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Here is the outline document for Something Wicked This Way Comes. Now, it just remains to be seen how accurate I can actually be when it comes to following this general outline. And once again, here is the SWTWC advertisement again just for good measure: 
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Aug 3, 2012 04:56
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Mors Rattus posted:This, yeah. It tells me Gau has ideas, but I currently don't actually know what any of those ideas are. I created a much more verbose summary for Traceuse. I like it. You can read it here. Mors Rattus, I would be exceedingly obliged if you would do me the honor of another pass over the material.
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Aug 3, 2012 05:07
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Gau posted:I created a much more verbose summary for Traceuse. I like it. You can read it here. Mors Rattus, I would be exceedingly obliged if you would do me the honor of another pass over the material. I'll add it to my list for tomorrow morning.
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Aug 3, 2012 05:08
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Outline for The Mage-Lords of Arymavon Life gave you Fireball, but the Grand Magus still demands lemonade! Earn the Grand Magus’ favor by outdoing your fellow Mage-Lords while completing mundane tasks in the most magical way possible! Uses a standard deck of cards and free-from task resolution that encourages creative problem-solving and devious sabotage.
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Aug 3, 2012 05:36
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bahamut posted:Here is the outline document for Something Wicked This Way Comes. Now, it just remains to be seen how accurate I can actually be when it comes to following this general outline. Ha! I'm not the only one who forgot to change permissions! I feel better about myself.
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Aug 3, 2012 06:25
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Capfalcon posted:Ha! I'm not the only one who forgot to change permissions! I feel better about myself. Whoopsie! I am admittedly completely inept at Googlethings. Remedied now, though!
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Aug 3, 2012 06:38
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HEY GUYS! So... I finally finished my outline. My attempts to upload it just on the midnight hour for extra bonus points is utterly moot, so instead I'm just going to submit it here. The last days of the meek - project outline
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Aug 3, 2012 14:38
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I should be working on a different game, but here's Roster. It's a lot of promises without much content, much like my posts.
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Aug 3, 2012 14:53
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Ughhh, I was going to make a game about the players being different personalities of a single person suffering from MPD, but I am too stupid to make such concept work. I'll keep checking the thread though because the entries look promising.
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Aug 3, 2012 15:08
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Good luck to everyone who hasn't put together an outline yet - you have about eight hours!
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Aug 3, 2012 15:12
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Traceuse, take two, tells us more about the game! I find the idea that the GM can't actually set the difficulty arbitrarily, but must instead choose cards from their hand to be interesting. The time limit on selections is also neat, though I'm not entirely clear on where the poker chips come in. The focus on freedom as a theme and exploration as a goal appeals to me a lot, and I really like what I'm seeing here. Justice Is Blind has a pretty standard ad blurb. I'd say it's about average, neither great nor bad. I am reminded a lot of Phoenix Wright with how the evidence system works, and the split between investigation and trial. I'd hope that detectives get something to do at the trial, and attorneys something to do in the investigation. I'm interested in seeing the resolution system in play - the amount of Resolve people have will be key here, I think, and everything will come down to resource management there, since once you run out, well, you probably can't do anything more. It doesn't look at first glance like there's a way to regain Resolve, and so overbidding is probably pretty dangerous. Interesting, and I want to learn more! Confucius Says: Don't Wake Up! has an interesting but not entirely clear blurb. It catches my interest but introduces some weird concepts that the game will have to clarify. Specifically, why are people stealing into dreams? It's just so they can have solipsistic control or something? I'm not really clear on this. The fact that the GM is optional is neat, and I'd like to see how the fortune cookies get used for resolution. The Sportacus reference is passable but a bit forced. One thing I'll note about comparing lucky numbers is that most fortune cookies have several. Do you just always use the highest one? I wonder how the saying will end up being used. The Rookies has a pretty good blurb. It catches the eye and clearly communicates both what the game is about and why you might want to play - to be the best player and triumph over adversity! The emulation of sports movies is something I haven't seen before and I hope it works out well. The use of failure to fuel success should help here; my own personal sports movie was the Sandlot, and I'm imagining using the dog sequence as a cascade of failures to fuel the ultimate successes of the summer and getting the Babe Ruth ball back. This seems like it could be a really fun game, and I look forward to seeing how the system plays out. Princes of Ilan has an interesting blurb. Politics as the ultimate route to power in a fantasy world? Cool. It's also good to be aware of what your game is best at and how it's best played. I approve of the awareness the outline shows there. I'm wondering how motivation cards are generated - it seems like randomness wouldn't be productive with this game, given the potential seriousness. That might be just me - for a serious game, I tend to want to design my character's motivations myself. The outline doesn't contain a ton of content, but what it does have is very interesting, and I am really looking forward to seeing more here. Next time: 'Lil Eldritch Horrors, SUPER DIMENSIONAL DREAM !! Twilight Armageddon, Road Trip, Dungeon Manager: A King's Reward, Nothing Amazing Happens Here ((すごいことなくない)
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Aug 3, 2012 16:26
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 Real life poo poo indeed, your Holiness. I invite you all to count the minutes.
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Aug 3, 2012 17:34
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Mors Rattus posted:Reviews It looks like you're going through the thread in order and missed mine; can I politely request you do one for Arenaball as well? I'd love to get another set of eyes on it. VV Rad, thanks! VV
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Aug 3, 2012 17:47
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sc4rs posted:It looks like you're going through the thread in order and missed mine; can I politely request you do one for Arenaball as well? I'd love to get another set of eyes on it. Sure.
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Aug 3, 2012 17:48
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 I'm going to be looking for more if people have dinosaur doodles.
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Aug 3, 2012 18:28
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Rexides posted:Ughhh, I was going to make a game about the players being different personalities of a single person suffering from MPD, but I am too stupid to make such concept work. Have you looked at the game Everyone is John> Its about players bring different personalities of John.
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Aug 3, 2012 18:43
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Arenaball has a strong pitch! I like it, though the cryptic sentence about backups confuses me. Is that a thing? What does that mean? The mix of both on-the-field and off-the-field play sounds interesting, and I hope all the players get really cool stuff to do in both arenas. There's another reference to backups; is this a sports thing I'm just not getting? Sportacus reference is strained but I think it kind of works. The interaction between on-the-field and off-the-field sessions seems pretty cool and I look forward to seeing the mechanics here. 'Lil Eldritch Horrors has a pretty great ad blurb and premise. This looks like it's going to be hilarious. Playing as toddlers, even demon-toddlers, seems like a challenge. That said, I worry that the imaginary friend/monster encounters will seem too much like combat for the contest. Still, I can see this matching, say, Leverage in combat content, which is fair. What does "something embarrassing" mean? Are we talking dirty diapers and burping? The Tarot as a resolution mechanic will be interesting if it works out. I want to see it in action before I make any real comments on it - I can see it being great or terrible and gimmicky. SUPER DIMENSIONAL DREAM !! Twilight Armageddon could use a better blurb. The one it has isn't bad, but it really does not live up to the name. I was expecting frenetic action from the word go, and that's not really what I got. (In fact, I'd say the game as presented by the outline comes off as slower-paced and more thoughtful than its name would suggest.) That said, the idea of a heroic epic without any violence is really neat. The giant Earth Serpent is pretty neat, and the setting in general has my interest. The resolution mechanic is odd, and I really think I'd need to see it in action to understand this whole bonus accumulation business and how it works. I don't quite grasp it as it's presented. I am cautiously optimistic here - the premise really catches me, but the explanations on the mechanics leave me confused. I'm hoping later phases will rectify that. Road Trip! has a pretty basic ad blurb. Nothing too fancy, but not bad, really. Sportacus is used as an example, but I think he works pretty well for it. However, this is a pretty sparse outline, and doesn't clearly explain whether the Hat of Destiny, Bowl of Modifiers and Mug of Decisions are the only things being drawn out of, or really what would go in each one. I really need to see more detail on this one to have any useful comments, so I'd have to say it doesn't have a great outline. Dungeon Manager: A King's Reward has a basic but interesting ad blurb. I'd lean to the positive side of neutral on it. Sportacus reference is fairly forced, I think. That said, the character creation system impresses me and I like it. The resource handout looks like it could be interesting and might make the game very unbalanced depending on the whim of the King. I'd have to see it in play. I feel like the outline is ibadly organized, since I really don't know how resources are used or what the Dungeon Deck actually does until the end of the document, but it feels like it'd have been good to know in the earlier phases! There are other mechanics that will need to be clarified when the actual game comes (how do you fight back against the King?) but that can wait. Nothing Amazing Happens Here ((すごいことなくない) has an interesting take on the ad blurb - it catches my interest by having so many references to Crazy Anime Things, but also being deliberately bland in tone. Sportacus reference feels pretty forced. The Outline is sparse - it covers what characters are fairly well, but I don't know how the game uses its mechanics. I want to like this game, but don't have enough details on how poo poo works to be able to call this a great outline. Next time: Earth Needs Rock Stars, Troubling Dreams, Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Last Days of the Meek, Roster.
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Aug 3, 2012 21:15
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I considered keeping this until 00:56 BST, but I want to go buy a big bag of Maltesers now and I wouldn't want to miss the deadline because of stupid posturing. So here's my outline for FYEW: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/15337665/FYEW.pdf No fancy graphics or anything but it hopefully gives you an idea of how the game will play.
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Aug 3, 2012 22:20
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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PHpg8IL3zjLnLlPubs_k8gJ5VFl5P2G7alfO6HV_HQQ/edit Here's our outline and blurb.
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Aug 3, 2012 22:20
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Earth Needs Rock Stars has an amazing pitch. I love it. It is seriously great, go read it. I want to play this game. Sadly, the outline doesn't quite live up to the pitch. I'm intrigued by the idea of spinner slices and wonder about all the kinds of shenanigans you can get up to with sizes and contents. But beyond that...well, it's pretty much just another table of contents. Troubling Dreams has a passable but not great ad blurb. I get the gist of the game, at least, and that's what matters. Still, could be better at selling it. The outline is sparse but does cover things. I want to learn more about token bidding and how it works. This seems like it's a pretty effort-intensive game, with the dream symbolism and so on. I don't have a ton of detail to work with here, sadly. Something Wicked This Way Comes has a pretty cool ad blurb. I like it, and it reminds me of Terry Pratchett's Truckers/Diggers/Wings series. That could be pretty cool! The system is ridiculous by design, and I have no idea how it'll be playtested, but it sounds like it'll be great fun for a beer-and-pretzels game. I want to see more of the stats and how they affect play as well as how powers work. I'm looking forward to this, for all that its outline is lacking in detail. The Mage-Lords of Arymavon goes with a pretty basic pitch. Covers the bases, doesn't thrill me. The premise is cool, though. I am looking forward to seeing what the mechanics actually are, but the ideas are definitely interesting and funny. This, like the last, is lacking in specific details but has a lot of promise for when it actually gets made into a full game. The Last Days of the Meek has a good blurb. I really like the blurb - it gives me a good feel of the theme and makes me want to learn more, even though it lacks any real direct mention of mechanics. The theme and premise are intriguing, and more serious than I actually expected from this contest even as it embraces the 80s feel-good style. The mechanic of Win/Lose tokens is interesting, and I look forward to seeing how it works out in play - it feels like it could go either way. I think this game has a lot of promise both as a game and potentially as a way to help build self-esteem and practice social skills. (Yeah, that's gonna happen. But still, I think it could.) Roster is another game with a good blurb. I like it - it catches attention and captures thematic feel without having to go all expository. The premise is really intriguing to me, and reminds me a lot of Myst's backstory. The idea of keeping objective information secret is interesting to me and I imagine there will be some rules in place to control how many sentences someone can write at any given time. I do wonder what happens if two people end up writing sentences that are mutually contradictory, too. I look forward to finding out - this is a really innovative idea here and I want it to succeed. Next time: gently caress You Erick Wucjik and Arcana. Also any last-minute entries. (And, in a fit of cosmic truth, Retrocausality.)
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Aug 3, 2012 22:57
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There are now just under two hours. And I know there are some aiming for a Cheeky bonus. It's simple, really. Post your game in the period from 23:55 to 24:00 GMT. If you miss this by even a minute past midnight, you're outright disqualified. Good luck to everyone still working!
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Aug 3, 2012 23:03
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Mors Rattus posted:There's another reference to backups; is this a sports thing I'm just not getting? Just that most sports teams in the real world have about twice as many players as they need in case of injury, etc. - but it would be super lame to have a player in an RPG have to roleplay sitting out a game because of injury. I'm actually leaning towards getting rid of the injuries entirely, because I don't think they add anything. I might just kill those references. Thanks!
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Aug 3, 2012 23:10
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Mors Rattus posted:Next time: gently caress You Erick Wucjik and Arcana. Also any last-minute entries. Aw man, Mors, you are making me feel inadequate for not doing the same thing. 
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Aug 3, 2012 23:24
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I thought today was the 2nd. gently caress! Well, into the Hall of Shame I go. But I do plan to continue working on my idea outside of this contest!
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Aug 4, 2012 00:11
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Aug 4, 2012 00:39
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Well poo poo, I misread the time zone we were basing the contest off of. I won't be able to finish it in time but will still post the outline cause I'm still gonna get this game done. As long as that doesn't anger Rulebook too much.
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Aug 4, 2012 00:44
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 To become unstuck in time is no mean feat. But you may post and discuss it as you like anyway! Speaking of time, the final five minute Cheeky Bastard window is open! Make good use of it.
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Aug 4, 2012 00:55
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I most humbly (and cheekily) submit ThU/D: Deathrow LIVE! It's a game of criminals! Of reality television! And of annoying announcers! It's a game where you can enjoy situations just like this! gnome7 posted:"Now for the cooking contest! I hope they notice the pepper's been replaced with gunpowder before they put that in the oven, Jim!"
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Aug 4, 2012 00:55
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Cheeky bastard, coming through! Here's Due Process. I could probably have made it look nicer, but I'm in this to finish, not to win. Includes the blurb again, just in case anyone missed it.
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Aug 4, 2012 00:55
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Wow, really looking forward to seeing how some of these turn out. Here's my last-minute entry: Disarmament - the game of very polite atomic crisis https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GTUXBK55uB8oY3Un7BDS11q3b3BDweg4GSgFpv3CIqA/edit
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Aug 4, 2012 00:57
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 Ad-Blurb and Outline! This replaces my previous Peregrine Union idea because that was going to be too goddamn complicated for this contest, not to mention my own fingernail grip on sanity.
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Aug 4, 2012 00:58
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Stock Sharks is a semi-competitive game for 4-6 players about broking stocks, illegally producing money the legal way, avoiding the authorities, being miserable, and having fun. Players play successful stockbrokers living the good life who have unfortunately manipulated, rigged, and gamed the system in the past. “Unfortunately,” because doing so has acquired the attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and likely anyone they’ve stepped on to get to where they currently are in the game: on top. And while it may be good to be at the top of things, it means that there’s only one way to go: down. Hopefully, the players’ characters won’t all be taken down during the course of the Fed’s investigation, but in order to get out of this mess, they’ll have to use the very same tricks that got them there in the first place. Why, you ask? Well, bribes, computer programs to erase money trails, and hairbrained schemes in general don’t pay for themselves, of course! And the closer the authorities are to catching you, the more money it will take to throw them off your tracks. E: Changed link from web view to doc view.
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Aug 4, 2012 00:59
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And Closed! Anyone posting an outline after this post is disqualified.
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Aug 4, 2012 01:00
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Rulebook Heavily posted:
Thanks. I'll get it posted by tomorrow. Even if it's not for the contest I would love your opinion on it once it's up.
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Aug 4, 2012 01:06
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So we end the first deadline with over thirty entries still in the running, at least until I find out that one of the entries thus far did something completely wrong like not having an ad blurb or having their ad blurb be too big. To everyone who has submitted an outline, you have survived into the second phase! And from now on, the ground rules are somewhat different. You have suffered my rule, and now it is time to stand your ground. I will not be posting any guidelines beyond what I've already posted under the rules for what I want to see in your modules. It is up to you to organize them, write them, and then convince me of how well your creativity, layout and writing works. It is your game, not mine: Convince me that you are right about your game. You have until August 10th, 24:00 hours, to give me your first complete module. Along with the module, you will post your reasoning for why you did the module in the way you did, either in the module itself or in its accompanying post. I will be scoring you on this module from 1-10, granting a bonus for a score of 8+ just as for the Project Outline. I will be reviewing all of the outlines in the next few days. The scoring criteria will be Clarity of Content and Readability. That means writing your game in a way I understand quickly, and for having rules that aren't dense or are easy to read without having my eyes glaze over. Yes, this is subjective. Aren't we all glad that you won't lose from just a low score. And of course there will be Bonus Objectives! Remember that the bonus objectives for the Outline do not apply for this or any subsequent phase of the contest. Otherwise, the same rules apply: You get a +1 bonus to your score for meeting any of them, but they're not cumulative.  Bonus Objectives for the August 10th DeadlineThe theme for this week's bonus objectives will be Creativity. It is time to stop thinking and start creating! 1. Depict your game through an original work of art, such as a painting, a photograph, a piece of music or similar. The only restriction is that you cannot use digital/photoshop works. 2. Achieve Maximum 90's Game Designer Smug. Include an essay of no less than 100 words on how your game is the most original role-playing game to ever hit the market (unlike all those uncreative competitors). 3. Make at least twenty pages worth of game in this module, maximum letter size 14, 1.5 line spacing. And try not to suffer a hard drive failure midway through. Disqualifications for failing to meet the August 3rd deadline and first Outline scores will follow tomorrow and in the following days. Avete Vos!
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Aug 4, 2012 01:25
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While we're waiting for RBH to do magic judge stuff, here are a couple of ideas that were collectively had by #badwrongfun but no one bothered to make into a game: Winson Paine came up with the idea of having "God of War: Leverage where you have to scam the gods or punish them ironically." He added, "YOU HAVE RUINED ZEUS" and "THUNDERBOLT FUTURES HAVE CRASHED." On a similar note, Hamboning proposed that "a game where you topple the gods by undermining their faith base via conversion and double crossing would be cool." Finally, RPZip and I came up with the idea of LUCHADOR OPERA, wherein the players are luchadors in an opera about wrestling. There is no combat, only singing. In Italian. Hopefully the theme for next month's contest will be LUCHADORS and I will be able to make LUCHADOR OPERA happen.
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Aug 4, 2012 01:29
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Glasgerion posted:Wow, really looking forward to seeing how some of these turn out. Sadly, this is locked.
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Aug 4, 2012 01:31
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That's Hollywood! chronicles the efforts of newly arrived models/actors/whatever as they try to claw their way to fortune, fame and legend. Be charming, be vibrant, be majestic, but don't be dull. Game Mechanics: Players face numerous obstacles by announcing activating a social method and then drawing a number of colored stones from an opaque bag equal to their skill in that area. Red stones indicate success of some sort, Gray stones represent a small miss-step that inhibits future use of that particular skill while black stones are a faux pas that utterly blocks it. Lastly, white stones are a crowning achievement that may be saved to influence events later. All stones are applied, or modified, according to aspects and items the character may possess, as well as the opponent to which they distribute them. When an opponent (groupies, bodyguards, agents, etc) receives red stones equal to their resolve, they are awed/convinced/cowed/whatever and the march toward fame and fortune continues.
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Aug 4, 2012 01:34
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Retrocausality has a pretty good ad blurb! It has dinosaurs and Soviets and Martians. That catches my attention. Also it is cheeky. The resolution system seems pretty workable, and time travel is a cool subject matter. The Timelines seem like a pretty neat system, and I want to see how they work out in play. I wonder if someone can win despite losing all skill checks via Timeline editing. Cool stuff! gently caress You Erick Wucjik is one of those 'good, not great' blurbs. It works, it doesn't sing. The game is almost entirely freeform, with only the structure of the Day/Night system and the King's Laws to guide you - but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Fiasco, I understand, is also pretty freeform! Freeform can be good. Arcana has a fun blurb. I like it. It's not perfect but it's cool. I'm interested in seeing how the Tarot gets used and how it solves problems. The system of gambling and Tarot draws as conflict resolution is pretty neat. The outline is sparse on full details, though. It definitely has my interest, at least, and I want to learn more. A lot more. ThU/D: Deathrow LIVE! has a great ad blurb. I am a sucker for these vaguely-in-character blurbs. The ThU/D system is pretty freeform and good for on-the-fly gaming, I think. The Sportacuse reference is pretty forced. I'm not really sure this even needs a GM. I think the ability system feels somewhat tacked onto the freeform nature of the system but I can see where it's going. This seems like it could be an interesting system, but I wonder if the structure it has is more than it needs. Due Process has a good blurb. I like it - it gets across the feel of the game and what it's about very well and enthusiastically. The system is very neat and innovative, and I really want to see it in play. It is pretty complicated, I think, and I'd want to sit down and read it in detail to be sure I really got it, which I have not had time to do. However, it feels pretty drat cool just on my first read. Ministry of Heaven is a game that plays to everything I like. It has fantasy, myth and humor. The ad blurb definitely makes me sit up and take notice, and I really like it. I really like the premise of this game. The idea of poker as a game mechanic is pretty neat. Sportacus, I think, works okay but not great in the role he serves. I find this game very, very cool and want to see it in play. Stock Sharks has a great blurb. It is seriously good, I love it. The premise is pretty neat. Sportacus is used in a reasonably neat way. The mechanics are surprisinlgy complicated for coin-flipping, I think it'll be easier to understand when laid out in a longer format. I also really want to see what these archetypes and abilities do. This looks like it'll be a pretty neat system, if a bit complicated! I can't review Disarmament until it is made accessible. And sadly, Slor, you are past the deadline.
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Aug 4, 2012 01:55
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Mors Rattus posted:Sadly, this is locked. Ah, my mistake. You should be able to see it now.
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Aug 4, 2012 01:57
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