The first signs of Spring have arrived, and with it, updates!
Fetch My Blade
My friend and noted TTRPG video essayist, Aaron Voigt, recently covered Fetch My Blade. In the video essay, he talks about the trope of dogs with swords, and how the history of canine loyalty is used to create a game about unwavering devotion. Check the video out, as well as Aaron’s other amazing essays!
Chain×Link
I’ve been spending the last few weeks stewing on the current version of the game and reflecting on what works and what doesn’t. I’ve been fortunate enough to have some friends and mentors read through the game and provide feedback, which I will be incorporating in the coming months. Always in the back of my head, I’m thinking: simplify, simplify, simplify. To make sure I keep things moving, I’ve already submitted a playtest session at Gamehole Con this year, and I plan on playtesting it at Big Bad Con as well. Also, shout out to the folks who have rated the game in itch.io, despite the game still being in development! Get the playtest packet here!
Prequel
Thanks to James keeping us on a project schedule, Prequel continues to move through development. Last month, we made a big decision to combine the world-building/quest portion of the game with the final fight to make both more relevant. Each combat action is paired with a worldbuilding prompt/flashback scene that describes how the world fell under the reign of the Evil. It also solves the problem of going through a quest when the real draw of the game is the final, doomed, fight. I think it’s the right decision, but it also presents some new challenges (mainly: how do you allow space to worldbuild while keeping a tactical fight moving?), but they are exciting challenges. I’m doing research on worldbuilding games such as Microscope, to see what we can use/streamline as we integrate it into the final fight. There’s a lot of good ideas floating in our heads, we just need to get it into writing.
Hit Die: The Game
After ranting to my friends about the underutilization of the Hit Dice mechanic in Dungeons & Dragons, I went on a design sprint over a weekend and released a one-page game called Hit Die: The Game. The game only uses Hit Dice, which represent not only your character’s health, but also their stamina and what actions they can do in combat. It’s a fun, hopefully quick, dice-battling game where you roll dice in different styles into a shared dice tray, purposely knocking the dice around to change the outcome. I’m quite proud of the game and believe there’s a lot of potential to iterate on the core mechanic, which exemplifies one of my design philosophies of “ludo-narratively resonant resolution mechanics.”
My friend and fellow game designer, Taylor Navarro, played the game with her friends and recorded a video of them playing! They had a blast!
Spectres of Brocken: Full Spectrum
Back at Big Bad Con 2022, I found myself having breakfast with game designer, Aaron Lim. The two of us talked about anime, mechs, and the storytelling potential of magical infrastructure. After the breakfast, Aaron went off to playtest his game, Spectres of Brocken, and after the convention, asked if I would be interested in writing a world tendency (playset) for Full Spectrum, a digital supplement for Spectres of Brocken. The game and supplement are now available on itch.io! My contribution is a setting called Reaping Season, where Hardworking souls work to rejuvenate the blighted Earth after an apocalyptic insectoid invasion, hoping for new growth from the ashes. It’s inspired by Nausicaa, Scythe, and Turn A Gundam. Aaron put together and led a wonderful team of writers and I’m incredibly proud of the work we’ve done!
Deathmatch Island: New Horizons
Deathmatch Island digital stretch goals were delivered earlier this month, including New Horizons, a collection of nine Islands to compete within. I was a contributor to The Tower, which is the corporate headquarters of Production (or is it?). I enjoyed drawing upon my favorite tv shows such as Survivor and Severance to really deliver on the competitive corporate horror. This was a blast to write for, and I’m grateful for Old Dog Games and Evil Hat Productions for the opportunity.
Storytelling Collective Creative Laureate
Finally, I was honored to be named a 2024 Storytelling Collective Creative Laureate! This honor comes with a $200 honorarium, and a year-long spotlight of my projects. I’m hoping to use this attention to continue to develop Chain×Link and my other games!
Looking Ahead
The weather is looking much nicer, which is tempting me to spend more time outdoors. I suspect my productivity will diminish somewhat, but there’s still plenty to do and look forward to this month! As a hint as to what I’m up to: did you know that Ginseng is the state herb of Wisconsin?