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Ponderings

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I have manged to cobble together a two-page long summary of my game thus far. While it’s only understandable to me, it is solid enough for me to run a demo game I think and took dramatically less time then a fully detailed revision of the text. I have some pressure to prepare the scenario for a local convention (CanGames) and I want that session to be as enjoyable as possible.

By the way, I am pondering a quick little mini-review series of some of the indie RPG’s which I have picked up from the various DriveThruRPG disaster relief bundles but I am uncertain if there would be much of an audience. Anyone have opinions one way or the other on this? Highlighting the novel technologies and interesting implementations within the design community seems helpful but I am honestly uncertain if anyone would read the things. Can you let me know?

Cover Art presented

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Spark RPG Cover

Spark RPG Cover

Sorry for the slow update cycle of late; over the holidays I have been out and about which has slowed my development somewhat. That said I will have another fruitful playtest next Tuesday which should test some new design innovations. If things work out as well as I hope, I will finally have a solid base mechanical system to encourage the kinds of gameplay I am seeking.  I shall speak more if the playtest does go well.

The real reason for this post is to link to the cover art for Spark! Gabriel has done an excellent job in my opinion and I hope you agree.

I will hold off on doing the lettering and, well, the rest of the graphic design until I am dramatically further along in the design work.

Yeah, it’s premature to commission art but it also gave me a chance to solidify a standard artist contract template. Not to mention that Gabriel is remarkably good value for money. Check him out people!

Game Chef 2010 – A Sojourn in Alexandria

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Over the next 10 days I will be working on a Game Chef 2010 entry, where I am assembling a game focused on the aspects of “City”, “Desert” and “Edge”.     I hope to produce a playable game and if I am successful, I will post it for free download for all and sundry.

You will be able to track my progress over at The Forge where I have a A Thread.

See you there!

Links

The Game Chef 2010 Contest

The Day after GenCon

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I must declare my first GenCon an unbridled success.  My pilgrimage to gamer Mecca was fulfilling in more ways then one.   I was able to learn a great deal from seminars and workshops, play new games and spend far too much money in the dealer’s hall.  Above and beyond that, I was able to meet most of the luminaries of game design.

Because of GenCon, I will be making a few changes to the Spark RPG.  The first will be that the game will be designed to be understood by other people.  I know how radical this may sound, but the experts claim this is important for some reason and I bow to their judgement.  I am likely going to move away from my innovative insane print format for my game.   I have been inspired with a new method of creating settings, which promises to be a ton of fun for all involved.   Look for new great things in the future.

I also got an interview on Saturday afternoon on the NeonCon livestreaming coverage of GenCon.    This led me to foolishly declare that I will be releasing Spark next GenCon.  I will aspire to release the player content of the Spark RPG at that point and to run a series of games.  I will try to prepare a limited number of print copies of the player’s content and the demo scenario and sell them during the con as the Unpolished Edition.  If you have the unpolished edition, you will get the full print version at a discount.

A massive pile of indie RPG's

Spoils of GenCon and Inspiration for Game Design

Awesome Game Designers I Met

I met a ton of excellent game designers who I need to give a shout out to.   These include Jeff Tidball, Ryan Macklin (From the Internet),  Brennan Taylor, Paul Tevis, David A Hill Jr., Filamena Young, Jeremy Keller and more.   Go to their sites and buy their stuff people; you can clearly see that I have.

Recordings of a few seminars and an announcement will follow in subsequent posts.

GenCon Seminar Recordings

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I attended a series of seminars at GenCon and I am posting them with the permission of the speakers.   Feel free to link or copy any of the MP3’s.

1) Improvising: The GM’s Backup Plan by Patrick Benson

If you like his seminar, here are his haunts online.

2) Design an RPG in an Hour by Machine Age Productions where we designed an occult World War 2 game with a card-based resolution system.   The write up will be released under creative commons at Machine Age Productions.

3) World Building in an Hour by Machine Age Productions where we built a world where attachment is suffering, the sunlight is a precious dwindling resource and the world is a dream they seek to escape. The write up will be released under creative commons at Machine Age Productions.

4) The Intersection of Games and Stories by Matt Forbeck, Stan !, Jeff Tidball.   Excellent discussion on how stories may be told with Roleplaying games, board games, video games or in novel form.

5) Game Design is Mind Control by Luke Crane and Jared Sorensen and recorded over by the fine folks at The Walking Eye Podcast.