Monday, September 19, 2011

[The Adventures of an RPG Game Design Noob: Part 1] Surprising Progress!

Progress is it's own reward and I'm seeing lots of it with the game I'm designing. I feel good about how it's shaping up and I like the direction I've decided to take it in. I'm still tossing around a few ideas for pacing mechanisms (look at me talking like a game designer!) and what actually constitutes "winning" the game. I mean winning as in how to end the game—not in the Charlie Sheen I AM, THEREFORE I WIN sense.

I guess I can thank my two hour daily commute for helping out with the game. The commute has given me plenty of time to listen to some excellent game design podcasts like: Master Plan, Narrative Control, Jennisodes and the latest one: New Style! I've picked up some valuable information already and sent out a few emails to some of the guests on the shows. I'm hoping they are as friendly and helpful as they sound on the podcast.

I'm surprisingly close to actually having something I can play test. With any luck I can round up some of the usual suspects this weekend and throw the first iteration of the rules set at them and see what survives. I still don't feel comfortable talking about the actual theme of the game yet but I will reveal this small piece of the intro blurb I've written: my game is a game about proud, boastful warriors overcoming mighty challenges and deadly rivalries to earn glory and prestige. It is a game about heroes becoming legends.

I've even started to think about art, layout and editing. I'm hoping to form some kind of collaborative network with some other designers/artists/gamers looking for the same thing. Maybe using some kind of work barter method, we'll see. There you have it, more to come soon!

Saturday, September 17, 2011

It has begun!

After kicking around the idea of creating my own RPG game for a while I finally started putting it together. I've written a short piece of fiction to set the theme of the game and serve as an intro for the book and now I'm hashing out the main rules. I've so many ideas bursting out of my head right now I'm trying to get a handle on them. I woke up this morning and my muse just kicked into overdrive.
I want to ride the streak for as long as I can so I'm trying to keep writing as much as possible, which includes updating this blog! I'm not sure how much I intend to document my process at this point but I know there will be some kind of  progress tracking. I need it for myself more than anything. I know I perform better when I see quantifiable milestones being achieved.
The first hurdle has been cleared, I've started it. Here's hoping I can cross the finish line!