It's been a while, but I'm not dead, been working on things, but an interesting concept came up in the GDG so I thought I should do a smidge of writing on it.
The Concept of "KISS" or Keep it Simple Stupid, which is a phrase often ascribed to large projects or invoking the concept of Occam's Razor to design in general. Overall the idea is to keep things simple and if there is an easier way of doing something, do it.
This lead to a further debate on the concept of bloat and when is a game "too big." So I'll throw my two-cents in.
KISS is a good thing depending on the system in question. My philosophy is to make the game you want to make, however applied to a broader sphere the core thing to note is cut what takes away or dilutes the base vision.
For example, consulting my chart to the side here, Average systems are your
D&D's, which encapsulate a section of games to do a particular "thing" more than anything else. D&D and its derivatives are about going on an adventure and slaying monsters, it's not going to make a Post-Apocalyptic Mad Max adventure very well (even though people still insist it can, it can't stop it). Focused systems (like most SPRUGs) are about doing one particular thing well, my example here is Pendragon, as it simulates "Arthurian Adventuring." Pendragon cannot run a D&D game at all, if you try to make it do that, it falls apart as the game is FOCUSED around making an Arthurian game. Finally, the Toolbox system tries to have everything it can under its umbrella, GURPS is THE Toolbox system as it emulates 99% of things to such a large degree it has to have mechanics for everything.
Bloat is added to a game when you add either redundant or useless mechanics that serve nothing outside "having them." For example, does D&D need Car Mechanics? NO! It's a game about going into goddamn dungeons and stabbing things to death. Does Pendragon need a section about ancient Chinese states? No! It's a game about Arthurian knights and the people who surround them, and I doubt any Pendragon game has travelled to the Far East. Does GURPS need mechanics about China and Cars? Yes! As its a game about trying to encapsulate everything, so if it's needed, it needs to be there.
So in short, when designing your game, keep in mind what you want to accomplish and make sure that the parts are all in service to the CORE IDEA. Making a car game? Cool, you don't need in-depth mechanics about Walrus Hunting. Making a mech game? Cool, do you really need those magic mechanics when there is no magic in setting though? Making a Japanese Idol management game? First off, do you need those combat mechanics, second, can I take a look?
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