Comments on: Why do I design games?

By: What do you look for in a game setting? | Moebius Adventures

What do you look for in a game setting? | Moebius Adventures — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 15:38:55 +0000

[...] Why do I design games? from Stargazer’s World (stargazersworld.com) [...]

By: Spacemouse

Spacemouse — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 11:32:06 +0000

For me, the answer to the question in the title is simple and serious: Because I have to.

I consider myself a fairly creative person, but I have no artistic skills to speak of. When the urge to create hits (as it does quite frequently), it's down to my meagre programming skills or writing a "board" game of some sort. (I find it illustrative that my first experience with RPGs, twenty-odd years back, was through designing my own!)

By: deltamonk

deltamonk — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 11:55:43 +0000

Ooh – free RPGs

On a serious note, I couldn't have said it better myself.

I'm always on the lookout for new systems – and new ideas for my own systems! – so thanks, and keep up the good work!

Tom
.-= deltamonk´s last blog ..Thoughts on 4e =-.

By: Kameron

Kameron — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 21:24:43 +0000

I think one of the best pieces of advice I heard/read was to write stories that you want to read. The same can be applied to game design. Every game I've written a design document for has been from a desire to play the game, and my muse was generally a game I enjoyed, but wanted to tweak a few mechanics. Whether you decide to publish commercially is just icing on the cake. .-= Kameron´s last blog ..Juggling spiders and coddling shrews =-.

By: DeadGod

DeadGod — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 15:07:49 +0000

When I sit down to write a game, I do it to try something different. I find a hook–something that I can't easily find in other games–and then try to design a game around it.

I suppose most of my games fall into the indie crowd, because they end up being lean systems that a (in my opinion) really good at doing one or two things.

As a side-effect, most of my games don't see campaign play. I fall back on more robust systems for my long term games.
.-= DeadGod´s last blog ..Game Mechanics for Personality (for any edition of D&D) =-.

By: Swordgleam

Swordgleam — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:46:10 +0000

I did the "48 hour RPG design challenge" that someone had on their blog a while back, and it was a lot of fun. I don't think I want to do anything more than that, though – I'm a perfectionist, and I don't need another endless project eating away at my time.

We need to do that "5 RPGs in 25 minutes" challenge in the chat some time.

By: Badelaire

Badelaire — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:40:03 +0000

Absolutely. I wrote my first RPG while in college, a fairly crunchy generic system that I used to run two short horror campaigns (one set in the 1920's, one set in the modern era) and two long fantasy campaigns. It worked well enough, but it taught me a lot about what I did right and what I did wrong. Over the last eight years or so I've been pecking away at a replacement for that old system. It's mostly finished now, and I'm happy with the results. I might one day have a PDF for people to download and use if they wish, and I hope to write a few campaign settings for it, but I've created the RPG for me and my own gaming, not as a "product". In the end, if the game you're writing isn't "for you" in some aspect, the fire just won't be there. It's got to be fun and it's got to reflect something you like in order for you to put the right kind of creative energy into the project. .-= Badelaire´s last blog ..TnB RPG: Carousing, Brawling, and Feasting =-.