Stephen Hawking talks about how we should hide from aliens: I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonize whatever planets they can reach. … If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome…
Category: Game Design
Progress and updates on the game design process.
Asshat Paladins blog
Matt Borselli has a quick writeup of his experience with Crucible Design, and more specifically The 23rd Letter, on his blog, AssHat Paladins. I enjoyed chatting about it – getting involved in my own narcissism obviously – and it brought back a lot of memories. Part two will be out in a week or so…
SixSimple: for use with CONTROL
I do like narrative systems. Character Generation You create a character description consisting of up to 10 facts (maybe related to Quirks, Drive, Flaws) and underline 5 of them. These 5 things are your most descriptive traits which may be objects, skills, contacts, background items and can, in theory, be called into play at any…
CONTROL: How to run the game. Part 1.
Starting the Game This game has the rather traditional role of GameMaster assigned to one player, usually “C”. The player will be provided with missions in one of two ways. TOP-DOWN Requests which come from GOVERNMENT and are passed to CONTROL via “C”. These will be in the form of mission dossiers. These can be…
Frontier: Conquest Weapons
The common weapon within the Conquest Society is the ‘dumb’ slugthrower. A Chemical Propellent Projectile Weapon (extremely recognisable as a ‘gun’) uses a chemical explosion to create gases which propel a projectile at subsonic or supersonic speeds towards a target. Here are three examples of the weapons known to be employed among the Conquest Society….
Frontier: Terror Weapons
While Human Unity uses weapons which would enthral the 21st Century warlord, from shipboard weapons to intelligent bullets, the greatest and most terrible weapon is the Master Expert, artificial intelligences designed for war. But this weapon does not inspire fear in the average person. It is just a brain, a ruthless brain designed to win…
Frontier: The Dichotomy of Fulfillment
In an earlier post, I discussed two examples of Citizenship, reproduced here for your convenience: Chera Nyumba was born in a small village in Africa, in an area formerly known as Zambia. She lives with her husband and their three children. While the children are at school, Chera and Enzi work in their fields, collecting…
All I needed to know about Games…
…I learned from writing my own. Lewis Pulsipher at GameCareerGuide writes that All I Really Needed to Know About Games I Learned from Dungeons & Dragons He has some core points which apply to any game but especially one which involves multiple users (a Massively Multiplayer Online Game) for example. As a designer: You don’t…
QABAL – the origin of Magic
In the beginning Each culture has its own mythology, a tale of their creation. Some believe mankind came about through the spilled seed of a mighty god, whilst others believe that their maker fashioned them from the clay of the earth. Perhaps the universe was fashioned from the corpse of a great monster or from…
QABAL – a history of the world
History of the world Legend has it that in ancient times, gods walked the earth beside Man and waged great wars amongst themselves that shaped the face of the lands and seas. To end all wars, the earth was divided amongst them and great domains became ruled by mighty gods. To some was given the…
QABAL intro – Genre
This game can be played in one of many genres. A genre is a certain style where recurring themes show up and both GM and player are expected to perform within this style. In a low magic, high suspense game then the players would be expected to react accordingly and the GM would be expected…
QABAL – The essential nature of spirits
“Firm, constant faith works wonders even in the course of a flawed operation, whereas mistrust and hesitation in the soul of the worker, who holds himself aloof from all excess, leads to dissipated effort and ruin” Spirits are constructed of matter. The matter that forms their bodies is not immutable and often depends on where…
QABAL – Wandering Mystic
It came to me while I was out shopping. The voice said “You are the chosen one”. I had always known I was special. It went on “You must dedicate your life to contemplation and gather others who wish to share in sublime glory”. I knew then that this was no mere flight of fancy…
QABAL – The Orthodox Sorcerer
I’ve seen things you wouldn’t believe. I’ve touched the Hand of God, I’ve watched Angels feasting on the entrails of Devils, witnessed the seven headed dragon and yes it burned me. Yes it burned me. And tonight, when the stars are right, you too shall be burned. More tea, Vicar? – Henry Olcott, Grand Magister…
QABAL – a brief history of Magic
The beginning of time In those days giants walked the earth and fought with the gods. Secrets were passed from the gods to man through Thoth, Prometheus and Hermes Trismegistus – Secrets of fire, science and magic. 350 BC Plato describes Atlantis. It symbolises the origin of all knowledge. Believed to be a myth, certain…
QR codes for games
Following my last QR test, I got an email from Roger Smolski who runs the 2D Code web site. He had previously posted about the iPhone being an unsuitable device for QR codes due to the poor quality of the camera and this has resulted in several perfectly good QR decoding apps getting a poor…
Humanydyne – the system
Also posted here Cubicle 7, those cheeky London chappies (see the entry for 23rd August 2007 ) are meant to be releasing a translation of Humanydyne, a somewhat-post-apocalyptic superhero game originally from 7éme cercle (you know them, they originally did Qin). Yes, it’s superheroes, very flexible, and it is post-apocalyptic – the moon broke up…
Star of the Commonwealth
Great Britain was, at the time, in the throes of a terrible war, a world war, which assailed them from without as well as within. While bombs rained upon London and young men lost their lives overseas in the pursuit of freedom, a frontier was breached. On a private estate in the English countryside, a…
Get Carter
I started this evening sitting down to watch The Bourne Identity on ITV2 but as it happens they run ad breaks every 18 minutes and I’m reminded why I hate linear television. The content is either shit or broken up by advertising breaks. I attempted to remedy my ennui by putting on “The Descent” though…
What’s an ARG?
The Technology column in the Guardian writes: An ARG is an interactive narrative in which players work together to solve puzzles and co-ordinate activities in the real world and online, using websites, GPS tracking devices, telephone lines, newspaper adverts and more. All of which sounds like it must require even more effort and resolve than…