Well, I know it's been a while. I didn't intend to let this thing slip, but life got in the way big time right before Christmas and right after New Years. It may have only been a month, but to me it's felt like several. I feel bad when I let personal issues get in the way of my Untold work, but sometimes things just can't be helped. So, anyways, I'm back and trying to get things back to "Business As Usual", and we have a lot of catching up to do with Untold. New products, new developments, all sorts of exciting things! But let's jump right into todays topic. Todays blog is going to be a short blog about what side of your brain is more dominant and how it affects your Untold game: everything from character builds to building a campaign.
So let me explain a little bit about where this topic came from before we explore it a little more. My wife was reading an article on how the different sides of the brain function and process information and ways of determining which side was your dominant side. She's more of a Left Brain person. Jennifer likes to reason things out; process and organize facts and data to understand things. Naturally she loves science and has two degrees to show it. Now, this doesn't mean she doesn't like more artistic or creative things; it just means that she processes information and learns in a particular fashion. We also discovered that I am very much a Right Brain person. I learn more through visual mediums, and tend to enjoy more of the arts such as literature and poetry. Not surprisingly I got my degree in the Liberal Arts. History if you're curious, and yes I consider History an artform. Now this doesn't mean that I don't like science or math (well, I don't like math) but that I prefer the more artistic mediums. So, this is all well and good but you're asking yourself how does this apply to Untold? Well, easy enough, just look at how you build your characters. This line of thinking can be applied in two ways. First, there is a general over arcing way of looking at this concept and then there is a more detailed way of looking at it.
The first way of applying this theory to Untold is as simple as looking at which of the six core races you prefer. Do you prefer the Klik? Then you're most likely a Left Brain kind of person. The Klik are very organized and orderly, a tool for every occasion. They, and through them their Players, process things by looking at the facts and putting them together. Do you prefer the L'na? Then you're most likely a Right Brain kind of person. The L'na are creative, chaotic, and tend to look at the bigger picture. Whether a Dawn or a Twilight, a L'na might tend to think more about not only how to solve a problem but the consequences of certain actions. Apocs are split right down the middle, Highbreds are more Left Brain characters with Churls being the opposite.
So, ok, this works in theory but what about application? Easy, let's look at how players would solve various problems. For example, Jennifer's playing her Klik "Tinker". The party she is in suddenly finds that there is a large bomb in the room and they need to do something about it. Tinker, and Jennifer being a Left Brain person, is going to immediately try to diffuse it, using tools, logic and technical skill. Now, let's put me and my Twilight "Shadow" in the same situation. Shadow is going to handle this one of two ways: 1.) Get the hell outta Dodge or 2.) Use Mind Control or Charm to take over a minion and make it take the bomb and quickly leave the room. To Jennifer, stopping the bomb is vital, because it is an immediate problem that needs to be solved. To me, the bomb is irrelevant, and it is either time to move on or give up. See how that works?
Alright, so how does this work for the GM? Easy, look at how the campaign is built and how the encounters are conducted. Tend to favor more traps? Tend to look at the more technical aspects of an encounter? Is there a clearly defined goal, such as prevent this one particular thing from occuring? Then you're a Left Brain GM. Tend to favor more aesthetics in a game? Tend to try to invoke a certain emotion like fear over doing damage in your encounters? Tend to have a broader goal for your game, like settling a dispute between parties or bringing down a Dark Lord (which is admittedly a specific goal, but with no specific solution)? Then you are a Right Brain GM.
Finally, there is a more detailed way of looking at the differences between Left Brain and Right Brain players. For example, I will on occasion play a Klik. But unlike Jennifer who likes to have all of her tools and trinkets, I prefer the more flexible and creative Enigma Engine and Alchemical Still. As far as building characters in general go, I take the more holisitic approach (a very Right Brain trait) and try to build a character of every type. Jennifer, however, is more happy with tweaking her one single character than having several different ones.
So, to wrap things up: which side are you? Left or Right? I am very interested to know what you think about this blog and about your own conclusions about this idea.
Otherwise, that's it for this week. Over the next few weeks, we're going to be looking at some new Untold products and some other developments, as well as some glimpses into some of the behind-the-scenes parts of Untold, such as how to do ecologies. Sorry it took me so long to crank this sucker up, but thanks for being understanding. Hope everyone had a good New Year. Until next week, thanks for reading and have fun.
