The Great Conjunction (RPG DESIGN CONTEST)

[Jack7]

* Mostly early Alfred Hitchcock films and episodes of The Prisoner.

You can't go wrong with the Prisoner or most Hitchcock.

 

[Wik]

I've been working on mine a lot today, and I think it's become 50% more playable in the last 24 hours.

My plan is to post a play-tested version with better-written rules an a lot more content by April 1st; I think setting a public deadline will help get me to do it.

The biggest lesson I got from this? Don't procrastinate! Too bad I already knew that.

Yeah, I'm finding some huge errors in my game already. I don't like the Damage System (AT ALL), and I've begun toying around with an exploding die damage mechanic. My big problem is that my Hit Point/ Wound system doesn't mesh well with the numbers I've given in some major ways.

regarding procrastination - I'm just as guilty. So very guilty.

***

While people are still coming here, what are the thoughts on doing this again in a few months time, only with a shorter product and a shorter deadline? I was thinking it'd be fun to do a judgeless one, with the entrants putting in a smaller product (ie, just basic rules and chargen), and putting them up for votes - every week, there'd be a new "supplement" to this core game that'd have to be written up, and a new round of voting.

It'd be the same length of time overall, but it'd be something that would prevent us from really procrastinating. Also, if we put up a list of themes and whatnot, and had them voted for, we could run this whole thing without a judge.

 

[Jack7]

While people are still coming here, what are the thoughts on doing this again in a few months time, only with a shorter product and a shorter deadline? I was thinking it'd be fun to do a judgeless one, with the entrants putting in a smaller product (ie, just basic rules and chargen), and putting them up for votes - every week, there'd be a new "supplement" to this core game that'd have to be written up, and a new round of voting.

It'd be the same length of time overall, but it'd be something that would prevent us from really procrastinating. Also, if we put up a list of themes and whatnot, and had them voted for, we could run this whole thing without a judge.

I'm not opposed to it at all, though I'm still working on the first one as it turned out to personally be a much larger project than I had originally imagined.

In this next round Wik are you talking about creating "supplements" to this project just completed, or a whole new and different "core game." It was kinda hard to tell exactly from your phrasing.

I don't mind producing supplementary works because of the fact that I think a lot of the stuff I've read so far from others could be greatly, profitably, and very interestingly expanded upon. Plus I gotta lot of expansion work to do on my own work.

I'm also very much for an ongoing process and project of critique and improvement on what has already been produced. Critiquing the Conjunction.

I like to try and finish up one thing before moving on to another. Make the ship as tight as possible.

However I'm also not opposed in theory to creating a whole new work because I've got about six games I intend to eventually revise and standardize (using the same basic design parameters and "system" if you will, but varying in the details and in setting and time-frame and genre) that I can work in my spare time.

So either way, I'm game to the game.

 

[EP]

YWhile people are still coming here, what are the thoughts on doing this again in a few months time, only with a shorter product and a shorter deadline?

I've already thought about continuing on with Ignition regardless. There's still much to be done and I've already come up with some new revisions to step it up a notch, but doing so through the Conjunction would make sense. The more input, the better.

 

[Wik]

Y'know, I didn't even think about continuing what we've done here, but that would be a better idea. And it'd help keep me going on my current work. But, if we did that, I wouldn't mind giving newcomers a chance to work on their own games beforehand, so that we could get more blood.

Or, we could just run this between us, each adding more and more through the "mini-challenges" we set for ourselves (each week or two-week period).

Some things ("mini-sourcebooks") I'd want to add to Awakening:

1) A "Player's Option" book with more skills and a refined psychic power system.
2) a "gear" book, with prices for items and expanded barter rules.
3) More monsters. A lot more. Trust me, I have ideas.
4) An "adventures" booklet, built more like Dungeon Delve than a single module.
5) A "DMG" of sorts.

 

[EP]

How about something simpler like a second draft? Work out the kinks from this round, style it up a bit, and submit something with more depth. Expand the pages to 70 and allow us fine tune what's been done before? I know Ignition could definitely benefit from that.

 

[Jack7]

1. But, if we did that, I wouldn't mind giving newcomers a chance to work on their own games beforehand, so that we could get more blood.

2. Or, we could just run this between us, each adding more and more through the "mini-challenges" we set for ourselves (each week or two-week period).

3. How about something simpler like a second draft? Work out the kinks from this round, style it up a bit, and submit something with more depth. Expand the pages to 70 and allow us fine tune what's been done before? I know Ignition could definitely benefit from that.

I actually like all three of those ideas.

 

[Abisashi]

I actually like all three of those ideas.

They all seem good to me, though we should definitely do second drafts first (whether or not it is a formal goal) because there are some things in my game (Tarot Arcana) that are never explained which are rather important in order to play the game.

Oops

 

[Jack7]

They all seem good to me, though we should definitely do second drafts first (whether or not it is a formal goal) because there are some things in my game (Tarot Arcana) that are never explained which are rather important in order to play the game.

I agree that for most of you some order of procedure between 2 and 3 might be best (as for me I'm still working on my project, though it is well over 70 pages by now), but for newcomers they could work their initial project while we're working ours, and then catch-up later if they are interested.

They don't have to be excluded, they'll just be working a different part of their own project and a different timeline (though a parallel one) than we are.

 

[RandomCitizenX]

I like the idea of mini challenges, but one thing we may want to consider is maybe just upping the page count on the existing projects and seeing what we could fit in. (I know I didn't finish my project in time, but when I was working on it there were several options I had to scrap in design due to limited space)