Dice Conquers Love (Or The Other Way Round)

I am the Warden!!

I've been holding off on posting this since Tuesday afternoon when a particular playtest wrapped up for the day and it was time to get back to work. If you've been following me on Twitter, I've been teasing it and while it's likely not that hard to guess, the temptation to hold off on going public with it (or as far as posting for 20 people to read can be considered "going public") has been great... but not enough.

Tuesday morning, as I prepared to find my ass groove in my office chair, I was approached with a counteroffer by my fiancee, Chelsea. "If I were to play your game, could I be Mystique?" It's hard to remember every nuance of your reaction when you're in shock, but I'm sure I stopped, blinked several times as if I had an eyelash in my eye, and turned towards her with my tongue hanging out of my mouth.

"Uhh, yeah. Why, were you... thinking of playing?"

"Sure, but only if I get to play Mystique."

How Much Is Too Much?: Struggling With Job Structure

I am the Warden!!

Phew, been a while since I've posted on here, right? To be honest, it's because writing, design, and development on Killshot has been damn near flawless and has flowed from my fingers like a maestro on the piano. Plus I've had the unexpected fortune of a new playtester... but I'll get into that later.

The past two weeks have been spent pouring words into Killshot: Direction, the guidebook for running this RPG as a Director. While I initially expected some hiccups in the writing process as I've never EVER written a basic GM supplement like this before, it's been quite a lovely surprise to see how the fundamentals of Killshot's mechanics can be presented to new Directors. I've even been able to draft up some optional rules for more experienced Directors when the time comes and made notes for upcoming articles in The Killshot Files. At this moment, I have the majority of Chapter 1: Understanding Killshot, all of Chapter 3: Beyond the Job, and the revised draft of the first Killshot job, Dealing Justice, complete.

Today is all about writing the first draft of the second job, Swift Justice. The mark is a city judge, so it's a steep rise in difficulty from killing a piece of shit meth dealer, but perfect to demonstrate how stats like Sense and Mind can be just as important - if not more so - in the game. I've been juggling different ideas for this job over the past couple of weeks and hammered out a plot hook last night, giving me the adrenaline I needed to fire this sucker off to close off the week.

Murder in Phases

I am the Warden!!

Creation is never stagnant, it is a constantly evolving process transporting you in new and unexpected directions. Game design may be the initial eureka of inspiration, but game development is the wake-up call. When I look at the direction Killshot has taken in just a few short months, it amazes me what has changed and what has sprouted from playtesting quite organically.

Most RPGs I've played over the years have dice rolls left, right, and center. Whenever you attempt something questionable, you roll the dice. "Do I notice something odd about the writing on the wall?" Make a dice roll. "Have I heard of his name before?" Make a dice roll. "How many arrows can I salvage from the battlefield?" Make a dice roll. I've seen some players ask for a dice roll just to break the monotony of an exposition scene. Hell, I've been guilty of that because I'm a sucker for rolling dice. I think it's a serious problem and if I ever find an ad for random polyhedral compulsive disorder, I'm signing up to address this issue once and for all.

But something happened in the last playtest of Killshot that I did not realize until a few days ago. Something profound which does not change how the game is played, but enhances it and provides a unique opportunity to make this RPG stand out against the others. After putting it into words during my first draft writing on Killshot: Direction, I can finally sit back and understand its impact.

It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp

I am the Warden!!

OK, maybe the word "pimp" is a bit of a harsh comparison and was clearly used to get your attention, but to me it's incredibly valid. When you look at the meme going around and adapted to nearly every profession you can think of (including an awesome look at how everyone in the Star Wars universe perceives Darth Vader), take a peek at the top left. I wouldn't go so far as to say my friends all think that because I'd like to think they're all insanely jealous of me. And it'd be a nice change of pace because no one's jealous of the friend who's a retail manager. No one. But I would change the top left to "What my neighbours think I do." Hence the pimp comparison.

For the past year-and-a-half, I've been home recovering from the accident and utilizing my time building the Optional System. That was done casually, in between doses of Oxycontin and physiotherapy and Family Guy, never anything solid with locked down hours and a schedule. Now it's time to buckle down and take this work super serious... but not too serious. I'm working on a game, for crying out loud. If I'm not having fun making a game, what the fuck's the point?

Hmm, What To Talk About...

I am the Warden!!

Geez, talk about a boring day. Absolutely nothing happened, there's nothing to write about, no reason for me to be excited or proud, to give thanks for or feel great humility.

Oh, wait...

(See the official announcement on Broken Ruler Games for more details. For now, I'm just too giddy to stay in my seat much longer.)

The Trials and Tribulations of Being the New Guy

I am the Warden!!

What's that? Who is the Warden? Hmm, that's a good question, isn't it? In the big scheme of things, I'm nobody. My name only means something to those few who know me and this blog will only be read by a fraction of those friends and backers of Killshot. Aside from one particular post on the old Matrix RPG I was pondering, my best post has garnered 60 views. In the ocean that is the Internet, my ripples are dwarfed by the tidal waves of giants.

That's how it feels sometimes in the struggle to get started and it can be daunting. During the past month as I push and push and push to get as much funding for Killshot as I can, three projects have raised over $1 million and numerous others started by recognized names in the industry and made their goal in 24-48 hours. And we're talking goals in the thousands of dollars. Like I said, tiny ripples.

All that anxiety and disassociation is gone once that glorious email arrives proclaiming the inclusion of yet another backer to the project. Regardless of the amount, it's a herald of victory against all odds because it's a complete stranger taking up the cause. Out of the 26 backers currently slated for contribution, only one of them is a friend or former associate of mine; the remaining 25 are total strangers I could ignorantly pass by on the street.

Plugging Dungeon Crawler

A sample card from Dungeon Crawler.

I am the Warden!!

Busy, busy week last week. And looking to be equally busy this week. While the previous days were spent polishing off the latest revision to Killshot, this week will find me knee deep in writing for RPC (AKA Roleplayers Chronicle) summarizing the Game Summit convention in Ottawa this past long weekend. Specifics will follow on that site within the next few days... which reminds me, I wanted to include a link to all my Under The Hood posts, interviews, and more from this blog. Sigh, the list just got bigger.

But today I wanted to make a special effort to highlight a game I discovered at Game Summit called Dungeon Crawler, an "expandable card game" which gave me cause to commit the ultimate sin: consider playing a card game.

For the first time in its history (brief though it may be), Game Summit had a "Game Designer's Lab" set up for designers to pitch new or upcoming games. The only booth with a really nice set up was by Jey Legarie and his wife (who's name I never caught, unfortunately) complete with banners, playing mats, sample cards, and more. After recording a quick little interview with Jey, we had a good off-mic chat about the process of bringing games to market, the hassles of distribution, shipping, and getting your dream project off the ground. What really struck me about DC was how professional it looked when everything was put together with the same size and ambition of my own work.

As for the game itself, I'll get into that in my official review/interview. Suffice it to say, I've never been one for CCGs and I'm making exceptions for this one in particular. Dungeon Crawler is described as an "expandable card game" built to play like a RPG with adventures and expansion packs to add unique terrain to your ever increasing campaigns. Plus it has a solo play feature for those moment when your friends ditch you because their wife's gone into labour again... sheesh.

If you're a fan of CCGs (or card games in general), supporting Canadian businesses, or have thought about breaking into a card game, seriously check this one out.