumbled upon GTA:Online in 2017 I had been mainly playing World of Warcraft for 3 or 4 years, but I was at a point in life where I just started my first full-time job and no longer had the time to pour into an MMO. I remember I used to describe it as "I come home from my job and have to log onto my other job" on raid night. I was also fed up with 90% of the game's content becoming irrelevant whenever a new update came along. it was just the same gameplay loop in a different packaging.
So what was so special about GTA: Online?
The biggest aspect for me was the Sandbox experience. It's an open world environment, you can fuck around freely, there is no linear gameplay imposed upon you or other restrictions that limit gameplay for the purpose of "balance". You are also free to experience the game at your own pace. There is no FOMO (fear of missing out) mechanic dictating that you play now or risk being locked out of content permanently.
Another big element of GTA Online that appeals to me is Customization options for the purpose of immersion and roleplay. The game contains so many references to Hollywood tropes and it allows you to act almost any persona that crosses your mind: Pablo Escobar, killer clown, every Charlize Theron role I can think of, the list is endless...
One thing that GTA Online did well and I used to praise them over other games for it was the inclusion of Universal Reward/Currency. Any activity you carry out in the game rewards the same currency, it's always meaningful progress towards your next goal. You had the ability to purchase it via Shark Cards, but the microtransaction served as an alternative in order to save time, not as a means of unlocking content behind an exclusive paywall. With the Arena Wars and the Casino DLC it looks like Rockstar has been experimenting with new ways to milk both "player engagement" in the form of time spent grinding secondary currency and revenue in the form of microtransactions. They can go claim to their shareholders "our playerbase is more active than ever and also spending money on the game". It just feels very limiting and at least the Arena Wars currency comes across as an artificial incentive for people to engage in gameplay that R* is not confident about it being popular on its own.
So I've established what were the most appealing elements of GTA:O as a consumer: 1.Freedom of Sandbox environment 2.Immersion and Roleplay in the form of customization options 3.Unique Currency serving as the means of progression
In my opinion, time-limited exclusive content should have no place in a sandbox game. I like the Outlaw Pass as an idea, it gives people something to work toward. I am just not a fan of the thought that development time goes into creating the rewards, they're added to the game, take space on my drive, but they are just locked forever with no means of obtaining them. It just diminishes my perceived value of your product. "Oh great I didn't play from the start? Time for an incomplete experience." Not to mention the fact that PC players are getting an incomplete product by default because Outlaw Pass 1 was never available on their platform. Some would argue that it's rewarding players who have been playing from the beginning. At what cost? It's also penalizing new players. Players that would've easily spent money on the pass, they just picked the game up too late, so now they are locked out of features forever. As someone who has missed almost 3 Passes worth of content, this is my biggest gripe about the game and what's holding me back from committing to the game to the point where I'd be willing to drop real life money on it. And I'm not arguing about getting the rewards for free. I am arguing for making that content available through other less efficient means. I didn't play the game when I was supposed to play it and now there's less content available for me. Oh sure, that'll definitely bring me back to the game and not make me abandon it on the spot. You can still reward players who buy the pass by unlocking the rewards for them, but why lock content forever and devalue the experience for any future player that buys your game? You could add them on a rare rotating stock for a ridiculously high gold bar price. There's a gold sink for you right there, now you're giving people a reason to spend money on your game. Or I don't even know, sell the passes again at some later time. You probably have the technology to allow players to purchase multiple passes and keep one active at a time. Just make old passes no longer reward gold or whatever.
Rockstar, you're concerned with reducing people's means of obtaining gold while also falling behind on delivering meaningful content. That's cause you're digging your own hole with your shortsighted approach on FOMO, working on adding content to the game only to then lock it away. But most importantly, you're establishing your stance: "Monetization by all means, screw player experience, screw a quality integral product, pay us right now or risk the game becoming more incomplete."
Some would argue that the Outlaw Pass is just cosmetics. I would totally get that point if this were a MOBA or a FPS or any other genre where gameplay is the predominant feature. But have a look at what's the most popular GTA content on Twitch: roleplay. Immersion and Roleplay have always been defining features of Rockstar games. Time-limited exclusive content just detracts from the value proposition of a sandbox game. If not cosmetic options, what else is there to work towards in RDO? It's not supposed to be a competitive game. K/D has no meaning, high scores have no meaning, It's a Club Penguin with guns and horses. Also the whole point falls apart because with Outlaw Pass 4 and 5 there are actual gameplay upgrades that are featured as time-limited exclusives,
The perceived loss of value from missing one outlaw pass was what made me drop the game again back in January. I picked it up again a month ago and I was actually enjoying it to the point where I was prepared to buy gold for the Outlaw Pass. Inaccessible content was a minor issue that I was willing to overlook since it didn't look like I missed out on any gameplay impacting features from previous passes. But oh boy, Rockstar, you didn't even try to be subtle in the latest update. You just reinforced the statement that you're after my money at any cost. I get that daily challenges had to be addressed, but at least the nerf didn't lock away access to content. But now you're taking gameplay impacting upgrades and holding them hostage behind a time-limited paywall. To me that's a sign that you're willing to compromise the quality of gameplay for a Q4 financial boost. It's very hard to justify spending money on this game at this point when there is no sign of good will from its developer.
GTA Online didn't need all these extreme incentives of monetization and look how well it performed. RDO feels like monetization came first and the game was build around it. Every feature feels like it was designed to psychologically entice me into spending and that's its biggest flaw. Everywhere I look I see a price, but I don't see value.
How do you want to do this? A Discussion on Selective Rule Enforcement
Hello folks, For my research analysis and writing class my professor let me pick any topic I want. (her mistake) So for my final term paper I chose to come up with a method of determining a guide to the use of the "rule of cool." I got a A on the paper so I figured I'd share it with you fine folks as well. It is rather lengthy so I've included the abstract first. The 8 tips for dungeon masters is near the end (third session), the first and second parts deal more with the philosophical and ethics of games. So, if situational ethics and a discussion on the Mechanics, Dynamics, and Aesthetics of Play are of use for you, be my guess. I am a relatively new DM so I spent a long time researching and trying to absorb what would make me a "good DM". With that cavate please keep in mind I know next to nothing compared to a vast majority of the DMs here. I can think of no place better to have this paper peer-reviewed, picked apart and "rebutalled" to death than here. If you feel offended, challenged, or angry reading this... Please understand I am a moron borrowing the works and words of far smarter people. If you feel that "this is the WAY" again... I am a moron... so ... with out further ado..
Abstract:
The choice to be a stringent rule-follower without leniency using fanatical legalism in a game can be a source of contention between someone acting as a referee and/or “Game Master” and players of a game. Likewise, to approach games with a sense of fanatical antinomianism, or to completely ignore the rules and simply let players do whatever they want, tends to offer no challenge, and or reason to play that specific game. Using ethical theory frameworks such as situational ethics, natural law, and utilitarianism this paper seeks find the philosophical principles of what moments are acceptable and actually beneficial to bend the rules of a game. As such, it is important to define games, briefly discuss why games are played, and roles rules have on games. The game Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition will be used as the principal example. With “rule for rules” established, seven tips on how to implement it this rule using advice and guidance from some of the most well known “Dungeon Masters” in the modern era will be provided. Much of this paper relies on the works of Joseph Fletcher, Sheila Murphy; Benard Suits, Robin Hunicke, Marc LeBlanc, and Robert Zubek for the ethical and philosophical discussions around games. For the practical advice, it relies primarily on the works of Matthew Mercer, Brennan Lee Mulligan, Benjamin Scott, Patrick Tracy, Kelly Mclaughlin and Monty Martin. Players are your friends, or at the very least your fellow human beings. As such, seek out what is best for them. Games are about many things but principally about enjoyment. It’s okay if the player does not get exactly what they want, so long as they still had enjoyment. How it happens is up to the players, the one running the game, and whether the rules were used to enhance the experience or not. It’s possible to find that balance by asking these questions in order: “How will this decision affect: the final enjoyment of all at the table? the narrative? the rules in the future?”
**“Once upon a time, around a table…”
A man behind a cardboard screen sits across from a woman wearing a funny hat. He is frantically reading through the pages of the various books at his disposal. He finds the reference he is looking for, but it is not clear. “It is technically against the rules, it is barely within the realm of possibility, but the idea is so creative…” the man murmurs to himself. Exasperated, the man smiles a crooked grin and explains, “Well you can certainly try… give me an acrobatics check.” The woman throws a piece of plastic resin on to the table. The dice reads, “18.” The man sighs and then laments, “fine… how do you want to do this?” The table erupts in cheers, as high-fives are given from the others around the table. The woman adjusts her hat, as she gleefully explains how her character will use the momentum of several falling barrels to move across the map in a single turn without having to use all her character’s movement. As a “Dungeon Master” (DM) for the tabletop role playing game, Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), I can say without a doubt that many DMs have encountered extremely similar events as the one described above. The choice to be a stringent rule-follower without leniency can be a source of much resentment between the DM and the players around the table. Likewise, to completely ignore the rules and simply let players do whatever they want offers no challenge, no reason to play. In terms of D&D rule enforcement, as is with many events in life, the choice of always being either a “Harsh Disciplinarian” or the lenient, “Laissez Faire Guide” is a false dichotomy. Instead, seeking balance between the two choices based first on the overall needs of the players, second on the needs of the story, and third on requirements and rules of the game should be the norm.
Session 1: What is the Relationship between, Players, Games and Rules?
The 19th century philosopher and founder of modern cultural history, John Hughes once wrote, “Play is older than culture, for culture, however inadvertently defined, always presupposes human society and animals have not waited for man to teach them their playing.” 1 Why do humans play? Is it instinctual? Bernard Suits was a Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Philosophy for the University of Waterloo and his essays are in part responsible for the field of philosophy of games in the late 20th century. In his book, “The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia,” Suits’ book uses Aesop’s fable about the grasshopper to argue that play is what we would do in a perfect civilization. He believed that in a world devoid of work, humans would still seek out challenges through play, suggesting that it is human nature to challenge ourselves.2 But is that the only reason someone plays a game? One YouTuber opined that “In a practical sense, games facilitate systemic thinking by getting us to view abstractions, but also engender creativity by getting us to play.”3 If true, these are essential tools for humanity to function as an intelligent race. This makes sense from an evolutionary level as to why humanity would develop play, but is there more to it than “games encourage outside the box thinking?” The landmark paper titled, “MDA: A formal approach to game design and game research” is one of the earliest attempts to formalize the field of video game design theory and it is fundamental to how modern game designers look at these systems. It serves to define the importance of mechanic, dynamics, and aesthetics of play and is instrumental to helping understand what players will expect out of a game. We will discuss more about dynamics and mechanics later, but first let us focus on aesthetics. Aesthetics of Play Defined
Term
Definition
Examples
Sense Pleasure
Enjoyment derived from how it stimulates the senses
The visuals of a game, sound, and music, feel of the dice, etc.
Fantasy
Enjoyment derived from the ability to step into a role that cannot be experienced in real life
Playing a game as a magic wielding sorcerer or rocks in the far flung reaches of outer space
Narrative
Enjoyment derived from game as drama, it is about the stories and experience gained
Heavily story driven games such as Last of Us, Dungeons and Dragons, Final Fantasy
Challenge
Enjoyment derived from overcoming an arbitrary obstacle
Platformers like Mario, or even drinking games like beer pong, or corn hole; social games like charades, etc.
Fellowship
Enjoyment from working cooperatively as a group to accomplish a goal
Team based or social games such as Among Us, the card game Spades; save the world mode on Fortnite
Competition
Enjoyment from showing dominance
Chess or Go, Battle royal games such as Fortnite or PubG or Call of Duty; Fallguys; darts Poker; Uno, Killer bunnies or Magic the Gathering;
Discovery
Enjoyment from uncovering the new or discovering news ways to play a game.
These can range from searching to find things to choose your own adventure Minecraft; Zelda Breath of the Wild; simple matching games; the board game Betrayal at the House on the Hill; or games like Fable; Dragon Age Inquisition; or Mass effect
Expression
Enjoyment from showing an aspect of one’s self; or games that allow full customization of characters
Creation games like Minecraft; role play games like fallout 4; world of warcraft or Fortnite
Submission (aka Abnegation)
Enjoyment from being able to “turn of the brain; and tune out the world” or what is also known as zone out factor.
Bejeweled; candy crush; the lever-pull games at casinos, solitaire, etc.
(Source: Portnow & Floyd, October 2012)5
Aesthetics are things like sense pleasure, fantasy, the narrative of the story, challenge, fellowship, discovery, expression, and something called submission.4 There is an additional aesthetic that most game designers also consider when designing games termed as “competition”.5 These are all reasons people play games and it is important to keep all these in mind when acting as a DM. The table above works to define these terms more appropriately and makes it easier to reference later. The reasons a player may want to play a game vary and change over time. If a DM can understand their players’ goals (i.e., what the player hopes to get out of the game) the DM will be able to understand why someone might want to perform a certain action, play a game, or want to ignore a certain rule in the first place. On that note, what are rules in games? Think about it… Games are weird… well I should say the act of playing a game… is weird. Suits once wrote in his article, for the “Philosophy of Science Association Journal,” "To play a game is to engage in activity directed towards bringing about a specific state of affairs, using only means permitted by rules, where the rules prohibit more efficient [means] in favor of less efficient means, and where such rules are accepted just because they make possible such activity."6 In other words, to play a game we create rules that prevent us from achieving a goal through the easiest means available. Instead, we make something more difficult and we play a game. For instance, in basketball, it would be far easier to simply carry the ball all the way to the basket instead of dribbling it. In D&D, there is a similar activity to dribbling. It is called a “dice roll.” It is something that players must make to see if they succeed or fail at a task. The player rolls a 20-sided die and tries to get above a certain score to succeed. Players can roll normal, with advantage, or with disadvantage. Rolling with advantage allows the player to roll the D-20 (the 20-sided die) twice and use the higher number. Rolling with disadvantage also has the player roll the D-20 twice, but they must take the lower number rolled instead. It introduces a chance of randomness, and players will find any excuse they can to avoid having to make a roll with "disadvantage." In his book, The Grasshopper, Suits argues that we do this because it is the act of overcoming that limitation that we find enjoyment. By taking on these restrictions and accepting these limitations, we take on what he coins as a "lusory attitude" which allows us to play the game as it is meant to be played. Suits would argue that by not playing the game according to the rules as written, the player would have only achieved a “quasi-victory” not really worthy of achievement. He also goes on to say that even the act of “failing to win the game by virtue of losing it implies an achievement, in the sense that the activity in question -- playing the game -- has been successfully, even though not victoriously, complete.”7 So, according to Suits, it’s better to follow the rules of the game and loose than to not follow the rules and win. It’s important to point out that the aesthetics of play had not yet been defined and Suits’ work mainly focused on the “challenge” aspect of play. This is where many sports and game philosophers begin to find fault with Suits. In the “Journal of Philosophy of Sport,” a rebuttal of Suits’ work by David Myers asks, “What if the goal of the player isn't to follow the rules or even play the game?”8 For instance, what happens if the player is motivated by competition and doesn’t care about rules so long as “they win?” While an extreme example, this paradox isn’t out of the realm of possibility. Therefore, focusing on just the challenge aesthetic of game play and simply playing the game “rules as written” can lead to a disconnect between what the player desires and the game itself. Jesper Juul, an Associate Professor in the School of Design at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, wrote in his textbook on video game design, “Rules specify limitations and affordances. They prohibit players from performing actions such as making jewelry out of dice, but they also add meaning to the allowed actions, and this affords players meaningful actions that were not otherwise available; rules give games structure”9 Basically, without rules we cannot even have play. However, if the player ignores the rules that player won’t be able to enjoy the full experience of the game, because the rules both afford the opportunity to enjoy the game and provide the obstacles in the first place. How the rules affect actual game play is where Mechanics and Dynamics come into play. (See, I told you we would get back to it eventually.) Mechanics are the rules and systems that govern chance to create the game we experience. Dynamics are how those rules come together to govern the strategies of that game. In D&D, an example of mechanics is how a player would have to roll a 20-sided dice to see if an action would succeed. Dynamics are the actions the player takes to manipulate the situation and give themselves advantage in the roll. Some examples of this are using a spell caster’s familiar, flanking an enemy in combat, using the bend luck trait, or lucky feat. This is akin to how the rules of poker dictate that bluffing is allowed (mechanics); but how the bluffing player conceals their tells and bets is entirely up to that player (dynamics). What happens when the player’s desired aesthetics and the mechanics don’t allow for the dynamics the player wants to use? This is where it falls on the DM to determine if the game can handle a little rule bending. In the Dungeon Master Guide’s introduction, it states “The D&D rules help you and the other players have a good time, but the rules aren’t in charge. You’re the DM, and you are in charge of the game…” However! It goes on to say, “The success of a D&D game hinges on your ability to entertain the other players at the game table.” What is a good way to approach this? Is it THE DM IS ALWAYS RIGHT, able to enforce their will on the players whenever it suits their need? Should the DM strictly enforce the rules and narrative of their planned story without the need to appease the players’ wants and desires?... well… The DM COULD do it, but it won’t be long before their players stop showing to game sessions. Just like the rules, without players, there is no game. Or as one notable professional DM and YouTuber once put it:
“The game you weave belongs to the players as much as yourself… so make sure to humor them every once in awhile by giving them a chance to be extraordinary" - Patrick "the Goddam DM" Tracy 10
Session 2: The Ethics of a Dungeon Master
So how does someone seek a balance between the rules and the players? Enter situational ethics. Situational ethics, first proposed by philosopher and first professor of ethics at Harvard Medical School, Joseph Fletcher,** is an attempt to seek a middle ground between two ethical schools of thought: Legalism and Antinomianism. In legalism, morality must come from a strict set of rules that must be obeyed at all times and cannot be deviated from or broken for any reason. Antinomianism, on the other hand, is the idea that there should be no rules, you should be able to do what you want, whenever you want (lawless society). 11 In D&D terms, "Fanatical Legalism" would be similar to what many DMs would characterize as "Lawful Stupid," where a certain player's character enforces harsh judgement without ever showing mercy to those who would break the law regardless of the circumstances… even to the detriment of the party… or that small band of orphans who were stealing food out of desperation… Likewise, in D&D terms, "Fanatical Antinomianism" would be similar to what DMs would characterize as "Chaotic Stupid," where a player's character completely ignores consequences an action would bring and simply act according to their whims… even when it's an obvious trap… that has a 100 percent chance to damage not only your character, but the other players as well. Fletcher's work states that the morally right thing to do depends on the situation and can change throughout the situation, but at the same time, there is a universal “moral law” on which to base our actions that he called "Agape" love. Derived from the Greek word of similar pronunciation, Fletcher sought to define Agape as a means to show love for your fellow human. In his book titled “Situational Ethics,” Fletcher states, "All laws, rules, principles, ideals and norms, are only contingent, only valid if they happen to serve love."12 Or to put it a different way, a desire to see your fellow human be happy is and should be the goal. It is not really a feeling, but an attitude to do what is best for others. In terms of the D&D alignment chart, this would be easiest to define as whether someone is "Good" or "Evil." Whereas a “good character” is someone who acts for the betterment of others regardless of personal motivations, conversely an “evil character” acts out of their own self-interests regardless of how this action would affect others. Those that follow the concept of Agape would be “good characters.” Those that do not, would be evil. This is where the so-called “Rule of Cool” comes into play. Mathew Mercer, an extremely acclaimed DM, comedian, and writer of D&D’s “Explorer’s Guide to Wild Mount,” and host of the show “Critical Roll,” defines the Rule of Cool as a trope in the D&D community that is “the willing suspension of disbelief for the sake of a cool moment.”13 It’s used in moments where the use of an certain object or action would be nearly impossible according to the mechanics of the game, but because it is a “cool dynamic,” the DM allows it. But what is “cool?” Is it a player that is normally too nervous to speak up being able to do something unique on time despite it being against the rules? Is it a player that has spent considerable time perfecting a skill and being able to perform a truly “epic task” (such as the jumping across barrels to effectively triple their movement distance)? Is it succeeding in persuading the main villain to befriend the party through a series of increasingly complex but successful rolls? In all these situations listed above, there is a common theme that ties all the principles of what this paper is trying to address together in a simple phrase. As a DM, before making a ruling ask, "How will this decision affect the final enjoyment of all at the table?" Now a DM cannot give the players everything they want. Doing so cheapens the truly extraordinary moments. Finding the right balance can be difficult. That is why the flow chart above is suggested when trying to figure out whether it is a good time to “Remember the Rule of Cool.” https://i.redd.it/f362ghdjlqf61.png
Session 3: “Well… You can Certainly Try”- Some Famous DM
Finally, we can discuss how the desire to make the most enjoyable experience for everyone at the table plays out using real-world examples and advice from some of the most well-known DMs in the business. Using the concept of Situational Ethics’ Agape, we can see how to work in the rule of cool using eight tips for Dungeon Masters. Tip 1: It is advised to know your audience. Not everything is as it seems, so be sure to pay attention to your players and look at them when you are describing the situation. Make note of how they react when tones or themes change. Remember those reasons people play games mentioned earlier? This is where those come into play. Additionally, while not something outright suggested, it is nevertheless important to take team dynamics into account. The book “Four lenses unfolded” describes how various personality types can interact and work to solve problems. In it, the book describes four primary temperaments: Green (analytical), Blue (empathetic), Orange (adventurous), and Gold (goal oriented). Unlike most other personality tests, four lenses theory suggests that while we have a dominant personality at any given moment, other aspects of these personalities can manifest as well. Being able to draw on these aspects at will is the mark of a “mature” individual.14 As a DM/referee, coach, or manager, being able to do this and adapt to the needs of the players will take player engagement to the next level. Tip 2: Establishing and Managing Expectations Early and Often, Works to Prevent Disappointment and Confusions Mercer once put it this way, “Establish early on in your campaign how much of a level of crazy you're willing to allow. This allows for players to better understand what to try for and what not to try for.”15 Whether you are a teacher, referee, coach, parent, supervisor, or mentor, establishing expectations with those involved mitigates problems before they arise. One of the main tools DM’s have for this is that is recommended by Mercer, as well as nearly every DM in existence on the internet, is the “Session Zero.” Session Zero is a term used to describe a session where no play occurs but instead rules that will be used and rules that will be ignored or bent is established. It also serves to establish a theme the players can expect from any campaign. Using the first chapter of the DMs guide will help considerably in establishing this. Additionally, one of the best guides for this is laid out by the DM YouTubers known as “the Dungeon Dudes” in their video titled, “How to Run a Session Zero for Dungeons and Dragons 5e.”16 But always keep Agape in mind throughout this process. In this step, it means actively listening to the players. The DM may want a gritty, tough, realistic, and challenging campaign. But if the players want a high fantasy power trip, some adjustments are going to need to be made to the campaign. Listening to players and changing the plans accordingly is not easy. It requires A LOT of humility and ego suppression. Especially when the DM has already designed how the game is going to go… which leads us to the next tip. Tip 3: It is important to develop a healthy relationship with failure. Celebrated author Orson Wells once wrote; “If you want a happy ending, that of course, is dependent of where you stop your story.”17 This applies to both the players and DM. There will be times when the DM is tempted to ignore the rules because the consequences seem dire. The player fails an athletics check trying to use a dynamic that had a high-risk, high-reward moment. Now the player’s character is doomed to fall several hundred feet down a ravine to what is likely certain doom in lava. But this isn’t the end. That player’s character is most likely dead, but their death could result in a moment of drama and tension for the players. It’s the very real chance of failure that encourages players to think critically about a situation and experience excitement and tension. Brennon Lee Mulligan, the DM of the D&D streaming show, “Dimension 20,” put it this way… “if you are not allowing for failure, you are essentially just telling a story,” and thus never actually playing a game (make-believe as Suits would put it). 18 Another thing to consider is that through failure, we can often find comedy as well as ways to encourage players to think critically and find new escapes, 19 at least according to the mind behind the “Replaying the Curse of Strahd” videos, Benjamin (Puffin Forest) Scott. Lastly, Mercer strongly advises that if a DM allows too many “rule of cool moments” to happen in succession, the weight of the moments and consistency of the game will be lost. 20 Players that are afraid to fail will not try. Mercer explains that “Most role play games are designed to forge a heroic story (showing feats of legend) so let the players try! Let them fail, and occasionally succeed!” This is where his catch phrase “you can certainly try” comes from. 21 Tip 4: Whenever Possible, Avoid Taking Things Personally In his lecture on not talking things personally, soccer referee and public speaker, Frederik Imbo, explained there are two sides of a coin to keep in mind when trying not to take things personally: “It is not about you,” and “it is about you.” 22 Look at the other person’s intentions not just yours. With that in mind, it is okay to give yourself empathy and speak up. When someone seems upset with you, ask what are they hoping to get out of this releasing of emotions? Additionally, ensure that your pride isn’t preventing you from making the correct call. Yes I am talking about Ego again; it is that important! It is the DM’s world, but it is the players’ game. Without both, the world and the game, you do not have D&D. D&D has a weird paradox of being both a story and a game. It has both a narrative as its core premise, but it is, in fact, also a multi-player game. Without at least two people you cannot really have much fun. DMs should make sure that everyone at the table enjoys themselves. Tip 5: Mechanics are important precisely because they are a means of delivering impactful story moments. Remember that rule of cool concept? Extraordinary moments don’t happen often, and this is by design of the mechanics of the game. Humans remember the novel and unique way more often than the mundane. Mundane things tend to blend into the background. It’s the unexpected moments that highlight the more impactful story moments, especially if that moment is tied to strong emotions.23 With that in mind, Mulligan suggests looking at where the players are putting their resources before deciding how to rule on a situation. Have they invested experience points/levels into a specific skill that is relevant to this situation instead of just something they can use in combat? If so, reward them for wanting to do something that is a part of the world you are creating together. 24 Tip 6: Discourage metagaming but allow it whenever possible. Look for any and every excuse you can to give advantage on an arcana check by setting the DC low (10 or higher). If the player succeeds, they can use what they know… they are going to anyway, but at least then they can talk about it with the other players. According to the DM guide Chapter 8, metagame thinking means “thinking about the game as a game,” Examples would be thinking “the DM wouldn’t throw such a powerful monster at us so early in the game, so we will surely be saved and not have to take this fight seriously,” or “the DM spent A LOT of time describing that door… maybe we should search it again!” 25 The problem with metagaming isn’t really about what advantage the players are getting in the game. The problem is that manipulation of the dynamics, when used to extremes, can spoil the plot line of the cumulative story being told. This can lessen the drama and tension elements resulting in decreased enjoyment of those involved. Additionally, it can create a dynamic where the DM is constantly having to escalate encounters to challenge the player, encouraging a potentially toxic “DM vs player” mentality. For instance, how would a street orphan barbarian with no formal education and a wisdom of …let’s say very low…be able to know that liches phylactery is the source of their power. The solution here depends on why the players are playing this specific game. Is it the narrative of the story? Is it discovery? If these aren’t anywhere close to the reasons these players came to the game table in the first place, the narrative is not going to take as much of a factor into decisions. Metagaming in this instance isn’t going to be much of a problem. Tip 7: Keep in mind, the ending is “A” destination, but the story is about how you get there. A DM may hold off the extra cool moments for the final parts of the game, keeping their players in complete darkness and grit the entire way. However, without at least some levity along the way, some “water for the weary travelers,” as Mercer put it, they may not make it to the end.26 So, do not be afraid to relax the rules from time to time to give them those cool moments, but do so sparingly lest the destination lose its luster as well. Always keep in mind it’s about the enjoyment of crafting and playing in the world together that makes this, or really any game, fun. *Tip 8: When all else fails… take a break and have the Tarrasque attack the party. * When all else fails, roll two D-20s out of players’ views… fake a worried expression… role a D-100 (also out of player’s view) look over the score concerned as you pour through your notes… then explain sorrowfully… “I’m sorry… The Tarrasque has risen and has attacked the party. Everyone roll initiative.” This is actual advice from the DM manual. It is right under “faking illness and running away.”27 The point is this: never be afraid to pause or call a game when it’s over or needed. Maybe something incredibly uncomfortable for a player has happened. Maybe the DM has reached the end of what they were able to prepare for that session. Perhaps everyone is hungry or needs a bathroom break. Maybe the entire table has gotten to a point where no one can agree on anything and team dynamics are breaking down. That game world will always be there… but your friends won’t. Cherish that moment and make as many good moments as possible. Additionally, taking breaks both in-game and in the real world allow for quiet moments. These allow for the greater moments to shine through and the players will enjoy their experience more. https://i.redd.it/1ncu361zlqf61.png The graphic above serves to summarize the eight tips above and show their relationship with the narrative, enjoyment, and the rules when put in the context of situational ethics. From this graph, the relationship between the eight tips and how they play into the narrative, enjoyment, and rules of the game can be seen. Each of the tips can influence many parts of the game but they are intended to primarily influence the aspect of the game they are adjacent to. “Knowing the players” should influence the narrative and what kind of enjoyment the players receive. What mechanics are used to enable the game is causally related to how the rules are used and so on. Please note that Agape is at the center as, with every decision a DM makes, considering what is best for the players should be central to the experience of any game. The Epic Conclusion Through crafting a game-world together with your players, a DM has the potential to tap into one of the greatest traditions humanity has: camaraderie with friends. At the end of the day, these players are your friends, or at the very least your fellow human beings. As such, you should want what is best for them. Through trials, hardships, and drama, we get to put the punctuation on the moments of excitement, joy, happiness, and bliss. It is okay if the player does not get exactly what they want, so long as they still had enjoyment. This is because getting everything we expect is sometimes boring. However, always keep in mind that at the end of the day, games are about having fun. How that happens is up to the players, the DM, and whether the rules were used to enhance the experience or not. It’s possible to find that balance by asking these questions in order: “How will this decision affect: the final enjoyment of all at the table? the narrative? the rules in the future?” 1 Huizinga, Johan . "Homo Ludens". Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd. (1980), pp. 1., accessed January 19, 2021. http://art.yale.edu/file_columns/0000/1474/ homoludens_johan_huizinga_routledge_1949.pdf 2 Suits, Bernard, “The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia,” Broadview Press. Ed. 3. (November 29, 2005): 54–55. Accessed December 31, 2020. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/803547.The_Grasshopper 3 The Game Overanalyzer, The Aesthetics of Play | Why We Play Games, and the Search for Truth and Beauty in Game Design. The Game Overanalyzer. (January 11, 2020), accessed 6 January 2021. Video 18:44. https://youtu.be/lONsZwjVDzg 4 Hunicke, Robin, Marc LeBlanc, and Robert Zubek. "MDA: A formal approach to game design and game research." Proceedings of the AAAI Workshop on Challenges in Game AI, vol. 4, no. 1, p. 1722. (2004). Accessed January 11, 2020 https://www.aaai.org/Papers/Workshops/2004/WS-04-04/WS04-04-001.pdf 5 Portnow, James; Floyd, Daniel; Aesthetics of Play- Redefining Genres in Gaming. Extra Credits; (October 17, 2012), Video 9:13. Accessed December 30, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uepAJ-rqJKA&list=PL3N9QD4_yI-BlnwWUL8hhjpKgqRul3xAa&index=11 6 Suits, Bernard. “Discussion: Games and Paradox.” Chicago University Press. Philosophy of Science Association Journal, Vol 36, no. 3 (September 1, 1969). pg 316–.321. Accessed December 30, 2020. https://www.jstor.org/stable/186226 7 Suits, Bernard. “Discussion: Games and Paradox (1969) 8 Myers, David. “Game as Paradox: A Rebuttal of Suits.” Journal of the philosophy of Sport 39, no. 1 (May 1, 2012). Accessed December 30, 2020. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip&db=s3h&AN=87342252&site=ehost-live&scope=site. 9 Juul, Jesper. "Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds", MIT Press, (Aug 19, 2011) pp.57-59 10 Tracy, Patrick. DM Tips: The Rule of Cool. Fantasy Bango. (October 20, 2017). Accessed December 30, 2020. Video 2:23 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8aAIFalx6s 11 Fletcher, Joseph F. Situation Ethics: The New Morality. Westminster John Knox Press, (1997). Page 17-26 (accessed January 20, 2021) http://bit.ly/Googlescholar_SItuational_Ethics **Please note that just because Fletcher’s Situational Ethics is used prominently, this is not an endorsement of all his views. Fletcher’s work has been used to justify terrible atrocities, such as eugenics, this should serve to point out that any philosophy taken to extremes can lead to terrible outcomes 12 Fletcher, Joseph F. Situation Ethics: The New Morality. (1997) 13 Mercer, Matthew. The Rule of Cool! (Game Master Tips). Geek & Sundry. (February 16, 2016). Accessed December 30, 2020. Video. 5:52 https://youtu.be/fWZDuFIYkf0 14 Bryce, Nathan K., “Four Lenses Unfolded: A Deeper Understanding of Temperament Values,” Insight; (January 29, 2002,). 15 Mercer, Matthew. The Rule of Cool! (Game Master Tips). (2016). 16 McLaughlin, Kelly; Martin, Monty. "How to Run a Session Zero for Dungeons and Dragons 5e". Dungeon Dudes. (September 3, 2020), Accessed 12 30, 2020. Video. https://youtu.be/2MA-z5Ai-bQ 17 Wells, Orson, "The Big Brass Ring." Santa Teresa Press (1987, January 1) 1-148 18 Mulligan, Brennan; Scott, Benjamin. “Animating Your Table (with Benjamin Scott) | Adventuring Academy Season 2 | Ep. 16 |” Adventuring Academy. Dimension (2020, December 28). Accessed December 30, 2020. Video 1:24:18 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IbVxEKpipo 19 Mulligan, Brennan; Scott, Benjamin. “Animating Your Table (with Benjamin Scott) (2020) 20 Mercer, Matthew. The Rule of Cool! (Game Master Tips). (2016).. 21 Mercer, Matthew. The Rule of Cool! (Game Master Tips). (2016) 22 Imbo, Frederik, "How not to take things personally? | Frederik Imbo | TEDxMechelen" TEDx Talks; (March 4, 2020) accessed 10 Jan 2021, video 17:36 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnJwH_PZXnM&t=381s 23 Kensinger, Elizabeth. Remembering the Details: Effects of Emotion. US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. (May 4, 2009) Accessed 2021, January 30 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2676782/ 24 Mulligan, Brennan; Scott, Benjamin. “Animating Your Table (with Benjamin Scott) (2020) 25 Mearls, Mike, and Jeremy Crawford. "Dungeons Master's guide". Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast. (2014) accessed 29 January 2021 https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dmg/running-the-game#MetagameThinking 26 Mulligan, Brennan; Mercer, Matthew. Building Your Own Campaign Setting (with Matthew Mercer) | Adventuring Academy. Dimension 20. (2019, April 3) Accessed December 30, 2020. Video 57:01 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sig8X_kojco&t=2867s 27 Mearls, Mike, and Jeremy Crawford. "Dungeons Master's guide". Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast. (2014)-accessed 20 January 2021. https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dmg
What really happened to Mitrice Richardson the night she disappeared? In the early morning hours of September 17th, 2009, a beautiful young woman named Mitrice Richardson was released into the night from police custody without a phone, or any way to get home. Her body was found almost a year later. The mysterious circumstances surrounding her death remain unsolved. On the evening of September 16, 2009, The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department from the Malibu/Lost Hills Station received a call from the affluent, upscale restaurant of Geoffrey’s, with the employees of the establishment claiming a woman was acting erratically, bizarre, and was refusing to pay her bill. Beginning otherwise as a typical Southern Los Angeles Wednesday afternoon, 24-year-old Mitrice Richardson graduate of Cal State Fullerton, who normally had dinner with her great grandmother on Wednesdays, decides to switch course. Feeling compelled to embrace the cool breeze of the ocean on her skin, she heads to Malibu and begins her 40-mile trek along the Pacific Coast highway. As Mitrice ventures into the outskirts of Malibu, just as the sun begins to set, she is captivated by the luminescent beams of lights beating off the golden sign of Geoffrey’s and makes the decision to pull into the restaurant, a pivotal decision that would change the lives of many as they knew it. Mitrice pulls into the parking lot of Geoffrey’s and is greeted by the Valet. He quickly lets her know it is valet parking only and rushes off to park another guest’s vehicle. When he returns he finds Mitrice no longer in her vehicle, but in his vehicle rummaging through his CDs and speaking in broken sentences. Startled and frazzled the Valet asks what Mitrice is doing in his vehicle and she responds “I’m here to avenge Michael Jackson's death”. The Valet removes Mitrice from his vehicle and ushers her in the direction of the restaurant. The unusual behavior of Mitrice doesn’t end there. Mitrice orders a $65 steak and cocktail and notices a lively bunch enjoying their meal a few tables over, with a smile never leaving her face, she asks to join them. The group is intrigued by Mitrice’s abnormal behavior but welcomes her to their table. Mitrice goes on to talk about how she is from Mars, her mother was mother earth, and the ocean was calling her. Once the group settles their bill and exits the restaurant, Mitrice attempts to follow but is stopped by the manager as she has did not pay for her bill. Not appearing hostile or angry, the manager asks if there is anyone they can call to pay the bill for her after she claimed she didn't have any money. At approximately 9:30 pm, 91-year-old Mildred Harris, Mitrice’s great-grandmother, receives a phone call from Geoffrey’s. She attempts to give her credit card information over the phone to settle the bill, but they could not accept it without a signature. With no way to pay her bill, the employees of Geoffrey’s contacted the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department about Mitrice. 60 miles away in Eastern Los Angeles, Mitrice’s mother, Latice, is made aware of the unusual situation occurring at that very moment. She calls Geoffrey’s directly and finds out Mitrice has just been taken into custody by the officers. They go on to tell her about the behavior Mitrice had displayed, and that Mitrice’s vehicle was about to towed to a location very close to the restaurant, but far from the Lost Hills Station where the police had taken Mitrice. Feeling helpless, and unsure what to do, Latice calls the Lost Hills station and confirms with the deputy a woman is en route to the station from Geoffrey’s. Unable to pick up her daughter from the station, Latice is worried about Mitrice’s well-being and doesn’t want her released in the middle of the night without a phone or vehicle. The Deputy assures Latice that she will be contacted once Mitrice arrives at the station, but that call never came. As soon as Latice wakes up the following morning she calls the Lost Hills station hoping to figure out how to get Mitrice home. She is told that Mitrice was released 5 hours earlier at about 12:30 am. They claimed they had no reason to hold her because she had no criminal record and was not exhibiting signs of mental incapacitation, despite her unusual behavior. Mitrice was released into the dark gloomy night without any form of communication, transportation, or assistance from officers. According to Steven Whitmore of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, officers said, “You can stay here if you wish. You can stay in a cell, but you can stay here, but she declined that offer”. Panic begins to set in as Latice becomes aware Mitrice has not spoken to anyone since being released from the station, and she realized the moment she had feared the most was here. Immediately sensing something was not right, Latice calls back the Sheriff’s Office and asks how long she would have to wait to file a missing person’s report. The Deputy, seeing Mitrice was released just hours ago, encourages her to wait 24 hours before reporting her missing. With nothing left to do but wait, Latice questions how Mitrice could have possibly been released without a mental evaluation? At about 6:30 AM that Thursday morning, The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department receives a call from a Monte Nido community resident, located about 7 miles from the station. The resident, a former news anchor, reported a young, strange woman was in his backyard. When asked if she was okay, she responded that she was just “resting.” Once he called the police, she was gone. It was later confirmed that young woman was Mitrice Richardson by cadaver dogs that were able to catch her scent in his backyard. But how did Mitrice get 7 miles away without her vehicle? Monte Nido is a vast landscape of mountains and terrain, a location that would be difficult to navigate for a non-local, especially in the dark hours of the night. According to Mitrice’s family members, Mitrice was known to be afraid of the dark. On September 18th, Mitrice’s family members gather together to discuss Mitrice's bizarre behavior in the days leading up to her disappearance. They begin to see the warning signs that something with Mitrice was not right. Mitrice had been sending erratic text messages, that did not make sense, almost gibberish. The day before she disappeared she visited her aunt’s house and left business cards from her go-go dancing job scattered everywhere. The strangest occurrence being an unusual note left on Latices husband windshield with “black women scorned” written across it, a smiley face, and had been signed off with a kiss. In the days before Mitrice disappeared, she was posting unusual things on Facebook, and Myspace. Posting at all hours of the night, investigators were unable to understand when she slept. A psychologist that works with the LAPD assessed Mitrice was exhibiting signs of a mental health condition, possibly bipolar disorder. During the subsequent investigation, the family of Mitrice is made aware they found money and her wallet inside her car, with officers somehow overlooking it the night she was arrested. Days pass with unanswered questions, repeated attempts to get Mitrice’s police report are overlooked. Mitrice’s family attempts to access police footage of Mitrice at the station that night, but their request is denied. LAPD cited “they need to follow proper protocol in order to release information to the family,” and they had no footage to even give to Mitrice’s family. Feeling like their pleas to police were going unanswered. The family of Mitrice hired civil rights lawyer, Leo J. Terrell, who assembles a press conference gathered in front of the Lost Hills Station on Thursday, September 24th, 2009, demanding action of the Police Department. Terrell said at the press conference “If Mitrices name was Spears or Lohan, they would have never let her walkout by herself. They would have escorted her home.” Months later, as the New year quickly rang in, tensions between Mitrice’s Family and the Los Angeles Police Department continue to grow, a meeting is called between the Sheriff and Captain of Lost Hills. Things quickly take a turn when it comes to light the Police Department did indeed have footage of Mitrice the night she was arrested. They claimed they misunderstood, thinking Mitrice’s family was asking for footage of Mitrice outside the station not a video of Mitrice in the station. On January 9th, 2010 the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department organized one of the largest searches in the history of LAPD. An 18 square mile search in Malibu Canyon with over 300 trained volunteers participating in air and ground searches. Mitrice was still not found. Just 3 weeks later, and almost 300 miles away in Las Vegas, Mitrice’s Father, Michael Richardson, alerts authorities that he believes he saw his daughter Mitrice in an area known for prostitution on the Las Vegas Strip. Michael called out to Mitrice but lost her in the crowd. Latice firmly believes that wasn’t her daughter and believes she never made it out of Malibu Canyon. On June 26th, 2010, Latice and her lawyer file 6 lawsuits against the LA County Sheriff’s Department for negligence and wrongful death. Around the same time, there is another sighting of Mitrice, by a high school friend. At around 3 AM, in a Las Vegas casino, he claimed to have seen Mitrice. He called out to her, but the woman appeared nervous and ran off. On August 9th, 2010 Malibu State Park Rangers are hiking along the area of Dark Canyon, a vastly remote area, just a few miles from where Mitrice was last seen, searching for any illegal marijuana growing in the area. This area is said to be a very difficult place to stumble upon and very hard to get through. Upon their quest, they discover the mummified naked remains of an African American curly haired woman. Ignoring the proper protocol, the woman was airlifted out of Dark Canyon. The woman was later confirmed to be Mitrice Richardson. A ranch known for producing pornography was adjacent to where Mitrice was found, but no connection has been determined. Multiple residents in the area reported to have heard screams in the area several nights after Mitrice disappeared, but despite this, Mitrice’s death was deemed not to be a homicide, and no foul play occurred. The cause of death was ruled to be undetermined. What happened to this beautiful, intellectual, talented woman? Why would police let her go in the middle of the night with no phone or vehicle? Why was she acting so strangely? How did Mitrice end up dead in that creek bed? Too many unanswered questions have consumed the Richardson Family. We need to find out what exactly happened to Mitrice Richardson. More info: https://www.murdersandcoffee.com/post/what-happened-to-mitrice-richardson https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-09-17/mitrice-richardson-reward-malibu https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/sheriff-updates-mitrice-richardson-disappearance-decade-late1965858/ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Mitrice_Richardson What do y’all think happened to Mitrice? Do you think she succumbed to the elements? Or something sinister occurred to her that night? Share your thoughts! I also wanna add her clothes were found scattered around her body. It would be unusual for her to undress and try to maneuver through that creek bed.
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Goodwin Casino is a new operator founded in 2018 and licensed by the government of Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles. They work with half a dozen software developers and are specialized in supplying slots to their players, while also offering live dealer table games and video pokers. The games are proven fair and can be played on mobile devices and players can enjoy them in the browser with no download. There are three Goodwin Casino welcome bonuses to choose from, each of them with wagering requirements that have to be met within a week after being awarded. The casino chose to offer three distinct bonuses based on the amount invested by players, to provide new members with greater freedom. They even offer a no deposit bonus that consists of 20 free spins, whose profits are subject to 40 times wagering requirements. These are offered exclusively to those who have registered and verified their account by providing certain documents that will confirm their identity. The bigger Goodwin Casino bonuses are offered to real money depositors and the amounts differ depending on how much they deposit. New players who can only afford to deposit €15 or currency equivalent will qualify for the Scarecrow`s Brains package. The deposit will be matched by 200% and players will also receive 35 free spins on the Elements: The Awaiking slots. The bonus has to be cleared within seven days after being awarded, otherwise they will expire. “Woodman’s Heart” will match the first deposit of at least €50 by 150% and will throw in 50 free spins on the slot. Blood Suckers “The Lion`s Courage“ is the biggest welcome bonus available, consisting of a 100% match deposit and 200 free spins on King of Slots. Only deposits of at least €100 will qualify for this bonus, so this package is better suited for highrollers. These bonuses are mutually exclusive and players can apply for new ones after meeting the wagering requirements on active bonuses. >>Claim No Deposit Bonus<<
How do I start playing?
Both real money and virtual currency games will require players to have a registered account. Signing up for one shouldn’t take more than a few minutes, as the casino asks for only the basic information. This is standard procedure at online casinos, who want to prevent bonus abuse and mitigate the risks of players opening multiple accounts at the same bookmaker or casino. New players must state their name, country of origin and gender, before selecting a payment method. They don’t have to make a deposit right away and can deposit at a later date, to claim the bonus. In order to cash out winnings, players are also expected to complete the verification process by proving their identity. In order to pass the verification, one has to send an email to their official address and provide the documents required. Under normal circumstances, this should take between five and 15 minutes.
Goodwin Casino Games and Software
GoodWin Casino works with several software developers and the most important ones are Microgaming, NetEnt, Playson, Quickspin and Endorphina. These are leading suppliers of slots, but they are well versed in the art of developing video pokers, scratch cards and specialty games. The casino also has a live dealer section, where players can bet real currency on different types of blackjack, roulette and baccarat. There are plenty of games to choose from, but navigation is a breeze and that’s because the games available are conveniently grouped based on genre. In the section reserved to virtual games, players can expect to find hundreds of slots with classic and modern game mechanics. Immortal Romance, Gonzo’s Quest, Dragon Shrine and Dia de Los Muertos are some of the most popular slots available. Next to them, players can find the high paying progressive jackpot slots developed by NetEnt and Microgaming. This is also the place to go if you’re in the market for video pokers, as GoodWin Casino games include All Aces Poker, Jacks or Better, Aces and Faces, and Fruit Poker. These are games with a high return to player that can return as much as 99% of the stakes, if proper strategies used. Table games such as roulette, baccarat and blackjack can be played here against the random number generator, or players can switch to the live dealer section. Action is usually focused on American and European roulette, but the French version of the game and multiwheel roulette are also featured. The same diversity is enjoyed by baccarat fans, who can play the classic version of the game or Baccarat Gold. American blackjack and several variants of the famous card game can be played in the company of real croupiers in the GoodWin live casino. Mobile devices can be used to play any of the games they supply and also to sign up for an account, make a deposit and cash out. >>Claim No Deposit Bonus<<
Website layout and interface
GoodWin casino is a fresh face in the competitive online gambling industry and it attracts new players with its cool looking website. Simple, yet elegant, it has colorful pages that load quickly on mobile devices, as it was optimized for the use on smartphones and tablets. Useful information about promotions, bonuses, as well as the games available is clearly displayed on the main page. Players can go over the detailed FAQ section and learn more about the new casino, instead of having to talk to customer support. The website is fitted with filters allowing players to browse by game developer or genre, so in spite of having so many games on display, they won’t have a problem in finding the ones they’re interested in.
Contact options
As stated above, the information page is comprehensive and those who choose to look for answers in the FAQ area won’t be disappointed. They always have the alternative of contacting a customer support specialist directly via telephone, email and live chat. GoodWin casino has even listed the address of its headquarters, so those who prefer to write a letter and send it via traditional mail, can do it. Live chat: Yes (English, German, Russian, Finnish) E-mail: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) Phone: +31 20 201 8186 Address: Office 29 Clifton House, Fitzwilliam Street Lower Dublin 2, Ireland
Other promotions and offers at GoodWin Casino
GoodWin casino promotions don’t end with the welcome bonus, even though the introductory offer is the most generous. Future deposits will also be matched by 50% through the “Emerald Potion” campaign, with 30 times wagering requirements and a maximum payout of 15 times the deposit. In addition to matching the deposit, the casino will also offer 50 free spins to be used on the Fairytale Legends: Mirror Mirror slots. Players shouldn’t have any other bonus active and meet the play through demands in 7 days. The GoodWin casino loyalty program is centered on the accumulation and spending of loyalty points. Depending on how many they’ve earned, players can convert them for free spins on one of the many popular games. They can turn in 10,000 points for 50 free spins on the Gonzo Quest slot and then wager the profits 25 times before cashing out. Time is of the essence and they have to meet the wagering requirements in three days for a chance to withdraw a maximum amount of €150. The alternative would be to convert 100,000 loyalty points into €50 which have to be wagered five times before cashing out. In this case, the ceiling for the winnings consists of €300 and players can activate this promotion in conjunction with other bonuses. New players and those who have significantly fewer loyalty points can opt in for the promotion converting 2000 points for €1. The play through demands have been toned down to only 10 times the amount, but the downside is that players can’t withdraw in excess of €15. A similar proposition is made to players who own 10,000 loyalty points and are willing to convert them for €5.5. This is an intermediary promotion, with seven times wagering requirements and a maximum bet of €4 which can be used together with other offers. At the upper end of the spectrum. highrollers can take full advantage of the GoodWin casino loyalty program and convert 1 million points into €500. Perhaps not surprisingly, the wagering requirements have been reduced to three times the amount, while the maximum win was increased to €1500. >>Claim No Deposit Bonus<<
Currencies and payment options
Currencies accepted: EUR, RUB, USD All deposit withdrawal methods: Visa, Mastercard, iWallet, Tele2, MegaFon, Beeline, MTS, Qiwi, WebMoney, Yandex, Neteller, Skrill (Moneybookers) The list of GoodWin casino payment methods used to be shorter when the casino opened its doors, but today it includes most of the frequently used banking options. Credit and debit cards from Visa and MasterCard can be used to deposit funds and players have the option to switch to e-wallets and wire transfers. iWallet, Tele2, Beeline, Megafon, MTS, QIWI, Webmoney, Yandex.Money, Neteller and Skrill are all accepted and players can deposit a minimum of €10 or $10. Rubles are also accepted and there is no minimum withdrawal amount, while players can cash out a maximum of $20,000 per month.
Conclusion
GoodWin casino took the gambling market by storm in 2018 and already has an impressive lineup of games covering all genres. They offer excellent welcome bonuses to new players and reward dedicated members through a generous loyalty program. They don’t have the experience of established online casinos, but are quickly catching up and should be able to close the gap separating them from the leaders. >>Claim No Deposit Bonus<<
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