Game review by Emily Ghang
I decided to play The Quiet Year for my game review, as I have had recommendations about this game before. I did not have prior experience of playing tabletop role-playing games, and The Quiet Year definitely inspired me in the process of creating a tabletop role-playing game.
There are a few elements I liked about this game. First of all, the feature of being able to draw maps. I think this added an element of creativity and was able to elevate the game as a whole. I think this was an aspect that I enjoyed, as it felt as if I was creating a piece of art as a result.
Another aspect that I found interesting was how players could choose to play for three to four hours or adjust the game to be able to play for a shorter period. I chose to play the shorter version of the game, and personally, for someone who usually does not go for tabletop role-playing games for the sake of time, I thought this was an interesting feature. Furthermore, I think the feature would be helpful, as some people might lose interest for games that are more on the peaceful side when the game goes on for too long.
In addition, as I have not played tabletop role-playing games before, it was interesting to see how stories and players’ ideas about the narrative can be incorporated into a game. While playing the game, it almost felt as if I was reading a visual novel or even creating a part of that novel. I think the element of being able to draw a map ourselves added even more to that. Moreover, I think I was more engaged in the game, as I was wondering whether the details in the story of the game would affect gameplay in any way, such as the Frost Shepherds and the problems players would choose to discuss. In that sense, I think including narrative while leaving some space for uncertainty in a game is key, as it would encourage players to become more engaged with the game. To talk about the narrative, I think it was interesting how players would play the game as social forces instead of actual characters who would directly influence the story. It felt as if this game focused more on the forest than the trees. When it comes to games, I think it could be both helpful and tricky, as it might make the game more interesting or less engaging.
Another aspect that I enjoyed while playing the game was that it was a collaborative game. I liked that how the story would go on after the players agreed on a certain narrative element. I thought this would be able to help players decide whether they wanted to be more creative or more realistic. I decided to draw inspiration from this aspect to create our team’s tabletop role-playing game, and hence my team’s game would be collaborative instead of competitive.
Overall, I enjoyed playing this game, as it encouraged players to be more creative and collaborative. Especially, I think it was very interesting how it challenged players to think of how certain elements would be expressed through drawings.
