Distinguishing Results

Because of the kind of person I am, I invariably concern myself with style choices of which most readers are unaware. I care about such things because it has an impact on clarity, and clarity is paramount in good rule-writing. As I have agonized over optimal game notation for Omnia, I have become aware that I do not have a clear way of indicating when a number refers to an actual randomly generated result as opposed to a rating such as Ability or Difficulty. If I don't resort to any of the game notation gimmicks I have been toying with, it stands to reason (in my mind, at least) that something should at least distinguish a result from other numbers. I could enclose it in quotation marks, but this becomes tiresome if it is nested in a quotation. I have decided, for now, that it would be best to italicize results. For example:

• Jane Doe tests her Ability as a Pole Vaulter 4 versus a Difficulty of 2 and scores a 3.
• Jeremiah Doe, Brawler 4, throws a punch and scores a 1.
• Jedediah Doe, Veteran Infantryman 3, defends with a 2.
• "I'll use my Ability as a Cat Burglar 5 to deactivate the alarm. The Difficulty is 3? I scored a 4."
• "Test your Botanist 4 Ability. The Difficulty is 3. You scored a 3? The plant is clearly extra-terrestrial in origin."
• "The Difficulty is 3? I'll use my Ability as an Armorsmith 4. I scored a 2 and I'll spend 1 point of Luck to bring it to a 3."

(You will note I avoid using terms such as "roll," "throw," "shake," or "toss" because the randomizers used in Omnia could take a variety of forms from coins to dice to cards to anything that can be used to generate a binary result.)

Is this style choice helpful?

Omnia and Jargon

One of my guiding principles for Omnia is the avoidance of gamer jargon. I try to write the rules in plain language in order to remove as many barriers as possible for those who might be new to the hobby or have other challenges. I like to think also that it will preserve comprehensibility for those who might stumble upon the game long after current popular jargon has become obsolete. The rules are meant to be understood and usable by anyone; they are not meant to confound the uninitiated with acronyms, neologisms, or misuses of existing terms. They are meant to be accessible to all.

All for all.

I've written more about gamer jargon in "Deliberate Obfuscation in Gaming" in Creative Reckoning.

Omnia Guidelines of Visual Presentation

The most salient complaint I have about most role-playing games is their visual presentation. If I cannot get past the visual barriers, I cannot even begin to address the rules, concepts, or even the quality of the writing itself—at least, not without difficulty and a certain amount of resentment. More than once I have had my enthusiasm for a game extinguished by those responsible for its layout and typography. With this in my mind, I have made this list of guidelines for the visual presentation of Omnia and all supplemental material. I intend to adhere to these principles, and I encourage anyone who contributes original Omnia material to do so as well.

Typefaces and Type Sizes (Fonts)

Above all, the typeface ought to be as legible as possible and of a size that can be read effortlessly by most readers. For printed Omnia material, I intend to use Atkinson Hyperlegible, which was created to maximize readability (especially for those with impaired vision and/or dyslexia). For material presented on sites such as this that do not offer Atkinson Hyperlegible, I am using Arial [or Cardo currently]. In both cases, I shall be using a standard size of 12.

(I learned about Atkinson Hyperlegible from Accessible Gaming Quarterly, which will be using it in future issues.)

Color and Contrast

The text and background ought to contrast as strongly as possible without being uncomfortable to the eye. In most cases, the text will be black and the background will be white to promote readability.

Layout

Layout ought to follow a logical flow. It ought to be uncluttered and simple to follow.

In printed material and PDFs, chunks of information will be confined to a single page or a single spread as much as possible. This makes it easier to use at the gaming table.