Posting Actual Plays on a wordpress blog: which do you find easier/better to read?
a) I put the mechanics in spoiler tags http://dieheart.net/gma-playtest/
b) I precede the mechanics with a double slash // http://dieheart.net/sweote-beginner-game-two/
The problem with a) is that when you read that post as a RSS feed the spoiler tags are visible again as
Spoiler
....lorem ipsum text
[collapse]
This is not pretty and also doesn't take advantage of the function of hiding stuff behind spoiler tags.
Thanks for helping me.
I prefer not to have to click or move my mouse when reading. So I'd go for a double slash or something similarly visually distinctive.
ReplyDeleteAnother option -- although difficult to pull off on a blog post and impossible in a forum -- is side bars in the margin.
Have you tried using the "quote" format in wordpress to distinguish Mechanics? I find the Double Dash does not work too well with linebreaks and does not really sufficiently denote a mechanics block.
ReplyDeleteMarcus Burggraf I'm writing my posts in markdown. What do you mean with quotes? "normal" HTML formatting?
ReplyDeleteHm, I am using Wordpress for my blog and there is a quote paragraph style there, I am not familiar with markdown. But after googling maybe the Blockquote would be the equivalent. Or even better Code and Syntax Highlighting. Not sure how that would look in an RSS though as I always read posts on the blog not the RSS feed.
ReplyDeleteI know that for some wordpress blogs I frequent, the tag works to set apart text.
ReplyDeleteOf the two, I think the slashes work better... but that's because of the reasons you state with RSS stuff, which doesn't really affect me. Stick with what works for your audience. For my games, I use a different color and size font. It's clearly a separate piece from the narrative and, because it's smaller, doesn't break flow as the eye can easily skip it if desired. Example: http://thebwogosphere.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-shortest-adventure-ever-chronicles.html .The double slashes are nice in the copy/paste sense, if that's ever something that needs to be done.
ReplyDeletesomething like your Dungeon World actual plays
ReplyDeletedefinitely not the spoilers - to many mouse clicks
Yeah, I'm with the majority. I want to see mechanical bits up front. I've gotten in the habit of using brackets like this [Fighting 14 vs 11 Athleticism] in my own write-ups.
ReplyDeleteI don't like the // for blog posts. When reading a post with lots of text, it doesn't really serve to differentiate them. I prefer the spoiler tag (I don't read the rss feeds). I also like just the typical italics or anything else that makes the text different in general.
ReplyDeleteAnything that sets the game text apart without requiring a mouse to read it gets my vote.
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm a double slash fan, I honestly believe it is up to the author and the tech available to them. Another format that I like is the split column with game text in gray, but that's harder to pull off unless you're using something like Excel or Word. Has anyone looked at using a tech like Tiddly-Wiki that allows you to edit locally and then post the same file as a web page? Lots of options there. [Might have to make a test case to show it off.]
ReplyDeletethe // approach used in your recent Star Wars actual play reports was very nice. Unobtrusive mechanics present that didn't disrupt the flow. I usually read these reports through Pocket - which is like RSS and would strip out spoilers anyway.
ReplyDeleteI plan to put game mechanics in a different colour (and another different colour to separate game/solo engine mechanics). Ice done many sessions I plan to publish, but need to tidy!
ReplyDeleteI always want to see the mechanics, because it helps me see if it is a system I want to play, or if I already play it, it can help me see things I might not have though of. So either way, I always want to see the mechanics.
ReplyDelete