Lacking Natural Simplicity (Posts about physical)https://tkurtbond.github.io/categories/physical.atom2024-01-23T18:49:33ZT. Kurt BondNikolaClassic Traveller: just the right sizehttps://tkurtbond.github.io/posts/2009/05/02/classic-traveller-just-the-right-size/2009-05-02T11:30:16-05:002009-05-02T11:30:16-05:00T. Kurt Bond<p>I like the physical design of the Classic Traveller books. The 8½×5½
stapled booklet is just the right size, physically, to read easily and
carry around, and it opens and lays flat, for easy reference. As far
as the information content, the physical constraints of the format
provides enough physical space to present a comprehensible amount of
information, without enough the temptation to pad the content with
irrelevancies.</p>
<p>I also like visual appearance of these books: the black covers of the
original books — with white text for the book title and subtitle, and red
text and a thick red line for the game title and publisher — were
stark, attractive, and stand out even today.</p>
<p>I gather, from comments from Steve Jackson Games, on the comic-book
sized booklets they printed for the <em>GURPS Traveller</em> line in the
early 2000s, that books of these form factors aren't cost effective
for traditional RPG publishers any more. That's a pity.</p>