Lately, I've started having that terrible urge -- the one that all gamers who are very interested in design probably face at one point or another. I've been wanting to design my own RPG.
I know, I know. You're probably shouting at your monitor or your cell phone right now. Don't do it! Knock it off! Take that unexamined notion, pull it out of your brain, sit that nonsense down on the ground, and move quickly in the opposite direction like a hiker who's encountered an angry bobcat on a backwoods trail!
And perhaps I should. It's arguable that we're living in the time of Peak RPGs. It's easier than every to find and purchase RPGs. There's a new game dropping every few days on Kickstarter. As I recently heard it stated by Ken Hite and Robin Laws in an older episode of their excellent podcast (I'll try to find the specific episode and put a link in here), if you find yourself wanting to design a new RPG, you should ask yourself if it's really necessary. With so many variations of play out there, can there really be anything new under this polyhedral sun? Is there already something out there that does what you want your new game to do? In short: why create clutter?
And so this gives me pause. Causes me to pump the intellectual brakes of my...ehh, brain-car...and slow down a little, if not stop entirely. I know that, for me, creating an RPG would be my way of testing and improving my design skills, as well as a way of contributing something to a community with which I feel a great affiliation. I suspect this is the case for a lot of people who feel this urge welling up within them. But perhaps there is a better way to begin. Another way to meet these honorable goals without undertaking the mythical labor of creating an entire RPG. Perhaps, before attempting to run, I should learn to effectively crawl.
One way, certainly, is to write and (try to) sell a scenario/adventure for an existing, established system. And, certainly, this is the smartest way to get oneself experience with effective writing and editing for gaming. I certainly intend to try this -- and I'll follow up on this more in a future post.
Another option is to try remixing. By this, I mean something more than just creating some basic house rules for an existing RPG system, a few peripheral details to surround an established core. When I say remixing, I mean taking an existing system and significantly altering it through a process of simultaneous revision and expansion. And I think I've found an excellent way to try this out. I'm taking an RPG, the content of which is largely released under an open gaming license (OGL), revising the existing content (removing elements and mechanics that I feel don't work well, and also heavily editing the text of the rule book), and then adding in replacement elements/mechanics or entirely new elements/mechanics. Basically, rather than starting by creating something totally new that the RPG world may neither want nor need, I'm going to develop my skills by refining something that's already a part of the continuum. As it was, there was something about this existing game that really snared my attention, so I feel that I'm on a good course for the moment. Once I complete the revisions, I'll likely try running a few one-shot, pickup games with those in my gaming groups to try out the changes.
Of course, I know that I'll still fiddle with some brainstorming for my original RPG, as well. So there might be a few posts here and there in which I start to sketch out a framework for it. At the very least, perhaps some brave souls who stumble across the posts will chastise me in the comments for my poor impulse control. Or, you know, send me an angry bobcat in the mail or something.
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