Happy March for those who celebrate. Here’s an update as to what I’ve been up to this past month:
Chain×Link
I released a public playtest packet of Chain×Link, a project I’ve been working on since December of last year. Chain×Link is a tabletop roleplaying game about raising a revolution by reappropriating the tools of tyranny that confine you. Play as a group of lawbreakers (or as they call themselves, breakers)—political prisoners exiled to a penal colony and condemned to extract a magic-enhancing resource that feeds the Crown’s imperial pursuits. Only by working together can your disparate band of breakers gain support for your causes, destroy the machinations of your oppressors, and ascend to join the revolution you built.
Chain×Link is designed around the Chain Roll, a versatile and easy-to-learn mechanic based on the concept that the chance of successful large actions are based on the results of previous smaller actions. All actions depend on one another like the links of a chain in a careful balance of coordination and effectiveness.
One of the challenges of this game is writing the rules text in a pseudo-diegetic manner to convey worldbuilding while avoiding sacrificing too much comprehension. This means that the rules are delivered in the form of snippets of government propaganda, transcribed myths, and correspondences between rebellions. I’m now playtesting the game and will be bringing the game to conventions I attend. Already, I’m gathering valuable feedback as to what kind of information a GM needs to run the game.
PREQUEL
James and I have been rethinking the structure of PREQUEL, and I think we may have found a slightly different approach to the game that helps solve some of the design points we were struggling with. The premise of the game remains the same, but this new approach will provide a more streamlined and focused experience. These changes have definitely reignited my desire to finish this game!
Drawn from the Wellspring
Back in January, I released a draft of Drawn from the Wellspring. To be honest, the premise of the game wasn’t where I wanted it to be and I really only had a loose idea of the game loop. I know the themes and experiences I want to bring into the game, but I’m not sold on the execution. For the past few months, I’ve let the game breathe in my mind and I’m now ready to reconstruct it into a more exciting form (fans of Scott Westerfeld’s The Midnighters may see my inspiration). I plan to make map-making as central to the game as the action and investigation elements. The combination of a map-making game and action RPG is fairly untread ground. Plus, it just sounds cool and I want to play such a game. Now that Chain×Link is in playtest mode, I’m going to devote more design time to this game and build it back up from the core mechanics and a better defined game loop.
Freelance
In addition to freelance writing and game design, I’ve also started providing freelance production support for a publisher I’ve previously worked with. For the past four years, I served as a project manager and creative director for Gamehole Con’s Border Kingdoms offerings. While I enjoyed the experience, I decided that it was time to step down and focus on other pursuits. I remain interested in one day becoming a creative lead on a collaborative project, and one way to hone my skills to that end is by gaining a better understanding of the production pipeline of a project. As a producer one wears lots of hats. Touching on all aspects of a project leads to a better understanding of how the team members fit together. With this knowledge, I hope to make the collaborative game design process all the better. Relatedly, I’ve been thinking more about the relationship between game design and product design, and the tension between games as art and games as products.
Looking Ahead
I have my eyes on some exciting upcoming opportunities. One of them will be announced later this month! Thanks for reading!