d20

Ron Edwards on d20 games:

"I've concluded that d20 takes on a game-identity to the extent that a designer customizes Resolution, Currency, and Reward into a particular shape. Therefore to 'use d20' means one of the following:

- to imitate or augment an existing form (supplemental materials for D&D3E)

- fundamentally to write your own game (Mutants & Masterminds)

- and I should mention some attempts at the latter which look more like the former (Star Wars d20, Spycraft)

No wonder it's impossible to discuss d20 sensibly! There's no game there, not even a System. Therefore it passes out of the range of topics for this essay; d20 presents a fascinating economics and marketing phenomenon, but I think it's only meaningful in those terms."

- from "Gamism: Step On Up"

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To which Ron Edwards responded:

​These days I'm saying the same about Apocalypse World. Vincent does a thing with it, so does Nathan, especially, and a few of the other Apocalypse Engine authors. But too many of them don't - so they end up with ... character classes + a 2d6 resolution roll + a lot of frantic text to tell you how cool the Color is. Big whoop!