| The site of game designer Andrew Greenberg. All opinions expressed here are my own and are not reflective of any organization to which I belong. | Thursday, 18 September 2025 - 21:26 |
It has been brought to my attention that RPGDad has been doing a poor job of paying attention to his appearance (big surprise there). A friend has offered up some logos for the site, and I would love your feedback. Please tell me in comments which you like best or what would work better.
Happy Father’s Day! Today has brought to mind the new way I am handling my task lists. Most game devs utilize some form of a task list, be it as a Gantt chart, a milestone checklist, or a bunch of posties (not pasties) littering the office. For me, one of the learning experiences in having a baby is the need to be really specific about the tasks I need to accomplish. For instance, in the past my task list had broad categories, like “Playtest Noble Armada” or “Contact SIEGE Speakers.”
For more reasons than I care to go into, that has proven less than optimal with a baby. Such broad tasks require that I have an hour uninterrupted in which to complete them (or at least 15 minutes). That has proven a tad unattainable. Thus my new tasks are more like, “Recreate firing arc bug,” “Contact a potential SIEGE keynote,” and the all-to-frequent “Find my cup of coffee.”
I’ve always prided myself on my multitasking, but babies take it to a whole new level, and I cannot keep that many tasks operating in my sleep-deprived mind. Even the baby tasks need to be broken down into very discrete steps:
Any other parents have to break down their task lists to this degree of granularity?
So I know I said my next RPGDad installment would be about level-based childhood, but RPGBaby came early and I had to change my plans. Who woulda’ thought a child would require something like that? I wrote the below while we were in the hospital, and I hope it does not offend too terribly much 🙂
In case you never noticed it before, childbirth is much like a good first-person shooter designed solely for female players. Some people may tell you it is co-op, but just like in most co-op games, you will be doing all the real work. As a man, I have perfect insight into this matter and am happy to share these truths.
Since we all know life exactly parallels games, how do infants advance? Do they gather experience and then make great leaps forward, as with a brooding drow yearning to be free in the Forgotten Realms, or do they advance bit by bit over time, like a vorox munching on al-Malik in the jungles of Ungavorox?
One of the complaints about D&D is that characters can adventure like mad, traveling the world, without learning a blessed thing. Then they kill one more kobold and immediately level up, gaining all sorts of powers and abilities. Contradictorily, that is also one of the fun things about D&D – the anticipation of that moment. Skill-based RPGs feel more real but lack that golden moment of leveling up.
I have been looking for a new wallet of late, but had no luck in the usual men’s and leather goods stores. So, as if to prove that I am ready to be an American dad, where do I finally find a wallet I like?
Ace Hardware