Oceania 2084 draft- Orwellian dystopia - Looking for feedback

Hello, dear forum.
Since autumn 2021 I have been writing on (and testing) a system meant to be a TTRPG adaption of George Orwell's book Nineteen Eighty-Four.
The most recent draft of the game system can be found here: Oceania 2084 by Jocher Symbolic Systems


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What is the game?
The game is based on the book "Nineteen Eighty-four" written by George Orwell. It is fundamentally about resistance to totalitarian governments, against overwhelming odds.

The core of the game is an asymmetrical adversarial game, with player characters on one side of the conflict and one player taking the role of "Big Brother" effectively being the antagonist of the game. As the game progresses the narrative authority moves back and forth between the character players and the big brother player. The actions of one side enable actions from the other side, according to a rule-based point system. There is no traditional conflict resolution system, where you roll a die to achieve something. Instead, the game is balanced through a system of risk and reward and strategic usage of resources, the question is not if you succeed in doing something but if you get noticed doing it. This doesn't mean that you will not be rolling dice, there are a lot of situations and rules that use and rely on die rolling.

The game is inspired by rogue-likes, Vampire the Masquerade, PbtA, A Thousand Year Old Vampire, and Paranoia among other things.

The update contains (on a "pay what you want" basis):
  • The compendium of rules (including the playbook for Proles and the playbook for Big Brother).
  • The Player Character sheet.
  • The embryo of a Spotify playlist that sets the mood.
The project status:
The rules are very much a draft, it contains unbalanced and almost untested game mechanics. It is, however, playable and enjoyable. The rules as of now are also almost completely devoid of any lore, or any flavor texts (besides what is included in the rules descriptions and in the mechanics of the game). Internal playtesting has begun and has started off on a positive note. If you want to be a part of playtesting in a more dedicated way send an email to jochergames@gmail.com.

It might also be interesting to know that I have partnered up with the brilliant mind of Adam Mayes (no, not the murderer/kidnapper, the game designer @mbhulo on Twitter).

I hope that you will enjoy reading through (or playing through) what we have come up with so far and that you'll let us know what you think!
Any type of feedback is highly appreciated!
 

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Orwellian TTRPG - Oceania 2084 - Visual Aesthetic first draft​


Hi everyone! I've spent 2 days working on a mockup of the visual aesthetic that I've imagined for a while now. The design has been applied to the first chapter of the rules. There are still some minor changes I need to do before this could be considered a final version of the first chapter but at least it captures the vibe I'm after. Kind of a high-fashion, dystopic collection of redacted government documents.

Page 1. Title page: The concrete texture will be changed to something similar but with a little more intentionality behind contrast and dynamics.
Post image

Page 2-3: A mood setting spread, with a diegetic text. This is a collage of heavily edited found images.
Post image

Page 4-5: This spread is the first spread of the book where rules are starting to get introduced. It is still mostly designed to give off a mood. I think it is a bit busy in places, to the degree that it affects legibility, but no major changes are to be expected.
Post image

Page 6-7: Toning down the visuals a bit, making the text step even more into the spotlight. Very happy with the random table.
Post image

Page 8-9: I might decrease the tilt angle on the table on the right page.
Post image

Page 10-11: I designed logos for each of the ministries to bring them into the "free market, liberal democracy" dystopia. I'm especially happy with MiniPax and MiniPlenty. I increased the number of scribbles in this one for the sake of the rhythm of the pages.
Post image

Page 12-13: This spread is intentionally left clean, it is both a reflection on what happens after MiniTrue has been engaged to clean up reality and as a transition to the final spread.
Post image

Page 14-15: Final spread of the chapter. I took the photo during a visit to Denmark, it is a stair in a subway station. It is in essence a metaphor for "The Hope", a stair upwards, hard to climb, but leading to better places.
Post image

So, that's all, I'd love to hear what you think. What vibes does this give you? How does it make you feel?
 

Eyes of Nine

Everything's Fine

Orwellian TTRPG - Oceania 2084 - Visual Aesthetic first draft​


Hi everyone! I've spent 2 days working on a mockup of the visual aesthetic that I've imagined for a while now. The design has been applied to the first chapter of the rules. There are still some minor changes I need to do before this could be considered a final version of the first chapter but at least it captures the vibe I'm after. Kind of a high-fashion, dystopic collection of redacted government documents.

Page 1. Title page: The concrete texture will be changed to something similar but with a little more intentionality behind contrast and dynamics.
Post image

Page 2-3: A mood setting spread, with a diegetic text. This is a collage of heavily edited found images.
Post image

Page 4-5: This spread is the first spread of the book where rules are starting to get introduced. It is still mostly designed to give off a mood. I think it is a bit busy in places, to the degree that it affects legibility, but no major changes are to be expected.
Post image

Page 6-7: Toning down the visuals a bit, making the text step even more into the spotlight. Very happy with the random table.
Post image

Page 8-9: I might decrease the tilt angle on the table on the right page.
Post image

Page 10-11: I designed logos for each of the ministries to bring them into the "free market, liberal democracy" dystopia. I'm especially happy with MiniPax and MiniPlenty. I increased the number of scribbles in this one for the sake of the rhythm of the pages.
Post image

Page 12-13: This spread is intentionally left clean, it is both a reflection on what happens after MiniTrue has been engaged to clean up reality and as a transition to the final spread.
Post image

Page 14-15: Final spread of the chapter. I took the photo during a visit to Denmark, it is a stair in a subway station. It is in essence a metaphor for "The Hope", a stair upwards, hard to climb, but leading to better places.
Post image

So, that's all, I'd love to hear what you think. What vibes does this give you? How does it make you feel?
Looks freaking great at a glance - if I saw this in bookstore, I'd give it a deeper read. In a zoom right now; but will try to review in a bit and if I have any will provide more detailed feedback
 

aramis erak

Legend
I find the layout mockup above to be very hard to read; the redaction markings especially annoying. I'm also the stick in the mud who hates seeing tables rotated.

the core mechanic in the DL seems unclear.
 

Eyes of Nine

Everything's Fine

Orwellian TTRPG - Oceania 2084 - Visual Aesthetic first draft​


Hi everyone! I've spent 2 days working on a mockup of the visual aesthetic that I've imagined for a while now. The design has been applied to the first chapter of the rules. There are still some minor changes I need to do before this could be considered a final version of the first chapter but at least it captures the vibe I'm after. Kind of a high-fashion, dystopic collection of redacted government documents.

Page 1. Title page: The concrete texture will be changed to something similar but with a little more intentionality behind contrast and dynamics.
Post image

Page 2-3: A mood setting spread, with a diegetic text. This is a collage of heavily edited found images.
Post image

Page 4-5: This spread is the first spread of the book where rules are starting to get introduced. It is still mostly designed to give off a mood. I think it is a bit busy in places, to the degree that it affects legibility, but no major changes are to be expected.
Post image

Page 6-7: Toning down the visuals a bit, making the text step even more into the spotlight. Very happy with the random table.
Post image

Page 8-9: I might decrease the tilt angle on the table on the right page.
Post image

Page 10-11: I designed logos for each of the ministries to bring them into the "free market, liberal democracy" dystopia. I'm especially happy with MiniPax and MiniPlenty. I increased the number of scribbles in this one for the sake of the rhythm of the pages.
Post image

Page 12-13: This spread is intentionally left clean, it is both a reflection on what happens after MiniTrue has been engaged to clean up reality and as a transition to the final spread.
Post image

Page 14-15: Final spread of the chapter. I took the photo during a visit to Denmark, it is a stair in a subway station. It is in essence a metaphor for "The Hope", a stair upwards, hard to climb, but leading to better places.
Post image

So, that's all, I'd love to hear what you think. What vibes does this give you? How does it make you feel?
On the first page, where it's most busy, the actual game text is a bit overwhelmed, I'd use a heavier font and maybe a bit larger. In fact, I'd make the font larger across the board for the game text (except the Orwell quotes - they should stay the same or even be a lighter font)

Otherwise, still think this looks great to me
 


Eyes of Nine

Everything's Fine
Don't think that's true...
Ah, you did say in US and indeed, it's for 95 years after 1949, so 2044

 

Autumnal

Bruce Baugh, Writer of Fortune
The US term is 95 years...um, as that article points out.

Any US publisher other than Houghton Mifflin that itches to embark on an Orwell spree will have to wait until 2030, when Burmese Days, the first of Orwell’s books to be published in the US, breaks the 95-year barrier. And eager UK publishers will have to exercise a certain amount of care. The distinguished Orwell scholar Professor Peter Davison fathered new editions of the six novels back in the mid-1980s. No one can reproduce these as the copyright in them is currently held by Penguin Random House. Aspiring reissuers, including myself, have had to go back to the texts of the standard editions published in the late 1940s, or in the case of A Clergyman’s Daughter and Keep the Aspidistra Flying, both of which Orwell detested so much – he described the former as “bollox” – that he refused to have them reprinted in his lifetime, to the originals of, respectively, 1935 and 1936.

 

Autumnal

Bruce Baugh, Writer of Fortune
Some additional details, in particular the protected status of Big Brother.

 

On the first page, where it's most busy, the actual game text is a bit overwhelmed, I'd use a heavier font and maybe a bit larger. In fact, I'd make the font larger across the board for the game text (except the Orwell quotes - they should stay the same or even be a lighter font)

Otherwise, still think this looks great to me
I hear you, there will def be some more minor tweaks all over the place!
 

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