Voice

I own a lot of roleplaying games. I've read all of them, maybe not in depth, but at least more than a gander (and I've played roughly half of them). The games that are the best to read, and are stronger, in play, have a factor in common. The author(s) have a vision and communicate this through the language of the text, and not just in the fluff but through the book as a whole.

This isn't rocket science from a reader's point-of-view. Would you rather read a 400-page legal manual, that sounds like it was written by a committee? Or a book that has a personal touch to it. However, certain games adopt a voice as appointed by a committee to sell copies (trying to be edgy), or obfuscate the game itself (trying to disguise a body of fiction as a game), sometimes both...I digress. 

Now, what gets Justin all hot-and-bothered, and what leave me cold-and-apathetic [Plinket: Like my dead wife, hah]. I'll give you a nice numbered list of things if no order. 

1. The Writer Gives a Damn!
   I love it when a writer voices his opinion on the game. Please, let me know how you intend for the system to work! I'll give it a shot, I may disagree with you after some play. In the end, all I have really learned is how I like to play and ways to play differently. Play gets dull, if you approach every game the same way. So, show me something I haven't done before. I'll give it an honest shot, I promise.
   
   Note: I'm serious, if you have no passion and show no opinion on play. I'll play it like Burning Wheel, I'm warning you. I will do it!
   
2. Brevity is the Soul of Big Settings
   Every roleplaying game has a setting, you can't play without one. For big settings, which are worlds with details, color, and a history. The best way to write these is be brief enough to plant a seed in my mind, but don't bury the seed into my fucking colon. Provide enough details for a hook, and but don't give all the specifics. Just inform play, and set the boundaries. Don't give me a meta-plot. There is a fine-line between a setting (which SETS up play) and a meta-plot (which drives/shoehorns play along one avenue), learn it and don't cross it.
   
3. Conversational and Active
   My favorite game books are written in a conversational and active voice. Instead a passive, detached which reads like a legal document. I want the author to engage me. I find the games easier to digest, and the book itself holds my interest longer. If its written passively, my eyes tend to glaze over, and I forget important rules.
   
4. Ooooh, we are so edgy. *mini-rant*
   I can tell when a book is trying to be edgy, and when a game itself provocative. There is a distinct difference. For example, Apocalypse World is provocative game. AW has trans/ambiguous as gender options (note: not sex, but gender) and doesn't make a big deal out of it. AW also has sex moves. The game says it, and moves on. It doesn't go "Oh ya, we got fucking! Did you know people fuck! Fuckity fuck fuck!" Apocalypse World handles it maturely, and doesn't make fucking a spectacle.
   
   Note: RPG texts tend to go to extremes when it comes to sex. It is either "Sex! Look! PEOPLE FUCKING! YA!" or "Sex should not be discussed". Fucking nerds.

This sums up some major points, I could go on-and-on for sometime, haha, and I probably will (working nights in 12 hour shifts soon), anyway catch ya'll later.