This post is part of a series examining my ideas for a new sci-fi/horror RPG, Red Shift.
One important point that I feel I should lay out, right up front, is that I've recently decided to forego writing the Red Shift RPG. After some introspection, I decided that the world probably doesn't need one more tabletop RPG that badly -- especially with the sheer number of them that are being released in recent years. Even if it had been functional (I hope that I could have ultimately guaranteed at least that much from my design work), it wouldn't have been original enough in a new or challenging way. As a good friend said to me, right now, there are a lot of rulesets out there that aren't strongly supported with adventures or settings. So why would I create one more? That said, I intend to continue this series of posts because I think sharing the design work that I did complete would be useful as part of the overall conversation on RPGs. Plus, it might prove useful to someone who is considering creating an RPG, at least to perhaps provoke some critical inspection. With that out of the way, let's proceed with the first topic...
Hopefully, at the core of any successful RPG is a decently running engine, some kind of resolution mechanic that introduces randomness into and elicits engagement with the game. There are already a number of highly popular and extremely effective systems out there -- as well as a number of less popular ones.
Showing posts with label red shift. Show all posts
Showing posts with label red shift. Show all posts
RPG R&D: Existential Questions
It seems it was, in many ways, inevitable. When you've turned a very particular corner in your gaming life and you make the decision to try your hand at designing an original RPG, one question is certain to arise: is it really worth it?
This is most definitely a well-trod path. In fact, I suspect that this is a path winding in close proximity to several other, similar paths within the same wood, all of them converging at the aforementioned corner. In the same way that most people reach a point in their lives when they question if they've made the right choice regarding career path, the RPG game designer almost certainly will -- and definitely should -- call up the specter of doubt to haunt their project. There are, after all, a lot of RPGs out there that bear a much-more-than-passing resemblance to one another.
Originally, I had the idea that I would make an augmented version of an existing RPG, take something that I felt had promise and expand or edit some of the rules, perhaps retool the setting a bit. There was a sci-fi game I found that, at first, seemed right for this treatment. But as I went along, I started to realize that it would really work better if I started from scratch and worked from the ground up. Thus, Red Shift was born.
This is most definitely a well-trod path. In fact, I suspect that this is a path winding in close proximity to several other, similar paths within the same wood, all of them converging at the aforementioned corner. In the same way that most people reach a point in their lives when they question if they've made the right choice regarding career path, the RPG game designer almost certainly will -- and definitely should -- call up the specter of doubt to haunt their project. There are, after all, a lot of RPGs out there that bear a much-more-than-passing resemblance to one another.
Originally, I had the idea that I would make an augmented version of an existing RPG, take something that I felt had promise and expand or edit some of the rules, perhaps retool the setting a bit. There was a sci-fi game I found that, at first, seemed right for this treatment. But as I went along, I started to realize that it would really work better if I started from scratch and worked from the ground up. Thus, Red Shift was born.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)