graphic design and book layout
Catching up on #RPGaDAY and there’s a whole bunch of questions left. We’re on Day 24, and I’m going to hit a whole bunch of them here to zip through Day 28, because these aren’t interesting questions or questions that will produce my goal of 500 words per topic.
Consider this a lightning round, then.
Day 23 of #RPGaDAY has the most interesting topic to me this month: “Which RPG has the most jaw-dropping layout?” While I take a bit of an issue with the “most jaw-dropping” part of the question — other topics used “the best” to provoke a convesation about your favorite ________ — I see where the question writer is going. It’s not the best layout we’re looking for, it’s the most noticable layout that’s pleasing to look at.
Now, while I as a layout artist want to have people blown away by my work, one of the best reviews I have received is one that pointed at 7th Sea‘s layout: It doesn’t do much to overwhelm and mainly gets out of the way. On the surface, that sounds like a bit of an insult. The layout design doesn’t do much. It doesn’t distract the reader. It’s plain. This is one of the best things a layout artist can hear.
Like cinematography, comic book lettering, or editing, book layout is really only noticed when it’s done poorly. Sometimes it stands out, but layout is there to communicate, to deliver the contents of the book. When I hear someone saying the graphic design was fantastic on a thing, I am not certain if that’s higher praise than “I didn’t notice the layout at all.”
Day 22 of #RPGaDAY is all about ease of use at the table. “Which RPGs are the easiest for you to run?”
Anything that’s really freeform and really light rules, I’d start with. But then my mind starts to wander a bit and I’m looking at Fantasy Flight Games’ Star Wars line again. It’s an incredibly simple system that manages to be crunchy and tactical, yet light and story-driven at the same time. Those crazy dice — the dice that take a few rolls to get used to with their crazy symbols — let you have something awesomely beneficial happen when you fail, bring about something disastrous when succeeding. They’re But Dice: Yes, but… they say. No, but… they tell you.