Matt Colville on Roleplaying

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Until today, I had never heard of Matt Colville. Now, i see him on several RPG Forums. Even Wikipedia hasn't heard of him, but Google has.

Apparently, he is a legendary D&D Designer.
 
Until today, I had never heard of Matt Colville. Now, i see him on several RPG Forums. Even Wikipedia hasn't heard of him, but Google has. Apparently, he is a legendary D&D Designer.
Well, Matt Colville did run the most successful D&D Kickstarter campaign ever, Strongholds & Streaming (US$2.1 million). And he's been a professional RPG designer since at least the original Dune RPG from Wizards of the Coast. So, yeah.
 
Until today, I had never heard of Matt Colville. Now, i see him on several RPG Forums. Even Wikipedia hasn't heard of him, but Google has.

Apparently, he is a legendary D&D Designer.
Not really. He's slowly but surely built up a subscriber base on Youtube with videos like this one and made history with his supplement for bringing the D&D domain endgame back to 5e hitting 2 million on Kickstarter. Other than that, he's been around doing RPGs and cRPGs for a while, but not a "named designer" until the KS.
 
Having watched quite a few of Matt's videos over the past six months or so, I think overall his advice is useful and well-grounded. In this specific case I think he leans a bit far into RPG-playing-as-performative-art, but I don't think I disagree with any particular point.
 
Thanks for posting this. I thought it was really well done. Raised good points about having fun and roleplaying. He has a good speaking voice and manner.
 
1)Is this Matt Colville related to the old YA writer Bruce Colville? I used to read Bruce Colville's books as a little kid, Aliens Ate My Homework was alright. If I ever read any Matt Colville it didn't leave an impact

2) Which and how many video games has this Matt Colville played to give some context to his bit that most video games lack subtext and character moments?

3) He does bring up some talking points my group discuss but umm... (I really, really, hope we don't sound so smug). Improv class, writing 101 or a theater 101 class would give a person the same insights . beyond that eh, I'm not going to disagree with his points but I don't think this is anything new.

4. Presentation needs work. The professor lecture style really doesn't work with him, give him a co-host to work off of. Maybe get the guy who let him play Warhammer Quest, he sounded cool.

5. when he patted himself on the back for writing characters in his novel that can't articulate their thoughts and motivations I laughed out loud and when he said that he can really BE such characters I was laughing on the floor. Who is this guy? seriously he is a HOOT!

6. funny voices not high art CHECK. I don't know anybody who thought that but, okay...
 
I've watched a few of his videos, they're quite good if heavily DnD centric.

He's been on Geek and Sundry a couple of times as well
 
I tried watching the video linked in the OP, but got about 20 minutes in and was bored out of my mind. It's not that I didn't agree with everything he was saying, but it's mostly just a recycling of stuff I've said or thought. I don't need 45 minutes of someone explaining one of my own thought processes that takes me about 3 seconds to formulate. I suppose all I can say then is that I agree, and maybe it will be helpful to certain people online. But I kinda think that the people that most need to hear it are the same people who would be incredibly hostile to it and dismiss it offhand, if not taking it as a personal affront. So, is he then preaching to the converted? I can't say.
 
I think this is one of his best videos. He's right on target with the idea that roleplaying isn't doing the voices but acting on the motivations of the character.

Matt Colville is a bit literary in his approach for my tastes (understandably) but does put out a lot of useful content.
 
Ah, right, I'd never heard of him, but I don't play D&D or listen to most RPG Podcasts.
 
First time I heard of Colville was when the Reddit crowd started pimping his Strongholds and Followers supplement for 5e. I was disappointed but should have probably dug deeper before I supported; I thought it would bring OSR style domain play to 5e but turned out to be a list of class-themed money sinks that grant additional abilities in the manner of a video game.
 
I like his thoughts on how you get useful definitions (and why definitions are useful).

I see why he's included persistent character improvement in his definition: He's trying to include video games in his definition, and if you don't include persistent character improvement in your definition a huge array of non-CRPG games would classify as roleplaying. But I think it probably results in him wiping out a number of tabletop RPGs that don't deserve to be wiped out.

Those who are not familiar with Colville's other work may not recognize that this is, in fact, a major synthesis piece for him: He's pulling together stuff he's obliquely referred to any number of times in the past into a single, coherent, and, importantly, encyclopedic presentation. I do similar stuff on the Alexandrian; for example, The Railroading Manifesto. When you're a serial essayist, you do this because you're tired of having to explain the same basic stuff every time you bring up a topic, so you do it once in the most authoritative way possible so that you can simply refer back to it in the future. I'm guessing that's what Colville is doing here, too, and it's why the video is 45 minutes long. It's deliberately exhaustive because its general function is to be the thing on the other end of the "if you want more information on this, click here" link.

But it is an excellent example of why I prefer to read essays rather than watch essay videos.

EDIT: If you checked out early, worth jumping to around 33 or 34 minutes and listen to his thoughts on how actual play videos value things that are entertaining rather than things that are fun, and how those things can be in conflict with each other (and what the consequences of that conflict can be).
 
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First time I heard of Colville was when the Reddit crowd started pimping his Strongholds and Followers supplement for 5e. I was disappointed but should have probably dug deeper before I supported; I thought it would bring OSR style domain play to 5e but turned out to be a list of class-themed money sinks that grant additional abilities in the manner of a video game.

Hmm, have you tried Way of the Daimyo for the D20 L5R line? It was near the end of the line both for the D20 L5R and DnD 3rd so it kinda fell by the way side for a lotta people. As I remember it had a system for getting building points when you leveled up to build your Dojo, Temple, fortress, Merchant holdings and Court. In Universe you got the points from your lord and could get more or less by currying favor with them. I think there was also rules for a downtime winter phase but I might be thinking of a fan hack of it. MAybe a little tinkering it could work with 5e?
 
I like his thoughts on how you get useful definitions (and why definitions are useful).

I see why he's included persistent character improvement in his definition: He's trying to include video games in his definition, and if you don't include persistent character improvement in your definition a huge array of non-CRPG games would classify as roleplaying. But I think it probably results in him wiping out a number of tabletop RPGs that don't deserve to be wiped out.

Those who are not familiar with Colville's other work may not recognize that this is, in fact, a major synthesis piece for him: He's pulling together stuff he's obliquely referred to any number of times in the past into a single, coherent, and, importantly, encyclopedic presentation. I do similar stuff on the Alexandrian; for example, The Railroading Manifesto. When you're a serial essayist, you do this because you're tired of having to explain the same basic stuff every time you bring up a topic, so you do it once in the most authoritative way possible so that you can simply refer back to it in the future. I'm guessing that's what Colville is doing here, too, and it's why the video is 45 minutes long. It's deliberately exhaustive because its general function is to be the thing on the other end of the "if you want more information on this, click here" link.

But it is an excellent example of why I prefer to read essays rather than watch essay videos.

EDIT: If you checked out early, worth jumping to around 33 or 34 minutes and listen to his thoughts on how actual play videos value things that are entertaining rather than things that are fun, and how those things can be in conflict with each other (and what the consequences of that conflict can be).
Thanks listened to the whole thing on the first go so I'm good.

yes, but when most gamers talk about Video Games and Tabletop RPGs in a meaningful way they use qualifiers like "CRPG", "JRPG", and "Games with RPG elements". Each of these is a label with a different meaning and using them shows that the speaker is knowledgable of the differences between them. He said video games as a whole (which most Video Gamers for are also Tabletop Gamers try not to do when talking about both) which made me question what his video gaming background is.

Essay writing is fine as is having a common lexicon for discussions on metagaming. It is just that the subject matter is ANCIENT, I can remember reading about this stuff In Shadis and discussing it with my group in the 90's. This is very well trod ground and well, if your right that he is doing a exhaustive encyclopedic essay for the larger gamer community then maybe he should be citing sources other then his own campaign? that was a bit strange I know other people have come to similar analysis back in the 90's.
 
Essay writing is fine as is having a common lexicon for discussions on metagaming. It is just that the subject matter is ANCIENT, I can remember reading about this stuff In Shadis and discussing it with my group in the 90's.

You remember reading about the effects video actual plays on the internet were having on people's perceptions of roleplaying in Shadis in the '90s?

That's improbably cool! Any idea what issue that was? Did they mention Matt Mercer? Did they have any stock tips?

He said video games as a whole (which most Video Gamers for are also Tabletop Gamers try not to do when talking about both) which made me question what his video gaming background is.

He literally writes them.
 
You remember reading about the effects video actual plays on the internet were having on people's perceptions of roleplaying in Shadis in the '90s?

1)Please, I was arguing two separate points (his video game playing backround and what the quality/recentness of his meta storytelling ) hence the two seperate paragraphs with a space just to keep everything clear (perhaps I should numbered them and doubled the spaces). Don't confuse the the two seperate points. The Shadis reference was just me recalling the earliest time in a rpg game magazine I read articles about how character growth occurs in different games and the whole roll vs role playing discussion. Man, the 90's was a AWESOME time for deep discussions in the varieties of storytelling in games. Heh, so AWESOME that people are still going back to those talking points in 2019.


2) Thank you for telling me what his backround in video games was that was helpful. I was refering to what video games he played but the fact he was actually involved in two videogame franchises does give some needed context. I would point out that both franchises are from the action shooter genres not really anything that comes near any of the RPG genres in videogames. Yeah you can argue that having a sandbox (in one of them) does allow for roleplaying in a a game not greatly known for it roleplaying (hence the whole Games with RPG Elements label) but the term, sandbox gets thrown around a LOT these days by studios and I'd also point out sandbox places the burden of storytelling on the user not the game maker. But now having context (thank you again) I can now say that yes, action shooter games in general are not known for there deep subtext and strong character development as compared to say, RPG video games.
 
The section at 34:00 on is interesting, even though it's almost more of an aside than the main point. I think there's a lot of exploration of some of that topic that would be more interesting than "how to roleplay better." What is the market actually like? How do people consume RPG products, and what do they really do with them? The stuff about the audience when you are streaming a game to the world is also an interesting concept, too—and that's something that people who create content to entertain people need to keep in mind too; assuming that they want to be successful at entertaining people and gathering followers, etc. He calls it potentially "dangerous" but it's just the reality of that type of content creation. As a writer and designer he should understand the concept of needing to write and design content that his market wants; if you're creating online content it's the same idea. It's not about you anymore, or even just your group—you're doing this specifically to stream, and you now have an audience and a market that you need to satisfy, assuming that you want to satisfy them and grow your subscriber base.
 
His videos are meant for new GM's to up their game.

I like Colville for that. I, personally, don't get much use for his vids - because they're not meant for me.
 
What tenbones said. I've watched several his videos, nevertheless. It's clear he has a love for TTRPG's (D&D in particular), and is keen to help others with his advice. As with all advice, you take what you want, leave the rest.
 
Hm, what role player cliches are those? I didn't really get a neck beard vibe from him - seemed like someone who had their shit together.

No comment on his voice, there are many youtubers whose voices I find far more irritating
 
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2) Thank you for telling me what his backround in video games was that was helpful. I was refering to what video games he played but the fact he was actually involved in two videogame franchises does give some needed context. I would point out that both franchises are from the action shooter genres not really anything that comes near any of the RPG genres in videogames. Yeah you can argue that having a sandbox (in one of them) does allow for roleplaying in a a game not greatly known for it roleplaying (hence the whole Games with RPG Elements label) but the term, sandbox gets thrown around a LOT these days by studios and I'd also point out sandbox places the burden of storytelling on the user not the game maker. But now having context (thank you again) I can now say that yes, action shooter games in general are not known for there deep subtext and strong character development as compared to say, RPG video games.
You know Sandy Petersen is best known for:
  1. Doom
  2. Call of Cthulhu
Doom was never really anything but an action shooter but SP wrote one of the most iconic RPG titles ever. He's done plenty of other stuff since then as well.
 
You know Sandy Petersen is best known for:
  1. Doom
  2. Call of Cthulhu
Doom was never really anything but an action shooter but SP wrote one of the most iconic RPG titles ever. He's done plenty of other stuff since then as well.

Yes, but I believe Sandy was most involved in the monster design many of which are still fondly remembered. I don't think anyone thinks the story of Doom Guy the name of the original protagonist is particularly deep or immersive, even the reboot kinda makes fun of itself when it starts to background plots and worlduilding. When Ion Storm went into storytelling mode we got Daikatana which if your unaware was hilariously bad both gameplay wise and the story. So in conslusion if were discussing monstermaking and Doom's influence then yes there is stuff worth discussing for tabletop RPGs. If your saying that Daikatana is something to aspire for RPGs to well I don't quite know how to respond to that...
 
I actually like Colville quite a lot. Nothing he is saying here is revolutionary, but the truth is, I've been playing for like 85% of my life and I'm not really the target audience for this video.

What seems obvious to people who've played a long time, is not going to seem obvious to people who are trying to get into the hobby. And I think that the second group is more who he is speaking to (as well as speaking to the group of people who read/watch and don't play).
 
I can't imagine spending 46 minutes listening to some guy talking about how DM's are supposed to present NPCs.
I've listened to some of his videos...to be fair - they're a lot better than the usual youtube fare. It's not just some guy rambling along tediously because he's too lazy to actually write his thoughts down on paper in a structured way (99% of youtube) - he is obviously well prepared and knows what he intends to say and covers topics at a decent pace.

But I don't think I'm really his audience. As others have said - the audience is new people who've come into gaming with the 5e boom and want to learn how to gm.
 
But I don't think I'm really his audience. As others have said - the audience is new people who've come into gaming with the 5e boom and want to learn how to gm.
Pretty much how I feel about the guy. No doubt he's helping people to run better games and giving good advice but I'm not his target audience. Even though I've been gaming a long time, I try to stay teachable and keep an open mind but what I've seen of his work isn't for me.
 
Nice vid. I agree most of his points are not really new, but I like how he explains them.

And speaking of videogames with good subtext and characters, Sid Meier Alpha Centauri is making it's 20th anniversary this year:

 
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Some of his videos and advice are alright, though most of the time I feel like he's either too long-winded or just flat-out wrong. In particular I remember a video he did where he not only approved of, but suggested GMs start using games as political or cultural messages, specifically in favor of his own political leanings. I don't care what someone believes, but I'll never not be adamantly against pushing it on other people in a hobby where it doesn't belong in the first place.
 
I understand the reason for the no politics rule on the forums, because political conversation online is generally dogshit, but I don't see anything wrong with exploring political/cultural ideas in a game.

And I severely doubt that the video was suggesting doing it randomly or haphazardly with no regards to the group you are part of.

And honestly, I find that the bar for what is "political" is often very low for people who insist on NO POLITICS in their games.

(and again, I agree on the no politics rules for the forums, but that is very different than play at the table. Fictional characters are going to have beliefs, and its very hard to have conflicting beliefs without some form of political or cultural statements being made).

EDIT:
Also the only video series I can find where he discusses adding politics in the game isn't even about real world politics, but about what makes politics work. he discusses some historical situations (civil war, fall of rome), but I can't figure out how you could complain that this video has anything to do with shoving politics down anyone's throat:

 
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That's not the video, though I don't recall the name of the one I saw. All I remember was that he said GMs have a "responsibility" to address the culture and politics of their players, and to make the world "culturally and racially aware" as well.
 
Without context I can't actually say what he was saying tbh. And I've seen to many people misconstrue what someone says to just take it as fact that he said anything like that.
 
Hm, what role player cliches are those? I didn't really get a neck beard vibe from him - seemed like someone who had their shit together.

No comment on his voice, there are many youtubers whose voices I find far more irritating
His voice, his mannerisms, his look, even the kind if things he talks about. They all scream cliche to me. He's like the template that TV directors might use for a role player.
 
That's not the video, though I don't recall the name of the one I saw. All I remember was that he said GMs have a "responsibility" to address the culture and politics of their players, and to make the world "culturally and racially aware" as well.
If we allow criticism of people wanting to include politics in their games, it's only fair that we let people respond by defending using politics in their games. Next thing you know, we've got a full-fledged political argument going on. How about we just drop this whole tangent?
 
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