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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tun Kai Poh" data-source="post: 8477748" data-attributes="member: 6761960">Sturgeon's Law applies to roleplaying games, too. There's a lot of crap on DrivethruRPG too, and that's true of games in print, too. A lot of Kickstarted games that are over-padded with 500 hundred pages of unnecessary prose, which sort of brings us back around to this topic.Itch.io offers another venue for creators from LatAm and RPGSEA, and while you won't find some games to be to your taste, I have seen a lot more creativity and innovation on itch.io in the last two and a half years than I have from mainstream creators in the thirty-three years before that.I've read a lot of RPGs. I've actually played or run campaigns ofAD&DAdvanced Fighting FantasyD&D Basic through Companion SetsGhostbusters 1eTwilight: 2000 1eMiddle-Earth RoleplayingFeng Shui 1eD&D 3e-5eRobotechHeavy Gear 1e-3eShadowrun 2e-5eJovian ChroniclesCall of Cthulhu 5eVampire: The Masquerade (many editions)Legend of the Five Rings (many editions)Bubblegum CrisisThe Babylon ProjectMarvel Super HeroesMarvel Super Heroes Adventure Game (SAGA System)Aeon TrinityAbberantUsagi Yojimbo (Fuzion edition)Castle FalkensteinDeadlands 1eBlue Planet 1e-2eUnknown Armies 1eStar Wars (West End Games, Wizards of the Coast and Fantasy Flight Games versions)GURPS 3rd EditionParanoia XPExalted 1e-2eAmberTraveller (Mongoose)Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2e-3eMutants & Masterminds 3eThe Batman RPG (Mayfair)RiftsPathfinder 1eSavage Worlds 1eEclipse Phase 1eMillenium's EndDogs in the VineyardStormbringer 5eBliss StageWeapons of the GodsCthulhutechLord of the Rings (Decipher)Star Trek (Decipher)Red StarTrail of CthulhuFiasco 1eNight's Black AgentsDoctor Who 1eGolden Sky StoriesHillfolk13th AgeWarbirdsNight WitchesThe WarrenDo: Fate of the Flying TempleThe VeilUrban Shadows 1eCthulhu Dark (Kickstarter Edition)Ghost LinesBlades in the DarkCoriolisand the amount of creativity and innovation has only increased, not decreased, over the time that I have spent in this hobby. The itch explosion happened after I got into Blades in the Dark.Five of the most innovative games I've ever played and run (and I'd put them right up with the best of the list above, like Trail of Cthulhu and Blades in the Dark) didn't come from traditional publishing at all, they came from self-publishing and Kickstarters by new companies. Some of them are ONLY on itch.io. And they all came out in the last 5 years.Beyond the Fence, Below the GraveBlackoutTrophy (the original version, not the KS one)Ghost OrbitLancerApart from Lancer, these games are all under 100 pages as well, and they use their word count well.All the new publishing venues, both digital and print-on-demand, have allowed people from my side of the world to actually market and sell games that are based on their cultures and lived experiences. Different, interesting experiences. Malay, Chinese, Filipino, Singaporean, Brazillian, and more from the Global South. I know a higher proportion of queer and trans creators who have entered the field in the last few years than in the previous 30.There are ingenious new designers like this list of 10. I'm especially fond of the work of Jammi Nedjadi, Riley Rethal, makapatag and Jay Dragon.[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.cbr.com/indie-tabletop-rpg-designers-2022/[/URL]And here's another best-of-year list:[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.polygon.com/22812103/best-indie-ttrpg-2021[/URL]</blockquote>

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