So, despite the fact that I've been trying really hard not to think about RPGs or gaming for the whole week, something's pissing me off in the back of my mind and won't shut up. So I'm going to talk about it in the hopes that it'll go away for a bit.
I made a post last week about GMs and authority and stuff when I should have been working on Umläut. It was fun and talking about it with Joe on Saturday and something he said really set me thinking about the whole thing. Kinda cemented what I was already thinking and clarified where I think I want to take a new project.
The up shot is this:
I like Savage Worlds because the way it works makes it easy for me (as a GM with 20 years experience) to run fun games.
Savage Worlds does not make the games fun, but as a system it makes it very easy for me (as GM) to work with the players to make the game fun. But the thing is, you can run it without that negotiation and without the interplay between GM and players which I have in my games.
So what I'm thinking is, let's formalise that negotiation into the game's system and text. Lets make it so that the GM has to get player buy in for everything. And lets have a task resolution system with intent built in, rather than a conflict resolution system. Lets have a character sheet built almost entirely from flags and rules which prevent the story from ending until every flag has been used so that the players get what they want every session without relying on the GM too much.
And lets see if it works.
An intriguing idea and
Submitted by Iain McAllister on Tue, 04/12/2007 - 17:47.
An intriguing idea and certainly where a lot of indie design seems to be going, making sure that each player gets what they want from the game.
A lot of my current projects are incoporating ideas of short set-up time, regulating GM and player power etc. MJ went some way towards this but is by no means by Magnus Opus on the subject. Reel Adventures has no character creation, as it is all done in the game itself.
Having played in Inspectres on sunday I know also want to make sure that all my setup in forthcoming games is as fun as the game itself. The interview thing was awesome if a bit flawed when it came to writing down numbers.
Cheers
Iain
Mob Justice now available!
'The Giant Brain':Small games, big ideas.
Do away with the GM...join us, join us
Submitted by JoE PrincE on Tue, 04/12/2007 - 20:21.
I like where you're going with this Rich. Is it for any game in particular or just an amorphous idea at the moment?
[ Also I'll get those playtest packs to you ASAP Rich, my home inernet was jiggered today, at work now ;) ]
+++
JoE
+++
Prince of Darkness Games
Rock N' Role-Play....
Indeed!
Submitted by Joe Murphy on Tue, 04/12/2007 - 21:05.
Having played in Inspectres on sunday I know also want to make sure that all my setup in forthcoming games is as fun as the game itself.
That is good, isn't it? Games like DRYH have an interesting setup, Contenders asks good questions, but neither are exactly *joyous*. I'd like to see a game where setup was less chore or obstacle, and more fun in and of itself.
(getting rid of setup works well too)
Joe.
Been there, done that, sort of...
Submitted by Iain McAllister on Tue, 04/12/2007 - 21:18.
(getting rid of setup works well too)
Reel Adventures does this. I can send you a copy to look at if you want joe.
Cheers
Iain
Mob Justice now available!
'The Giant Brain':Small games, big ideas.
Urban Mythos
Submitted by Rich Stokes on Wed, 05/12/2007 - 17:26.
I like where you're going with this Rich. Is it for any game in particular or just an amorphous idea at the moment?
It's for the latest iteration of Urban Mythos, which I'd like to actually write a proper version of at some point.
It's my Tarot based heartbreaker. I fully expect to fail to design it and shelve the whole thing again for another couple of years. But it's going to be fun and interesting getting there. I mean, I've been working on it since about 1998 already...
So that's like...
Submitted by Tim Gray on Wed, 05/12/2007 - 19:56.
...shoggoths on the no. 37 bus then?
Too much like real life for me!
;)
Tim Gray
Silver Branch Games
www.silverbranch.co.uk
Something like that.
Submitted by Rich Stokes on Wed, 05/12/2007 - 22:12.
...shoggoths on the no. 37 bus then?
Heh, I like that.
One playtester described it as "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Wands of +3 Fireball". Someone else as "China Mieville's The Sweeney".
One of the themes is magic as a tool and something utterly normal and quite boring. So the Arcane made Mundane, if you like.