Hamlet's Hit Points [RPG book review]
I've been buying very few actual gaming books lately, but have been slowly adding books about RPG's and GM techniques to my library. The latest is a book called Hamlet's Hit Points by Robin Laws. For those who don't know, Laws is one of those game designers who has had his thumb in the pie of so many different RPG's out there he didn't even bother listing his bona vides in the back of the book. The core thesis behind Hamlet's Hit Points is that in movies and plays (and their descendants radio shows and television programs), there are nine identifiable "beats," specific moments in the narrative flow with a purpose. There are two major kinds of beats: procedural, which either move the protagonist towards or away from an external goal; and dramatic, which move the protagonist towards or away from an internal goal (such as a personal relationship). The movement towards and away from a goal creates two emotional responses from the viewer: hop