To the point. But make it clear what you mean. Dont use jargon, trendy buzzwords or especially MMO terms.

For rules clarity and brevity are ideal but a conversational tone can easily accomodate those virtues.

OK, my answer predicates on the fact that clarity of expression is considered a no-brainer.  I thought that was implied in the OP's question.

Fruity writing in a book designed to teach a set of rules is objectively bad, because you're running the risk of confusing the reader.  Even with the clearest and cleanest writing, you run that risk.  Lord knows I've misread way too much in my life, and a lot of the time it's mine own fault, but the book had better not be contributing to that.

For the rules themselves, they should be reasonably succinct but still cover examples and fill in blatant loopholes.

For setting stuff more flowerly writing can work fine.

Unlike some here - I like sidebars sometimes if they're used for fluff relevant to the rules and/or designer notes etc.  That way they get to add to the vibe of the book without cluttering up the rules themselves too much.

Honestly? They all have their advantages.

Whimsical writing works better for making me want to play the game.

Matter-of-factly writing works better for telling me how to play the game.

Casual writing works better for providing an overall idea of what the game is supposed to be all about, both in concept and execution, but also tends to be fuzzy on the details for both.

So I guess my ideal game would come in three different versions, with easy cross-referencing between them.

Quote from: Baeraad;960472Whimsical writing works better for making me want to play the game.

Matter-of-factly writing works better for telling me how to play the game.

And RPGs texts are unique in that they need to be both, but what works for one often gets in the way of the other.

Quote from: Charon's Little Helper;960447For the rules themselves, they should be reasonably succinct but still cover examples and fill in blatant loopholes.

For setting stuff more flowerly writing can work fine.

Unlike some here - I like sidebars sometimes if they're used for fluff relevant to the rules and/or designer notes etc.  That way they get to add to the vibe of the book without cluttering up the rules themselves too much.

Quote from: Baeraad;960472Honestly? They all have their advantages.

Whimsical writing works better for making me want to play the game.

Matter-of-factly writing works better for telling me how to play the game.

Casual writing works better for providing an overall idea of what the game is supposed to be all about, both in concept and execution, but also tends to be fuzzy on the details for both.

So I guess my ideal game would come in three different versions, with easy cross-referencing between them.

I like these. The main body of rules should be simply and straight forwardly written. But I have no objection to short, well delineated, prose or sidebars that use a different tone, as long as skipping those sections doesn't make you lose information. (It is "well delineated" so I know I can skip it.) In other words, use sidebars to elaborate on the rules or give examples, so it can be referenced for explanations of the rules. But the main rules body should stand alone.

I'm going to defend the sidebar (or at least the topical subsection, regardless of form). Some things really should be in a 'see here if you need to understand _____' section. That annoying 'what is an RPG' section that the 95% of purchasers don't need, but honestly serves an important purpose? Put it in a little half page subsection with a nice little title and border around it that identifies it to the 95% is imminently ignorable. Need a section on subdual-type damage in your sword and sorcery game where 99% of the fights use lethal damage? Nice little side bar titled 'bar brawls and fistfights.'

When I first sit down to read some new rulebook I want something closer to the conversational tone... with a touch of whimsy. This isn't a science textbook (though maybe some science textbooks could benefit from a bit of fun).
Once I've read the rulebook, though, I don't want the entertaining read anymore... I want a quick reference doled out in terse bits of clear information. No whit, no fluff or philosophy of gaming.
If I have to pick, I'll opt for the terser - more matter of fact tone.

Also, agreed on books that present their information 'in character'. One of the few things I did NOT like about the Tribe 8 books.

For me it depends on the type of information being conveyed. If it's procedural stuff, manipulating quantities and the order of operations, I want clear, cut & dried.

If the content is about conveying a decision-making lens (like how to adjudicate combat in Amber) or the desired tone of play, I prefer conversational.

I agree with the comment that rules are technical writing, and should be very succinct. The more prosaic the style, the more ambiguous the rules.

For examples text, a more conversational tone is fine, as it mimics the manner in which one might verbally explain to your group how things play out.

Quote from: Krimson;960385Quick and to the point. The idea behind rules is that they are an information dump which is a requirement to play the game. They should be designed so you spend minimal time reading, leaving more time for play.

What if you weren't reading RPG rules, but something else... like an adventure?

Quote from: S'mon;960407I'd say #2 - and your style is definitely a favourite of mine, off-hand I'd say Gygax's writing is the only one I definitely like better. Like Aaron Allston (very different) and Mike Pondsmith BitD, you have one of those styles that is a big factor in me buying your stuff.

I generally like a concise style for rules reference, eg Moldvay Basic is a deserved classic. Paizo verbosity is generally offputting but can work in eg campaign setting guides meant to be read more for inspiration than reference - it works in their Inner Sea World Guide, but not in the individual city guides when I am using them during a session to look stuff up.

Thanks, hoss!  My tentacles are blushing a very special shade of green.  

Thanks for all your responses!  I enjoyed reading them and, hopefully, learned a thing or two about your preferences.

VS

Quote from: VengerSatanis;960605What if you weren't reading RPG rules, but something else... like an adventure?

Then you'd want to be informative, but I would still prefer concise. The little narration boxes that are intended to be read to the players are something different, as by their nature they are narrative. With an adventure, it is a tool which a DM/GM uses to provide entertainment to the Players and by proxy and schadenfreude the DM. Descriptions of the adventure setting and encounters do not need to have colorful narration. They should be easy to find and clear to read. In my opinion, if you want to be narrative, then those sections should be bounded in boxes in sidebars (for fluff) or in the case of adventure description intended to be in character knowledge right in with the main text. You can even have an entire page in a fancy bounding box of narrative material. Personally, I am not a big fan of too much narration, as any adventure rarely stays on the rails for long so NPCs might change plans or strategies or even loyalties depending on what happens.

The idea of keeping narrative and in character material in boxes is mostly for convenience. When running an adventure, sometimes you have to flip through pages quickly especially if things go sideways, which they do. Also, those neat little boxes work as subconscious reference points, "The section I need is on the page with the little box on the lower left" sort of thing. This is just an aesthetic preference though. I don't like too much clutter in the game and pages of narrative elements often get ignored unless I am paying particular attention to the lore of the setting. Mostly I want to be able to quickly pick out important information.

One place where a more narrative tone may work is in actual descriptions of people, places and things. You can still have in character descriptive bounded boxes as well as other crucial information for the DM. Including small samples of dialogue could work with NPCs, especially important ones like Nobles and Royalty who may have certain mannerisms that make them memorable. Enough information should be there so the DM can represent them appropriately. Not all NPCs need to be fleshed out, there's no reason to have minimal descriptions on minor ones. They'll get fleshed out if they need to be.

Really though, to me a game product is primarily an information dump and framework on which to hang your games. A module/adventure is something that you plug into it, which is what they have always been. First and foremost the information the DM/GM needs to run that setting and/or adventure should be easy to navigate. As for writing style, I think the best thing to do is to write how you speak, as if you were trying to explain it to someone in as few words possible because you want to start playing soon.

If it was me, I'd just write everything that comes to mind, often in bullet points. The creative process is meant to be creative, so just write what you want. It's the editing part that's brutal. I dunno. That's just my opinion. I buy storygames too so your mileage may vary.