Abstract
Problem: What would the worst possible RPG look like if you deliberately violated every design principle Tim Cain has advocated across 400+ videos?
Approach: Tim inverts his own recommendations — unskippable cinematics, meaningless stats, player-skill-only mechanics, linear stories with fake choices — into a single nightmarish hypothetical RPG starring an unusually tall dwarf named "Wackadoo."
Findings: Bad RPG design clusters around a few core sins: removing player agency (in character creation, story, and builds), disconnecting system mechanics from gameplay outcomes, prioritizing spectacle over interaction, and failing to communicate game state to the player.
Key insight: Good RPG design is the opposite of everything described here — every system should respect player choice, character skills should matter more than player dexterity, and the story should respond to what the player actually does.
1. References
- Tim Cain. YouTube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QkxMF-4ckA