I’ve thought for a while now that developing game concepts based on a random music playlist could lead to a useful creative exercise and a fun article. So I’ve grabbed five songs at random (but taken from my 4- and 5-star songs so I definitely know the content), ran with the first ideas they gave me, determined which type of tabletop game best suited the idea, and wrote a brief description. I’ll quote the songs when necessary to show what inspired me in them.
Origins 2010: “Game Design is Mind Control” Seminar
During Origins 2010, I dropped by a packed seminar run by Luke Crane and Jared Sorensen. Luke Crane is the designer of Burning Wheel and Mouse Guard RPGs, of which we (mainly ChattyDM) have spoken of on many occasions. Jared Sorensen is the game designer behind a number of games including Action Castle and the […]
4th Power Project: Classes, Part 3 (Other Powers)
The beginnings of some at-will powers were posted last week– not all of them by any means, but I figured it was a start. Now as I mentioned then, at-will powers should come up fairly often, and be the stand-bys. The other powers are Per Scene (formerly Per Encounter) and Per Session (formerly Per Day.) […]
Review: Lord of the Rings Risk – Trilogy Edition
Overview Lord of the Rings Risk: Trilogy Edition, a board game by Hasbro and Parker Brothers released in 2003, takes the classic game of Risk and transports it into Tolkien’s Middle Earth. In addition to the change of theme, the game builds on the classic Risk mold by adding several new elements – presenting new […]
I Am A Liberal Gamer
I’m a big proponent of change in game design. If something isn’t working, don’t just patch it, teardown and rebuild. This puts me in opposition to what I will respectfully call the “Conservative Gamer” contingent, who prefer that games preserve much of their makeup from edition to edition. But, that’s not for me. I prefer to see innovation in game design.
4e Lite
I think you could take 4e and remove the powers system for a “rules-lighter” experience. Here’s roughly how it would go:
‘The Magic Bullet for Publication’ by Wolfgang Baur
Kobold Quarterly was kind enough to offer up a chapter from The Kobold Guide to Game Design Volume II: How to Pitch, Playtest, and Publish by Wolfgang Baur, presented by Open Design. I was given the choice between two chapters and decided to leave it to the best decision maker, and rolled a d20. Suprisingly it came up a 20, and so I went with the “high” option which I’m very happy with, titled “The Magic Bullet for Publication”.
How to Compare Birds to Fish
A common topic has come up several times throughout various discussions that has been wracking my brain lately. The discussions it has been most prevalent in are ones that pertain to game design, and specifically tabletop games or computer games. About two days ago a reader commented on my post which was mostly ranting about […]
So what IS D&D anyway?
An interesting meme has seemed to pop up among those who dislike where D&D 4e headed. It’s one simple declaration: This is not D&D. I’ve touched on this idea before: in many people’s minds, there’s one definition of what a product/line IS. Whether this is determined by the original creator, the fans, or whomever happens […]
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