Taxonomy
Taxonomy
This week I wanted to share a topic I’ve been working on for months, taxonomy for Game X. I’m also close to finalizing the name of the game but I’ll save that for a future post. First, I should probably address what I mean by taxonomy in the game’s context. At its core, Game X is an RPG style game in an open world setting that allows each player to take on a role (character) and explore the world. Throughout the game and during their exploration, they will discover, earn, and purchase a variety of “things”. It’s these things that I am creating taxonomy for; in this case, it is a classification of those objects or things in the game.
Why Make Taxonomy
I didn’t start making this game with taxonomy, but I quickly started to realize the need for one when I began writing the rules and game mechanics. One simple example has to do with the equipment grid. I wanted the equipment grid to only allow certain items to be placed in a slot for “Held” items such as weapons and shields. You may have a single item that is an
- Item
- Hold-able
- Weapon
You may also have items that go in your “pocket”, such as potions, but potions can also be held, but are not a weapon. As you can see, this hierarchy of classifications quickly grows in complexity. It’s further compounded when you start to implement mechanics such as weapon & spell proficiencies, where weapons are no longer just weapons, but have a number of different types.
Inspiration for Taxonomy
Once I realized I needed taxonomy, I started looking for examples online. I am, by no means, an expert in Dungeons & Dragons, but I knew enough to know they had something of a Taxonomy that has inspired the Tabletop Game community for a long time, and was probably a good place to start. I drew much inspiration from them before I realized I was only covering half or less of what I needed. D&D focuses on ancient or old world type objects, not modern ones. For example, they may have a sword, but not a rifle; a trap but not a grenade.
Wikipedia has been a great help in a number of cases too, and I’ve been lucky to find some inspiration from other games. However, very few games publish their taxonomy, so it often has to be inferred. I’ve attempted to do this through researching some games, breaking apart the components and considering the game mechanics.
Limitations
I realize there are and should be some level of modification to allow for fantasy wording that I have not included here. In all likelihood, when I populate the final columns with actual names and descriptions of the items for Game X, I’ll also likely have some new made up words that create a deeper level of immersion in the game. One example might be rather than calling potions “Potions”, Game X may refer to them as “Potio”. I’ve chosen to stick with common English references in this taxonomy that I’m sharing for easier re-use, but recognize every individual game may benefit from some re-wording.
Conclusion
I’ve finally arrived at a workable, however still highly incomplete TableTop RPG taxonomy, or for Game X an “MMTRPG Taxonomy”. I’ve also decided that I’m going to publish it and maintain it as an open source reference for any and all who have want or need for such a thing for their own games. I’m certain it will need to evolve over time, and I would kindly request any of those who use it give feedback in making it better. I hope that this reference can become something that will not only allow future game creators a reference so they can quickly get to more pressing matters of game creation, but it may also serve as a standard that will make game play across many games more consistent and simplified.
Go here to see the Taxonomy: https://www.primogengames.com/taxonomy