Saturday, January 1, 2011

The Robber's Tale

Game designer, Emily Care Boss, is presenting a rpg design challenge: write a role-playing game that can be played alone.

http://rpgsolitairechallenge.blogspot.com/2010/12/rpg-solitaire-challenge.html

I had a couple little ideas flitting around my head before the formal event was posted.

The first was a character creation game where using items around you as story elements or influences, create a character's life story.

Another idea cropped up in conversation with The Wednesday Night Crew. I was always entertained by fitting items in a character's bag in online and computer RPGs. It was a solitaire style game I could play while waiting around in WoW: reorganizing my junk in all my bags.

Anyway, the detailed challenges in Emily's competition have been posted. My two ideas have instantly merged.

Using the 'Stuff in Your Domicile' & 'Pencil & Paper' challenges

The Robber's Tale

Core idea: I took a journey and picked up loot on the way.

Game requirements: Two pieces of equally sized paper and a pencil. One sheet is the empty pack, the other sheet will be the story.

The loot I'm collecting is fantasy/sci-fi versions of the stuff in my house (office, room).

As I fit the stuff in my bag I draw it on one sheet of paper. Then I write a sentence or two on the other sheet, telling the tale of each item and how it was collected.

**********


First game, no real rules other than what's above. I'm using a small note pad and pencil. I'm sitting in a living room after a New Year's Eve party. Two of my friends are sleeping in here, one on the sofa another on a deflating air mattress. There's casual party wreckage around the room.

I decided on two introductory sentences, followed by 2 sentences per item.



I'm at a point where the story text meets the drawn images. This feels like a good trigger for the "getaway".

5 comments:

Emily Boss said...

I like the meeting of text and drawing as a plot trigger. I wonder how you will find out more about the Robber? When you played, did you have moments where you weren't sure what to do?

GuyintheBlackHat said...

This one sounds like a "drop of the hat" sorta game. I approve!

Joe said...

I'm a bit of an artist myself, and I've been trying to combine art creation and rpgs for a while. Another drawing type rpg was made at http://www.apedogs.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=158 Maybe there's some bits you might use?

Noam said...

I'd like to echo what Emily said. It seems like a great imaginative exercise. Especially in regards to teaching/fostering creative skills.

I'd like to have a better scan/AP of the story/drawing that you produced. I think with this game you'll really need to lead by example. The rules are (delightfully, IMO) spartan so the AP will have to be really strong.

Emily Boss said...

I hope you submit this! This seems so simple and lovely. Good luck, Joanna!