Chapter 8
The Second Chance Phenomenon
“I get irritated by designers who are so hung up on the ‘art’ that they are inflexible and unwilling to learn. [I]f your engineers recommend you change your design you had better know what you are doing when you ignore them.”
—Richard Garfield
Often, if you ask a game designer about his or her influences, almost assuredly you will hear Dungeons & Dragons somewhere in that list. Rightfully so; Dungeons & Dragons has spawned innumerable mechanical and thematic tropes. And while most designers (especially those born in the 1980s and later) have some familiarity with Magic: The Gathering, often understated are the wide-reaching effects that game has had on the game design culture.
Flexibility
I often attend ...
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