I have recently, in my designs, been thinking of WHY the mechanics are there. What makes them contribute to the feel of the game? This is something that has always been in the back of my mind and in my designs, but I have never really consciously thought about it. What in the Samurai RPG reflects the feel of being a sword wielding warrior?
If you have seen the movie 'Yojimbo' by Akira Kurosawa, you know that the fights last for merely seconds, if not faster. The good ones at least. I wanted to reflect that in the design of the Samurai RPG so speed was a key factor in combat. In fact, the entire game is created around the concept of impossibly quick combat.
As I look back on my few reviews on here, I see that I have missed the chance to reflect on how the mechanics support the concept. I shall attempt to redeem myself of this shortage in the future.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
One Year Later...
Well, this is rather embarrassing. How is it that I haven't updated this blog?
Here is the deal with my psyche. I have trouble focusing. A lot. My mind goes at a billion miles an hour. My fiance sometimes catches me replying to a question that had not been asked as I had already carried on a conversation in my head in the expanse of a minute. This problem carries over to my Game Designing:
The Samurai RPG. Forgotten.
The ABC Challenge. Forgotten.
I have gone all over the place design wise. I have created 1.90 playtestable games, minimum. I am currently attempting to recreate a Star Trek RPG that holds the feel of the action and politics of the show. I am also looking into writing for Dungeon/Dragon magazines. Waiting to here back from them. I can't talk about that particular project until I am either denied or published.
For now, check out this AWESOME link. It is basically CafePress for game designers.
Here is the deal with my psyche. I have trouble focusing. A lot. My mind goes at a billion miles an hour. My fiance sometimes catches me replying to a question that had not been asked as I had already carried on a conversation in my head in the expanse of a minute. This problem carries over to my Game Designing:
The Samurai RPG. Forgotten.
The ABC Challenge. Forgotten.
I have gone all over the place design wise. I have created 1.90 playtestable games, minimum. I am currently attempting to recreate a Star Trek RPG that holds the feel of the action and politics of the show. I am also looking into writing for Dungeon/Dragon magazines. Waiting to here back from them. I can't talk about that particular project until I am either denied or published.
For now, check out this AWESOME link. It is basically CafePress for game designers.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Alphabet Games: "C" part 2
Playtesting actually occurred and they liked it. As I predicted, they were asking for a random event type card. For example: You might have someone play a temporary event card on you claiming that the customer is impatient, giving you a minus to the roll. Or, you can draw a card stating that on your next turn such and such will happen.
Things have been slow as of late in the gaming world. The job that currently supports me is weighing me down. I might need to suck it up and go into Animation. Now if only I can remember how to draw.
Things have been slow as of late in the gaming world. The job that currently supports me is weighing me down. I might need to suck it up and go into Animation. Now if only I can remember how to draw.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
A quick look at the Amazing Engine...
I seem to have a knack of collecting non-digital games few people have heard of (or try to forget). This has brought me many gems and, so far, only one real flop.
My most recent acquisition is the Amazing Engine by David "Zeb" Cook and the Universe Book for the game called "For Faerie, Queen, and Country" published by TSR from '93 to '94. What drew me to it was the Universe Book. "For Faerie, Queen, and Country"? Seriously? AWESOME!
The system itself assumes that you will be jumping in between the different universes. Each player has a base set of stats. They carry this set to each universe and make changes from the minor stats depending on each character. This is interesting, but I am still iffy on this aspect of the game. Another thing I am still iffy on is that the formulas for creating the Health and Stamina stats change from universe to universe and are only printed in their respected Universe Book.
What I loved, however, was the way the Magic in "For Faerie, Queen, and Country" worked. Each spell is structured uniquely like a sentence. You name the Caster (which is most likely yourself unless you are creating a magic item) then the Action, the Target, the Effect, and any Conditions and/or Taboos. As an example: "I transform you into a pig until you drink from a cup of wine on the night of a full moon." Everything adds together to create the difficulty level of the spell.
My most recent acquisition is the Amazing Engine by David "Zeb" Cook and the Universe Book for the game called "For Faerie, Queen, and Country" published by TSR from '93 to '94. What drew me to it was the Universe Book. "For Faerie, Queen, and Country"? Seriously? AWESOME!
The system itself assumes that you will be jumping in between the different universes. Each player has a base set of stats. They carry this set to each universe and make changes from the minor stats depending on each character. This is interesting, but I am still iffy on this aspect of the game. Another thing I am still iffy on is that the formulas for creating the Health and Stamina stats change from universe to universe and are only printed in their respected Universe Book.
What I loved, however, was the way the Magic in "For Faerie, Queen, and Country" worked. Each spell is structured uniquely like a sentence. You name the Caster (which is most likely yourself unless you are creating a magic item) then the Action, the Target, the Effect, and any Conditions and/or Taboos. As an example: "I transform you into a pig until you drink from a cup of wine on the night of a full moon." Everything adds together to create the difficulty level of the spell.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Alphabet Games: "C"
C stands for "Cashier".
I work at a local branch of a large corporate retail store as a cashier. Needless to say, I eventually caved into creating a cashier based game. It has yet to go into play testing but that is only because I am not done creating all the assets yet.
Cashier is a card game where each player takes the role of a cashier. They have to bag a certain number of items successfully in order to win. Each item comes with its own bagging speed score. You have to roll a six sided die to beat the score. Players can add modifiers to the rolls, be it theirs or someone else's, by playing Management cards on them in the forms of Promotions, which add to the roll, or Demotions, which subtract from the roll.
More to come once play testing is done.
I work at a local branch of a large corporate retail store as a cashier. Needless to say, I eventually caved into creating a cashier based game. It has yet to go into play testing but that is only because I am not done creating all the assets yet.
Cashier is a card game where each player takes the role of a cashier. They have to bag a certain number of items successfully in order to win. Each item comes with its own bagging speed score. You have to roll a six sided die to beat the score. Players can add modifiers to the rolls, be it theirs or someone else's, by playing Management cards on them in the forms of Promotions, which add to the roll, or Demotions, which subtract from the roll.
More to come once play testing is done.
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