To my surprise one of the most compelling articles to grace a White Dwarf in a long time seems to have completely flown under the radar. In the March 8th 2014 issue of White Dwarf there is an article called, Designed for War. In it the White Dwarf team asks the Design Team how they went about creating the rules for the Imperial Knight.
Amazingly, this articles doesn't only speak about the Imperial Knight, but gives us some amazing insight into the process the game designers go into creating the rules for our game. Jervis Johnson does most of the talking, with a few others chiming in. Much of the article speaks to the goals the Design Team has for creating the universe we see today. Interestingly, the discussion is confirmation of a few things people have guessed at or alluded to from Games Days and rumors.
Let me break down the high points (with commentary) about the article, and what it might mean going forward for the Design Team.
Reminder: everything written in White Dwarf is propaganda, so don't expect hard-hitting journalism no matter the subject.
The more elements you have at your disposal, the more ways you have to play the game. That sounds obvious, but in recent years our focus has been to expand the options for collection and gaming. It's up to you to pick the theme of the game you want to play -- is your game going to focus on a particular element of the Warhammer 40k background?"
--Jervis Johnson
It is pretty obvious and makes sense, from Allies, to Dataslates, to Escalation, everything about 6th edition has been about content and providing it at a record pace. This also drives home the notion: GW wants US to decide how to play the game. You have to wonder, is the Design Team unaware most that most players do want some restrictions, or at the very least a universal rules language that makes sense.
"The addition of a model (Imperial Knight) on the battlefield that is so powerful and potentially dominate has the inevitable effect of causing all Warhammer 40k players to take stock...there is going to be a race to unravel its secrets and work out the best ways to use it or destroy."
--Jervis Johnson
The Design Team actually knew what they were getting into when designing the Knight, but did they actual think it through?
"When it came to designing the rules, I have to admit that our top priority was interpreting the Imperial Knights correctly on the tabletop. So our first priority was to write rules that made them 'feel' right...We needed to be mindful, as we fashioned their rules, as to how people would adapt to them n their games. The goal was to create something formidable, frightening even, but by no means should they be unstoppable."
--Jervis Johnson
They did seem to take a long time thinking about the rules. The Knight is cheap enough that you can fit in a 1500 point game, but at the same time its armor and hull points aren't insurmountable to get past.
Then you have the Ion Shield which is designed, putting the power in the player fielding it hands, but not too powerful a good opponent couldn't exploit. The Design Team thought about Flyers and dedicated assault units being able to handle the Knight. It shows the Design Team actually thinks about the effects a unit will have on the game and to a certain extent playtests it.
"So, though it may surprise some people, my first concern with rules is always that they are a fair reflection of the background behind the model"
--Jervis Johnson
This isn't much of surprise, but on reflection it says a lot. Maybe the background contributes to some of the abuses or underwhelming feelings folks have with so many rules. When you are designing from this sort of place, you can put too much emphasis on background to determine how things should operate, forgetting instead, will it be fun for me and my opponent? Especially, if a designer has a strong vision about something it could override his better judgement.
No one army can ever deal with all comers. The holy grail of many hobbyists is to fashion a single, all-conquering army that can win in any eventuality, but in truth there is probably no such thing. It doesn't make the search any less fun, but there are just too many variables, and the Imperial Knight adds another wrinkle to it."
--Jervis Johnson
Wow, just wow, they finally admit to it.
I wonder if the truth actually goes something like this.
The Design Team assumed players wouldn't settle for or discover broken combinations when presented with so many options opened up by 6th edition and the avalanche of add-ons. Instead of FAQing certain things Jervis and company don't want to take options away from players, so they create a solution like the Imperial Knight to fix certain things. It is whack-a-mole approach to design, something we have seen before, and could end up biting the team in the ass when the inevitable pull back comes down from on high.
"It's our duty to provide more choices and opportunities for people to have fun with their friends. All this encourages people to experiment with their tactics and their collections. As a games developer the most important thing I have learned to be most wary of is cutting down options."
--Jervis Johnson
Like everyone else I love choice, but players settle into certain play-styles and habits, so when faced with so many new variables, it is both daunting and jarring. Many players have busy lives, not having time to experiment, and just want to play a pick-up game without holding a committee to decide what they can play. They don't want to feel invalidated up against abuses the Design Team could easily fix at the drop of a hat.
Players are now forced between finding common ground without any guidance from GW, and the results often end in resentment for everyone. The developers of Warhammer 40k need to understand that with so many choices comes a responsibly to fairness, not just fairness to the background. Especially, not backgrounds so thin you end up making up half the story anyway to fill in the holes.
Warning
Meat for Meta is rated editorial nonsense. These articles are meant to complain about some group, somewhere, that is playing the game for all the wrong reasons or simply to just make fun of 40k nerd rage.