And The Winner Is...

Yes... Big Bang Mudang won the Iron Mace Game Chef competition. Though there seemed to be about 6 folks who entered, only 2 submitted games to be judged. So, there was a 50/50 chance for me to get the prize. It's disappointing that more folks didn't finish, but it was well worth the effort from my standpoint. BBM has been like lightening striking. I am very confident about the dice mechanics and the theme. My hope is to publish this game by Feb. of 2008. It is so outrageous and so unlike WEGS. It is a game that has come out of the blue in a fit of desperation. It was the last thing I needed to be doing, but it was the first thing on my list to get done. There's a lot to be said for deadlines and creativity. On the flight back from MACE, I kept thinking about the loose ends of the game. By the time the plane landed, I had come to conclusions on the game's theme and motifs. This is a game I am going to finish and release asap. My style is to keep working and working something until it is perfect - and then spend more time on improving it. I'm not doing that with BBM. It will be done soon. It was an insane diversion of a game.

Game In A Week, Part 6

It is done. Sure, I could have used a few more days to edit - but the core game is tight. Tomorrow the game will be submitted. It's name...

BIG BANG MUDANG
or
The She-Shaman of the Silver River

I'm really excited about submitting this game. Even more, I'm really hoping I can rally some folks to play it at the con. This game is a battle-story game. All players create female shaman who convene for a cosmic battle atop a mystical stargazing tower. They battle for the right to ascend to the heavenly Silver River.

The funny thing that has occurred is that the key attribute of the shaman is her name. The name has to be a lengthy laundry list of her spheres of power. So, "She Who Cradles The Moon In Her Fiery Palms and Calms The Sea With A Whisper" would be a good start. Elaborate names take center stage in this game - as does the she-battle to the death! There are quick dice mechanics for battle - and this game is 100% battle once character creation is done.

The game begins with each shaman does something called The Big Bang with a bunch of dice (usually 15). The dice results are divided into their pools of power. Doesn't take long, but the end result rocks! Unlike WEGS, there's no stats to worry about. It's all dice pools. Folks have no choice in their strengths/weaknesses. And then there's something called Demon Dice, which each shaman receives. Mudang (Korean witches) are demon-possessed.

Big Bang Mudang is going to be heavy fun. I can see a table full of guys sitting around creating female shaman and then letting it rip. The more imaginative the players, the more raucous this game can get. It's a mighty-cosmic cat fight when all said and done. The game is written whimsically and encourages players to describe their actions/attacks in fanciful ways. Humor aside, I think this game has huge dramatic potential, too. It's going to be interesting to see it in action.

My brain is fried at this point - but it's a good fried...

Full report next week, after the con!

Game In A Week, Part 5

Tuesday PM

The game is pretty much as done as it can be. The system is 98% complete. The layout is 80% complete. Trying to make this as polished as possible because I doubt I will circle back to work on this any time soon. I think Big Bang (that's part of the title) has got a lot of potential, but I've got tons of other things (somebody say WEGS?) to keep me busy. Not to mention my 9 to 5 whipping...

Of all the things that inspired this game, it was the South Korea flag that set the character sheet on its way...

I'm no expert on Korea, but I've absorbed a lot of topical information the last phew days so I'm no longer totally ignorant. From shamanism to the trigrams on the flag, this competition had the side benefit of opening up my mind a little and making it think outside the game box. Plus I now know that the 38th Parallel also divides Maryland and Virginia on the Eastern Shore... I'm suddenly a global genius....

Game In A Week, Part 4...

Tuesday AM
Spent a bunch of hours on the new game design last night. It's all chugging along nicely. System-wise, I'd say I'm 75% there. Layout is at about 10%. The two ingredients I've committed to: Korea and River.

I'm holding back on the specific details and title for now, but the game all revolves around an ancient stargazing tower and a bunch of female shaman. Inspiration came from a photo of this tower in South Korea and also info I read on Korean shaman.

The two rules I'm using now are:
Players must write a sentence
Game must be playable for 3 - 15 people

Game In A Week, Part 3...

Monday - PM
Yesterday I was designing a game about a battle across space/time between a shaman stargazer and a Belgian priest astrophysicist... It all started when I stumbled across an ancient Korean star-gazing tower and then saw a documentary on Big Bang theories... It had incredible potential as both men were fueled by spiritual energies in the face of technology. Each player tried to push the other(s) towards an event horizon - the cosmic point of no return... Could've been fun, but I just can't connect all the dots. When I tested it against the Big Bang dice mechanics I wanted to implement, it all fell apart. Crappers!

Today, I'm still hooked on the Korean shaman and star-gazing tower. That's been the inspiration for the game design. I stumbled across some neat info on the South Korean flag, which has strong potential for character creation. Right now it looks like this game is going to be about creating a character and then battling the other players/shamans for dominion. Don't want to give too much away, though. It might all crumble...

The good thing is that my Big Bang dice mechanic can still be salvaged!

Game In A Week, Part 2

Day 1 - Friday
I got the ingredients and began to ponder...

Day 2 - Saturday
I began fiddling with some concepts. Googling words. Following threads. Trying to find a theme to hold the game together.

Day 3 - Sunday
Came up with a title and concept: Big Bang Korea
Began to type up the rules, but then diverted to trying to flesh out the game system. I had some really neat game mechanics, but things began to fall apart once I began testing them. Spent most of the night working on the game system, putting the concept/story on a backburner.

Day 4 - Monday (am)
Right now, I'd consider the game 10% complete... The game continues to oscillate between being a story game and a really wacky dice game... And I'm pondering a re-haul of the whole damn thing....

Game In A Week... Part 1

Next weekend, I'll be bringing WEGS to MACE - a game convention in North Carolina. This will officially be the furthest south the game has travelled, and I'm really looking forward to the con. MACE holds a special event called "Iron Mace Game Chef" competition - a week before the con, participants get a set of rules and the secret ingredients. The game could be a role playing game, a board game or a card game. So, I threw my name into the hat. I figured it would make the creative juices flow. The ingredients/rules were announced two days ago:

Korea
Highway
Axe
Ceramic
River

I get to chose two of those ingredients for inspiration. I also need to chose two of the following guidelines:

Use a Tarot deck
Make the game playable for 3 - 15 players
Have an internet or online component
Players must write sentences
No randomizers like dice or cards

I spent Friday night mulling over the ingredients and quickly became overwhelmed with frustration. The six ingredients seemed all wrong. Incompatible. I wanted a re-deal! My knowledge of Korea is pitiful. Highway and River have potential, but pretty much boil down to the same symbols. Ceramic made me think of teeth. Axe made me think of Paul Bunyan.

A game about dentistry and axe-wielding lumberjacks!

Nope (though that def has potential for some fun)... I began assembling the words for inspiration:

Highway To Korea
River To Korea
Road Rage (Highway of Axe-Wielding Maniacs)

I was frustrated by the rules, too. Instantly I was turned on by the Tarot deck and turned off by no dice. 3-15 players had potential, as did writing sentences. I didn't think I'd have any use for the Internet component. Individually these two rule sets (ingredients and rules) pulled my mind in two different directions. I had a tough time figuring out how to make them blend. I started off in one direction then pulled in another, then another.

This was going to be a lot tougher than I thought...

By Saturday afternoon, things were STILL up in the air. I decided to ignore the rules and focus on the setting. I figured I could back the rules into the setting. I needed to commit to one, not both. I needed a starting point. I needed the plot and the purpose. I googled the key ingredients and started filling my head with images and ideas. I spent lots of time looking at Korea... The one ingredient that turned me off at first was sucking me in. It has so much potential for setting. It also is probably the most dangerous as the potential here is SO big. I didn't have time to be factually correct on this topic. The game could only use Korea as a symbolic basis.

I had myself my first ingredient....

I hope...

I went back to the kitchen...

(Oddly enough, I received a box of Godiva chocolates from a Korean friend on Friday. I'm hoping this didn't affect my choice... Done in by a box of candy...)