GODS AND MONSTERS - Rules of the Rhode

Since starting this project two months ago, I've discovered a few things about myself. 

I now know that I can build a bed, that I cant handle gradations 5-7 of spicy from my local Indian restaurant, and that I don't remember a lot about Greek mythology.

This strikes me as incredibly funny, as the fulcrum of this project is in fact Greek mythology, or at least the interpretations of it that I have been exposed to. Its like knowing a song enough that you can hum along when it comes on the radio, but whenever you try singing the lyrics to it, you're on a completely different wavelength than everyone else in the car.

That being said, I think this is a pretty cool opportunity. I actually think I'm quite good at coming up with lyrics on the fly and maybe that's what I can do here (with a little spit polish of course.) This could be the opportunity to revisit some of my childhood favorites, and rediscover what I thought was so cool about them in the first place (a thing I may do anyhow,) but it could also be a chance to make something that hits all the right notes, but has something different to say. 

Last episode, I believe I mentioned that I was uncertain as to whether I would use this new ruleset of Warriors of Athena for my little foray into the mythological world of the ancients. I think I've made the decision to not play that version, or even that game, since I've wandered away from Greek Mythology proper, and the modern rules exceed my needs so greatly, that I think a different system entirely is in order. I've looked back on some of my old favorites, and some new contenders and nothing quite scratches the spot I need itched, so this project has now gained two additional dimensions. Gods and Monsters, or whatever this ends up being called, is no longer just a collection of miniatures, but a world and game (in process) as well.

So much for scope creep.

I have some chops (see Lobsterpot28, Ritual and Gnomemageddon,) but recently I read this article from Blood and Spectacles' blog, and watched that one video by SPGD, where they remind us of the power of clear design goals. In the effort of paying mind to the process, and documenting what I can as I go, I've tried to make clear concepts and goals to work from

CONCEPT:

A solo game about classical heroes facing fearsome foes on a mythical heroes' journey at a small scale.

DESIGN GOALS:

• The game is what it is. It doesn't need endless mods, expansions, or modes shoehorned into its system. Options are fine, but this does not need to be a swiss-army game.
• The system itself should be easy enough to play. The depth should come from the decisions the game has you make.
• Some of the decisions should be risk/reward. Heroes will sometimes need to dig deep to overcome their foes, and occasionally this will come at a cost.
• The foes in this game need to be strong enough that the risk/reward decisions are actually hard. Is a monster so powerful that you'll risk your hero's life trying to beat it? 
• The gameplay should be about playing. If there's any book-keeping to be done, it should be after battles are resolved on the board.
• This game should be engaging, but not at the cost of accessibility. There should be a way to play this game for people with shallow model collections and without collecting a set of unique tokens.

Since I'm already struggling to write this post instead of build the game, I've switched into listicle form.

Here are some of the games/books I'm playing/reading about/inspired by as I set to work designing/writing/painting this ruleset/book/collection.

• Knight Forlorn - this solo ttrpg is has a really solid core gameplay loop for worldbuilding that I've been enjoying in my playthroughs, and it has a trick taking combat resolution mechanic that I appreciate the math on. I think that as solo journaling games go, this one has enough tooth that it hasn't felt monotonous. Honestly, I could see myself using this game's design prompts to help me discover the lore for this future game, since its prompts are evocative without being overly prescriptive.
• Song of Blades and Heroes - I was tempted to use this game at first, since its so straightforward and already has plenty I liked about it since its a dead simple game with plenty of dice and risk. However, while the game can do anything, I feel that its overreliance on keywords makes it more convoluted than it needs to be, and also it's solo version... exists? but maybe not? Instead of remembering 20 different words and their extrapolated meanings, I'd rather just have a clean system that works right out of the gate.
• Bloodbourne - Always a seasoning, this game has the big thematic monsters and the harrowing encounters in spades. Its a great font of inspiration for all designers of the grimdark variety.
• Kingdom Death Monster - I never thought I would play this one, but last year I got maybe 13 games into a campaign and I have to say... this game should be automated by a computer. I've been thinking about what a demake of it would look like though, since it has concepts that I think work, but are overburdened by the system containing too many systems. I really like the monster health deck though, and could see myself using something like that to explore this game.
• Rune - I've already used multiple blogs to talk about how much I like this game, with its programmed tactics puzzles and its awesome overworld mechanics. I'm thinking a lot about how the enemies work here, where their moves are telegraphed and you get to make decisions about putting your character in harms way 
• Forbidden Psalm - a kooky little skirmish game that translates the rules of the Mork Borg rpg into a wargame. The vibes are strong, and it's great for making room for these moments of joy when something goes phenomenally right or horribly wrong, and I think it would be cool for opportunities like that to be present in the future game.
• Vermis - This book is also vibes heavy, but it exemplifies an otherworldliness that exudes charm and extrudes dream syrup, which is an important ingredient in emergent logics and narrative. The lived-in-ness of the setting as well as the book object is immaculate, and as the book ages, it only feels more and more like an artifact of a bygone time and a mythological game.
• Broken Legions - an Osprey blue book that pits ancient cults against one another. The system is light and easy to play, but is not quite what I was looking for. This book may be good to study, as aside from Warriors of Athena and Of Gods and Mortals, this feels like the closest I've gotten to a system that wants what I want. 

Hopefully, this is a coherent conveyance of concepts, and you're equally thrilled and invested, and if you're not then that's alright too. I'm absolutely pumped.

Actually, I can take a beat before I go about designing the game. There's an element I think is often overlooked, but vitally important to consider when making a game. I myself have skipped over/omitted the art of presentation as it pertains to releasing rules, mostly because I have historically done so for free, and as what is usually a one-person team, I only have so much polish in me, which I try to focus on gameplay rather than aesthetic.

Recently I made the difficult decision to put a number of orphaned indie games into the clearance section of the shop I help run, and as I processed the products I took time to reflect on why they hadn't sold, and what maybe turned people off about them.

• Many of the books I discounted were micro expansions, usually under 20 pages with less substance than it seems many were willing to pay. A lacking of substance and thinness of material feels like a huge contributing factor.
• These expansions also suffered from their core game being out of print for an age, and then becoming unobtainable through our distributors. Thus, the expansions weren't able to ride alongside their parent book, and their usefulness diminished even further.
• Some of the books that are full games unto themselves look clinical or generic, inoffensive to most but uninspiring overall.
• A few of the self contained game books had low production value, feeling more like someone's first zine with no editing and no pizzazz.

With that in mind, if I am to continue this exercise to its logical conclusion, I'll want to produce a gamebook that flies in the face of these who are destined for the clearance section. In summary, I would want to make a concise but full gamebook, with personality that is unmistakably its own.

Guess we'll have to see how that goes.

-b

 PS: before the scale of this project changed completely, I had this gentle hope that I might be able to use this Calendar of Many Adventures from Loke, to make use of my playset all the easier. That's how you know this post began in March. 

How naive I was back then.