August TGD Contest: The "Top Gun" of Game Design Contests

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Black Wombat: Nov 25, 2007; Every puzzle
has an answer.

Is 'Litigateality' sufficiently buzz-wordy enough for the bonus point? It's a term describing a numeric value for how hard it will be to pin a crime on someone. If I can stretch it to two words, I'd put 'Coefficient' in there, too, because that's pretty math-y, right guys?

# ? Aug 7, 2014 07:03

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# ? May 2, 2024 17:58

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

Black Wombat posted:

Is 'Litigateality' sufficiently buzz-wordy enough for the bonus point? It's a term describing a numeric value for how hard it will be to pin a crime on someone. If I can stretch it to two words, I'd put 'Coefficient' in there, too, because that's pretty math-y, right guys?

Sounds good to me. Also, we are officially past the cut-off point for late entries! Can't wait to see what you four have in store for this week's check-in!

# ? Aug 7, 2014 13:15

Elector_Nerdlingen: Sep 27, 2004

TheSoundNinja posted:

AlphaDog - You made me think of an episode of Doctor Who with your game's name. I'm liking the description, it has a Delta Green meets Paul Blart - Mall Cop kind of feel.

It's actually from the most memorable insult I received when I was a pub bouncer and part time security guard. Some dickhead I wouldn't let in ended up standing in the rain for about half an hour just outside where he'd be tresspassing (but dry), telling me "I'll gently caress you up, all you are is a plastic cop with a plastic badge and all you can do is stand there".

It was true. My badge was plastic. Unless he moved on to the pub's property, all I could do was stand there.

Being dry.

I figured he was an alien. He beamed back up eventually. Or wandered off. Or something.

Actually, a lot of my... clients... clearly beamed down directly into situations where either a) they'd get in the way of a punch meant for someone who'd actually done something to the punch-thrower but they were honestly just standing there honest or b) they'd look very much like the guy responsible for the fresh pile of vomit next to them without having vomited, knowing why vomit's on their shirt, or even knowing what vomit is.

Elector_Nerdlingen fucked around with this message at 11:31 on Aug 8, 2014

# ? Aug 8, 2014 11:21

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

AlphaDog posted:

It's actually from the most memorable insult I received when I was a pub bouncer and part time security guard. Some dickhead I wouldn't let in ended up standing in the rain for about half an hour just outside where he'd be tresspassing (but dry), telling me "I'll gently caress you up, all you are is a plastic cop with a plastic badge and all you can do is stand there".

It was true. My badge was plastic. Unless he moved on to the pub's property, all I could do was stand there.

Being dry.

I figured he was an alien. He beamed back up eventually. Or wandered off. Or something.

Actually, a lot of my... clients... clearly beamed down directly into situations where either a) they'd get in the way of a punch meant for someone who'd actually done something to the punch-thrower but they were honestly just standing there honest or b) they'd look very much like the guy responsible for the fresh pile of vomit next to them without having vomited, knowing why vomit's on their shirt, or even knowing what vomit is.

That's pretty funny. Anyone else have interesting origin stories behind their games?

# ? Aug 8, 2014 19:06

CodfishCartographer: Feb 23, 2010; Gadus Maprocephalus; Pillbug

So I only just saw the thread - I know I'm late, but is it cool if I throw in a submission? Also how fantastical can the lovely job be? The idea I've got is that in the near future, humanity has confirmed the existence of bizarre, fourth-dimensional creatures reminiscent of lovecratian horrors. Only thing is, they haven't got any special powers or anything - they're just standard dumb animals, disappointing nerds around the globe. While they may not be any smarter than the average cow, their meat sure tastes better once you fry it up with some butter! The players take the roll of a standard employee at the shoggoth slaughterhouse, having to clean up droppings, breed the beasts, care for them, etc.

Not sure if this really falls in line with the rules or not?

# ? Aug 8, 2014 20:19

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

Well, having thought about it, sure.

I can let you in, but you're going to have your work cut out for you: not only will you need to get me your first check-in by the end of tonight (11:59p CST) , along with photographic or video evidence needed for being late, but you'll have to do your regular entry by Sunday 11:59 CST.

Miss that though, and I can't help you. Also, if the majority of the competitors are opposed to my decision, I can't help you. If you are a competitor who is not okay with this, PM me.

# ? Aug 8, 2014 20:48

Antivehicular: Dec 30, 2011; I wanna sing one for the cars
That are right now headed silent down the highway
And it's dark and there is nobody driving And something has got to give

TheSoundNinja posted:

That's pretty funny. Anyone else have interesting origin stories behind their games?

I don't know if it counts as an "interesting origin story" per se, but Managing Armageddon is inspired by my own stint as an office manager for a small non-profit. Most of the "take this job and shove it" complaints in the blurb are real things I dealt with in that job, from being in charge of payroll as the lowest-paid employee (this is a delightful feeling) to getting all-caps e-mails from a boss who was never around. (The e-mails were not in Comic Sans, but that's about the only positive thing that could be said about that boss.)

# ? Aug 8, 2014 21:23

Casnorf: Jun 14, 2002; Never drive a car when you're a fish

CodfishCartographer posted:

their meat sure tastes better once you fry it up with some butter!

Doesn't everything? Whose bright idea was it to fry up a goddamn snail anyway? Dammit, now I'm hungry.

I hope you make TheSoundNinja's requirements because I'd love to see where you go with it. According to Lovecraft, don't you go a little insane just looking at a shoggoth?

# ? Aug 8, 2014 21:23

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

Casnorf posted:

According to Lovecraft, don't you go a little insane just looking at a shoggoth?

Psychosomatic sexual attraction to rocks and boulders is the best temporary insanity.

# ? Aug 8, 2014 21:31

Black Wombat: Nov 25, 2007; Every puzzle
has an answer.

I'm not sure if I'm going to be around a lot this weekend, so I'm going to go ahead and share a link to a document that has what I've done so far in it. I might put a bit more work into it by Sunday, but it'll still be at this location. I have the basics of a rule set, which will probably get trimmed down and edited, and some rough info on the world present.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0mxb5f86orca8e5/Design%20doc.doc

I seriously need to come up with a name for my evil organization. Mostly, I want it to have a snappy acronym. Right now I'm thinking W.A.S.P., the Wealth re-Allocation Specialist Partnership, but that feels like it's missing a certain something.

# ? Aug 8, 2014 21:44

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

Black Wombat posted:

I'm not sure if I'm going to be around a lot this weekend, so I'm going to go ahead and share a link to a document that has what I've done so far in it. I might put a bit more work into it by Sunday, but it'll still be at this location. I have the basics of a rule set, which will probably get trimmed down and edited, and some rough info on the world present.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0mxb5f86orca8e5/Design%20doc.doc

I seriously need to come up with a name for my evil organization. Mostly, I want it to have a snappy acronym. Right now I'm thinking W.A.S.P., the Wealth re-Allocation Specialist Partnership, but that feels like it's missing a certain something.

Only National Employer of Personel? O.N.E. %

# ? Aug 9, 2014 00:03

Elector_Nerdlingen: Sep 27, 2004

To clarify, the written portion of the rules needs to fit on a single letter sized sheet of paper, right? Both sides? So, 2 pages of single-spaced Times New Roman?

If I wanted to write a brief description of The Organisation (or whatever) is that going to count as rules text?

# ? Aug 9, 2014 03:39

CodfishCartographer: Feb 23, 2010; Gadus Maprocephalus; Pillbug

TheSoundNinja posted:

Well, having thought about it, sure.

I can let you in, but you're going to have your work cut out for you: not only will you need to get me your first check-in by the end of tonight (11:59p CST) , along with photographic or video evidence needed for being late, but you'll have to do your regular entry by Sunday 11:59 CST.

Miss that though, and I can't help you. Also, if the majority of the competitors are opposed to my decision, I can't help you. If you are a competitor who is not okay with this, PM me.

I really appreciate you letting me in! If current competitors are opposed to it that's totally fine with me since it's my own dumb fault for being late to the party, and even if that happens I'll still probably finish my submission just for fun without worrying about score.

SPEAKING OF MY SUBMISSION!

quote:

The Jungle: A Lovecraft Story
It was 2034 when scientists finally proved the fourth spacial dimension actually did exist, and it wasn't long after until slimy creatures covered in tentacles came forth from this unthinkable zone. People reeled in terror and were driven insane by these unthinkable creatures! For the first month or so at least. Afterwards, people got used to them always changing shape and phasing in and out of existence. Turns out the fourth dimension isn't really that complicated once you've seen it for yourself. They were dubbed "Elder Gods" or EGs for short by 'intellectuals' who had obsessions with the works of H.P. Lovecraft. It's actually quite a misleading name - they're just as dumb and harmless (relatively) as any other animal. And just like all animals, they taste drat good when cooked the right way.

Now, ten years later, EG meat has replaced cows, chickens, and even pigs as America's favorite cooked animal flesh to devour. In The Jungle, take the role of one of the brave individuals who work at the local Shoggoth Slaughterhouse; where you must corral, breed, and slaughter these fearsome beasts so that everyone can enjoy their fine taste. Fight off inter-dimensional beasts, horrific machinery-based workplace accidents, and those evil P.E.T.E.G. terrorists to try and work your way to the top of the exciting and fast-paced Elder God MEat Packing Industry!

And here is me awkwardly thanking a pizza delivery dude for his contribution to society.

(If this dude's job isn't lovely enough job to qualify, I can redo it with someone else more appropriate. Only just got home from work an hour ago so kinda pressed for time)

# ? Aug 9, 2014 04:30

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

AlphaDog posted:

To clarify, the written portion of the rules needs to fit on a single letter sized sheet of paper, right? Both sides? So, 2 pages of single-spaced Times New Roman?

If I wanted to write a brief description of The Organisation (or whatever) is that going to count as rules text?

The text of your rulebook is limited by the size restriction. However, if you came up with an in-game prop to cover it...

CodfishCartographer posted:

I really appreciate you letting me in!

Glad to have you in! I'll grade you and post the points tomorrow.

What I'll throw out now: I like the description, but I would cut down a bit to get to the medium rare tenderness of your game's awesomeness. Brevity will help you in a contest like this, especially with the rulebook text limitation.

The thing I told Alpha Dog about props thing can apply to you as well :wink:

# ? Aug 9, 2014 07:10

CodfishCartographer: Feb 23, 2010; Gadus Maprocephalus; Pillbug

TheSoundNinja posted:

Glad to have you in! I'll grade you and post the points tomorrow.

What I'll throw out now: I like the description, but I would cut down a bit to get to the medium rare tenderness of your game's awesomeness. Brevity will help you in a contest like this, especially with the rulebook text limitation.

The thing I told Alpha Dog about props thing can apply to you as well

Yeah I usually edit my poo poo down to be more efficient, I just kinda rushed that out since I was already late :v:

By in-game prop, I'm assuming yo mean like a character sheet / player card or something similar?

# ? Aug 9, 2014 07:20

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

CodfishCartographer posted:

Yeah I usually edit my poo poo down to be more efficient, I just kinda rushed that out since I was already late By in-game prop, I'm assuming yo mean like a character sheet / player card or something similar?

Like this, or like this (if you want an ARG example)

I mean, don't go crazy, but in-universe posters and props that communicate the ideas in question are awesome in my eyes. I LOVE THAT CRAP, MAN.

# ? Aug 9, 2014 07:29

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

Heads up, participants: From this point, you have :siren:

less than 24 hours :siren:

to the next Check-in!

Have your proof of progress in by
Tomorrow @ 11:59p CST.

Best of luck, and I can't wait to see the game mechanics y'all have in the works!

# ? Aug 10, 2014 06:21

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

Alright, you've only got :siren:

Four Hours Left :siren:

to turn in your proof of progress for tonight's Check-in.

You don't have to have it fit any size requirements yet, and it doesn't have to be the full idea - I just want to see what you have in the works currently.

# ? Aug 11, 2014 01:54

Casnorf: Jun 14, 2002; Never drive a car when you're a fish

You might be able to read my notes in the full-size of that surprisingly purple image (I don't recommend it. They're only vaguely related to the game as written currently, haha). If not, what we're looking at is the first test of The Trashmen of the Sierra Madre. The central bit of cardboard and tile piles is the main gameboard, with the second and third turns' tiles below.

The rules are basically in place, and what remains is to play it a zillion times to get a feel for the proper distribution of tiles.

The game itself is a bluffing game, where each player is trying to mine the garbage piles for treasure knowing that his compadres will steal from his stash on the garbage truck. The space on the truck is limited, so do you hide treasure under trash? Be careful, though, because the driver might be watching, and he might just bogart your newest find.

# ? Aug 11, 2014 02:09

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

Casnorf posted:

You might be able to read my notes in the full-size of that surprisingly purple image (I don't recommend it. They're only vaguely related to the game as written currently, haha). If not, what we're looking at is the first test of The Trashmen of the Sierra Madre. The central bit of cardboard and tile piles is the main gameboard, with the second and third turns' tiles below.

The rules are basically in place, and what remains is to play it a zillion times to get a feel for the proper distribution of tiles.

The game itself is a bluffing game, where each player is trying to mine the garbage piles for treasure knowing that his compadres will steal from his stash on the garbage truck. The space on the truck is limited, so do you hide treasure under trash? Be careful, though, because the driver might be watching, and he might just bogart your newest find.

Could you take pictures of each of those components pictured? A big picture is fine and good, but I like to check these on my phone.

I'm counting this as your Check-in, but the smaller pics would help me out.

# ? Aug 11, 2014 02:13

Casnorf: Jun 14, 2002; Never drive a car when you're a fish

TheSoundNinja posted:

Could you take pictures of each of those components pictured? A big picture is fine and good, but I like to check these on my phone.

I'm counting this as your Check-in, but the smaller pics would help me out.

Uh, haha, there's nothing actually on them. I mean, the tiles either have an x or o on them (or are blank) to tell you what type they are, and in that picture they're all blank-side-up. The cardboard rectangle is the truck and honestly in practice it's just a thematic place to put tiles that are essentially out of play and keep track of which set of tiles you're at. I just included a picture because my wife took one while we were setting up. Nonetheless if you want any more information just ask.

# ? Aug 11, 2014 02:25

CodfishCartographer: Feb 23, 2010; Gadus Maprocephalus; Pillbug

Here is what I've got so far for my system. Pretty bare-bones so far, but I've been wanting to do something with dice pools for a little while now and I think I've got an okay system so far. I'll be adding to the document and tweaking it as I do more work and flesh it out some more, but here's what's here! I've also never designed an RPG system before, so I figured doing so would be a good learning exercise for me.

# ? Aug 11, 2014 02:39

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

Casnorf posted:

Uh, haha, there's nothing actually on them. I mean, the tiles either have an x or o on them (or are blank) to tell you what type they are, and in that picture they're all blank-side-up. The cardboard rectangle is the truck and honestly in practice it's just a thematic place to put tiles that are essentially out of play and keep track of which set of tiles you're at. I just included a picture because my wife took one while we were setting up. Nonetheless if you want any more information just ask.

So the tiles randomly have treasure, or are junk? That is what the X and O means?

# ? Aug 11, 2014 02:41

Casnorf: Jun 14, 2002; Never drive a car when you're a fish

TheSoundNinja posted:

So the tiles randomly have treasure, or are junk? That is what the X and O means?

Treasure (x), trash (blank), and swap (o). Swap tiles are the 'bogart' or "steal from the other guy's stash" mechanic. All tiles are blank on the back right now, though my wife suggested switching to round tiles and putting a picture of a garbage can lid on them. That might be getting ahead of myself, I think. Probably ought to make sure it totally and completely works before I start theming the heck out of it.

# ? Aug 11, 2014 02:59

Antivehicular: Dec 30, 2011; I wanna sing one for the cars
That are right now headed silent down the highway
And it's dark and there is nobody driving And something has got to give

Wow, I almost spaced on this entirely. Here's my current progress doc, stuffed with as many lame office buzzwords as I could make fit without total obfuscation. Right now what I have owes a lot to FATE, Monsterhearts, and The Quiet Year, but shoulders of giants, right?

Next step: design a goddamn conflict resolution mechanic! It'll probably be something simple in the "roll a die, add another die if your attributes imply you're good at this, high is good," but for some reason I'm stuck on it. Oh well.

# ? Aug 11, 2014 04:04

Elector_Nerdlingen: Sep 27, 2004

Ted had been trying to trail the funny-looking kid through Sportswear, but had lost him when he stepped behind a rack of baseball gear... and didn't step out again. This sure as heck wasn't a shoplifter, this was real work. His earpiece made the distinctive dit-dit-dit that meant one of his colleagues was having similar problems. He hoped it wasn't Dave. Dave was a twitchy idiot that was as likely to "accidentally" assault some poor kid as he was to push the Panic Button without being sure.

Ted thought he saw something moving quickly out of the corner of his eye, and spun to get a better look - just as something dropped on his back and knocked him to the floor. He rolled as he fell, trying to at least get an arm into a position to defend himself, but the thing on top of him was fast. He bucked under it - it was surprisingly light - rolled, and crashed into a display of athletic socks just as his earpiece squawked the single continuous tone that meant someone had pressed the Panic Button. Ten minutes to apprehend the "shoplifters" before the Janitor sanitised the site. He tore off the earpieice. It would be useless soon anyway.

Yeah, there was the confirming announcement: "Clean up in aisle 10" from the centre's speakers. Then "Paging Mr. Green" as the speakers crackled and died, so at least the armoury doors were open. "Well, poo poo" thought Ted. One thing was for sure: with the display on top of him and at least two of the sneaky bastards nearby, he was going to miss his check-in.

_{Yeah, I'm going to miss my check in, unless this counts - some of the mechanics are sort of hinted at above, I guess.}

Elector_Nerdlingen fucked around with this message at 05:06 on Aug 11, 2014

# ? Aug 11, 2014 04:35

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

AlphaDog posted:

Ted had been trying to trail the funny-looking kid through Sportswear, but had lost him when he stepped behind a rack of baseball gear... and didn't step out again. This sure as heck wasn't a shoplifter, this was real work. His earpiece made the distinctive dit-dit-dit that meant one of his colleagues was having similar problems. He hoped it wasn't Dave. Dave was a twitchy idiot that was as likely to "accidentally" assault some poor kid as he was to push the Panic Button without being sure.

Ted thought he saw something moving quickly out of the corner of his eye, and spun to get a better look - just as something dropped on his back and knocked him to the floor. He rolled as he fell, trying to at least get an arm into a position to defend himself, but the thing on top of him was fast. He bucked under it - it was surprisingly light - rolled, and crashed into a display of athletic socks just as his earpiece squawked the single continuous tone that meant someone had pressed the Panic Button. Ten minutes to apprehend the "shoplifters" before the Janitor sanitised the site. He tore off the earpieice. It would be useless soon anyway.

Yeah, there was the confirming announcement: "Clean up in aisle 10" from the centre's speakers. Then "Paging Mr. Green" as the speakers crackled and died, so at least the armoury doors were open. "Well, poo poo" thought Ted. One thing was for sure: with the display on top of him and at least two of the sneaky bastards nearby, he was going to miss his check-in.

_{Yeah, I'm going to miss my check in, unless this counts - some of the mechanics are sort of hinted at above, I guess.}

Unless you can now write an explanation of the mechanics, no. Just get it in by Wednesday.

# ? Aug 11, 2014 05:51

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

Now that it's an hour later (sorry, filming a friend dying his hair):

:siren:

The deadline for Cut-off 2 has now passed :siren:

If you haven't claimed your late week yet, you have until 11:59 CST Wednesday to get in proof of progress.

I'll grade tomorrow. For now, I'm showing my girlfriend The Matrix.

...because she hasn't seen The Matrix, somehow.

# ? Aug 11, 2014 07:26

Antivehicular: Dec 30, 2011; I wanna sing one for the cars
That are right now headed silent down the highway
And it's dark and there is nobody driving And something has got to give

TheSoundNinja posted:

(sorry, filming a friend dying his hair)

This is off-topic, but I sort of want to know the story here. Was there a bet involved?

# ? Aug 11, 2014 07:35

Elector_Nerdlingen: Sep 27, 2004

TheSoundNinja posted:

Unless you can now write an explanation of the mechanics, no. Just get it in by Wednesday.

Yeah, fair enough. I'm not gonna claim a late week because "I went drinking instead" isn't any sort of reasonable excuse, and there's no way I'll have anything actually together enough to show by Wednesday anyway.

# ? Aug 11, 2014 07:45

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

Antivehicular posted:

This is off-topic, but I sort of want to know the story here. Was there a bet involved?

He's the co-host of my comedy troupe. We have a web series where he tries random stuff, and one of the ones we're recording involves him dying his hair orange and purple to celebrate his younger brother going back for his second year of college out-of-state.

# ? Aug 11, 2014 09:15

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

Hey, before reading the reasons for the grades this past week, look: A shiny video...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6jr2Ua3Ovo

This is the video series that will soon feature a video of the main star having his hair dyed. Enjoy!

Now, on to business...

Casnorf: Well, glad to see you shop at Ikea. Their furniture reminds me of the theme of your game - You're never sure if the furniture you buy from there will be great, crap, or if it's Humphrey Bogart in disguise. Protoryping and playing with an idea to figure out what you want to do with it is a valid way of going about designing a game, so I'm glad to accept your picture of a game in progress. I just wish there was a little more detail to the pic (unless the card on the bottom left corner isn't a part of the game). I'm impressed though, since it's a good foundation for you to build on. I would suggest thinking about what kind of theme you're going to put with the X, O, Bogart tiles, since the actual identity of the treasure and crap is what's really going to sell players on snatching up treasure. Check out the video game Smash TV for ideas - not of actual items, but for inspiration of how to take a blanket idea of "points" and give it a more interesting coat of paint. Can't wait to see if it comes with badges. 4 Points, Bogart Point Achieved
Black Wombat: Huh, not bad for having less time than optimal to come up with ideas. The basics of a Beer and Pretzel RPG are there, and it's a good start. I like how we have two entries in the contest that use a deck of cards for their mechanics, but each handle it differently. The only thing I would recommend looking into is difficulty - You use a variable for it, and include an additional variable that creates a built in timer, but you don't have any recommendations as to what the first variable should be. As this is what your players will have to beat, figuring out what would constitute easy, medium, and hard difficulties would make it easier for people to play and run. Regardless, good job. 4 Points, Litigateality Coefficent of 1
Antivehicular: So, now you know what it's like to be God! An interesting fusion of the mechanics from multiple games to make something completely different. You have the basics of your game down pat, though you still need a resolution mechanic. If it's still out there somewhere, the Forge had a user-submitted article of 15+ different dice-based resolution systems, but with FATE mechanics you'd probably do fine with dFs. Or, if you really want to go crazy, something representing the heads of the capitalist system. Still, color me impressed with your progress, especially taking these games and putting them together like this into something that shows promise. Keep it up. 5 points, Administrivia rating of 1
AlphaDog: Having discussed this week's entry via PM and reading it again, I'm postponing on scoring them until I can get a little clarification on terms. I do like what was submitted as an example of fluff, and have a challenge for them: If you can come up with a way to involve the term :quote:Check-in:quote: into the game as an actual game term, I'll give them something special. Don't rush, you have up till the end of the contest to come up with something if you choose to do so. I can give you your bonus point now, however. Error Loading Score, Please contact Mr. Green at ex. 1-2-7 for assistance

# ? Aug 11, 2014 23:35

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

Okay, now onto CodfishCartographer. Since I had to grade two check-ins for you, you get a post by yourself this week.

Stage 1: While a little wordy, it's a good description. Call of Cthuhlu as an RPG has a special place in my heart, the pulpier the better. This strikes that and reminds me of a song from Psychostick. Good start. Also, pleasantly surprised that you had both forms of evidence for the Late Week - I only wanted one. 5 Points earned, Late Week Claimed
Stage 2: This is the beginnings of a good foundation for a light game (30 minute timeframe). There is just one thing I'm a little confused by: You don't mention anyway of refilling your dice pools, is that on purpose, or is there a way to get them back? Or is it that dice get sent to the other dice pool? The wording seems a little weird. Not a bad start, however. 3 Points Earned, Eg, I guess I'll give you a BP

So, the mission for this next week that will earn you another platinum-plated Point of Bonusing: I'd like you to make a piece of fan[media] about one of the competitor's games.

Antivehicular posted:

Wow, I almost spaced on this entirely.

Hey, how about a discussion topic for the week? That way y'all will have the contest in your minds and don't risk forgetting about it? This week:
What is your dream job, and how do you plan to get there (if you are aiming at it)?

# ? Aug 11, 2014 23:59

Elector_Nerdlingen: Sep 27, 2004

TheSoundNinja posted:

[*]AlphaDog: Having discussed this week's entry via PM and reading it again, I'm postponing on scoring them until I can get a little clarification on terms. I do like what was submitted as an example of fluff, and have a challenge for them: If you can come up with a way to involve the term :quote:Check-in:quote: into the game as an actual game term, I'll give them something special. Don't rush, you have up till the end of the contest to come up with something if you choose to do so. I can give you your bonus point now, however. Error Loading Score, Please contact Mr. Green at ex. 1-2-7 for assistance
[/list]

OK here goes.

PCs have 3 stats. These are tracked on... tracks. The tracks are Robust<>Wobbly, Alert<>Bored, and Patient<>Angry.

The game is played on a board representing the Venue (pub, department store, etc). Someone (probably the GM) will need to draw this or something. If I get time, I'll make interlocking tiles.

You move 3* squares +/- your Robust<>Wobbly track.

All checks are resolved on 1d6. You add/subtract the number on your relevant stat and subtract/add the NPC/monster's relevant track and try to get 3+*.

The goal in stage 1 is to go up to "suspicious patrons" and check to see if they're aliens. If they are, you need to peacefully detain them. Or they might eat you. If they're not, they might get pissed off and reduce your Patient, or you might get pissed off and reduce your Alert.

The GM during that stage might try to position an alien to eat your PC.

If a character would get to the bottom space on the Patient<>Angry track, they automatically press the Panic Button. The Panic Button is also pressed if a character is eaten during stage 1.

When the panic button is pressed, stage 1 ends and stage 2 begins.

In Stage 2, you have 10 rounds (10 minutes) to kill/detain all the remaining aliens. If you don't, the JANITOR will sanitise the site (the automatic defense system will release the nerve gas or radiation or whatever, pacifying everything in the Venue. Whether it kills you or not, you're out of a job now). The only way to avoid this is to kill every last alien and then check in** with the JANITOR*** (with a retina scan, it needs to make sure you're you).

"Clean up in aisle X" is the 10 / 5 / 1 minute warning. There will be different global effects at each cleanup number.

Extras for Stage 2:
-- If you can make it to the armory (only open in stage 2), you can get some weapons and stuff.
-- You lose points for each patron that doesn't make it out. If you were playing a campaign (why?) these points would mean better/worse future jobs.

Aliens can hurt each of your stats in different ways, which does a different thing (-robust will make you move slow, -alert will leave you open to ambush and -patient will affect your shooting).

There might be character generation or there might be premades, but chances are that characters will be mechanically similar (like security guards). Would premade characters count towards the rules-text limit?

*Number subject to change as I do actual math.
**This was what I meant by check-in in my earlier post - it was already in the notes.
***It's spelled like that in the Employee Handbook. They don't tell you what it stands for. You probably don't need to know.

Elector_Nerdlingen fucked around with this message at 02:01 on Aug 12, 2014

# ? Aug 12, 2014 01:52

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

AlphaDog posted:

There might be character generation or there might be premades, but chances are that characters will be mechanically similar (like security guards). Would premade characters count towards the rules-text limit?

As I imagine it would be separate from the rules in the form of a character sheet or whatever the cards from that CoC board game are called, no. Premade Characters do not count against that limit.

# ? Aug 12, 2014 02:01

Antivehicular: Dec 30, 2011; I wanna sing one for the cars
That are right now headed silent down the highway
And it's dark and there is nobody driving And something has got to give

TheSoundNinja posted:

As I imagine it would be separate from the rules in the form of a character sheet or whatever the cards from that CoC board game are called, no. Premade Characters do not count against that limit.

How do you feel about quasi-"modules?" I want to write an example/quickplay set of event cards for MA, but obviously a list of 30 events corresponding to playing cards is going to eat up a lot of page space.

# ? Aug 12, 2014 03:12

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

Antivehicular posted:

How do you feel about quasi-"modules?" I want to write an example/quickplay set of event cards for MA, but obviously a list of 30 events corresponding to playing cards is going to eat up a lot of page space.

So, let me tell you a tale of a wonderful program I use for stuff like this called Deckromancy.

Make a separate deck, just for your game, and not take up the space in the rulebook. If you have trouble figuring out how to work it, PM me and I'll try to help.

It's pretty easy to figure out though, so it should do you fine. Plus, the month trial will last you through the contest.

# ? Aug 12, 2014 04:04

Antivehicular: Dec 30, 2011; I wanna sing one for the cars
That are right now headed silent down the highway
And it's dark and there is nobody driving And something has got to give

TheSoundNinja posted:

So, let me tell you a tale of a wonderful program I use for stuff like this called Deckromancy.

Make a separate deck, just for your game, and not take up the space in the rulebook. If you have trouble figuring out how to work it, PM me and I'll try to help.

It's pretty easy to figure out though, so it should do you fine. Plus, the month trial will last you through the contest.

Thanks! This looks really cool. I'll give it a shot and see what I can come up with.

# ? Aug 12, 2014 04:31

CodfishCartographer: Feb 23, 2010; Gadus Maprocephalus; Pillbug

TheSoundNinja posted:

Stage 2: This is the beginnings of a good foundation for a light game (30 minute timeframe). There is just one thing I'm a little confused by: You don't mention anyway of refilling your dice pools, is that on purpose, or is there a way to get them back? Or is it that dice get sent to the other dice pool? The wording seems a little weird. Not a bad start, however. 3 Points Earned, Eg, I guess I'll give you a BP

I guess maybe I could have explained it better! How it works is when dice are removed from a pool (by not being used for a successful check) then they are moved to the other pool. So If you make a physical check, all the dice not used for the success are then moved to the mental pool and then vice versa for a mental check. The goal was to make it kinda lightweight but with some strategy and balancing to it. I'll get to rewriting the main rules explanation to hopefully be more clear, and then next is to add combat and conflict resolution.

Also I totally didn't mean for EG to be my buzzword, it was just a quick nickname I made up so I wouldn't have to keep typing out Elder Gods, but I'll happily take the bonus point!

# ? Aug 12, 2014 04:41

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# ? May 2, 2024 17:58

Casnorf: Jun 14, 2002; Never drive a car when you're a fish

TheSoundNinja posted:

Casnorf: Well, glad to see you shop at Ikea. Their furniture reminds me of the theme of your game - You're never sure if the furniture you buy from there will be great, crap, or if it's Humphrey Bogart in disguise. Protoryping and playing with an idea to figure out what you want to do with it is a valid way of going about designing a game, so I'm glad to accept your picture of a game in progress. I just wish there was a little more detail to the pic (unless the card on the bottom left corner isn't a part of the game). I'm impressed though, since it's a good foundation for you to build on. I would suggest thinking about what kind of theme you're going to put with the X, O, Bogart tiles, since the actual identity of the treasure and crap is what's really going to sell players on snatching up treasure. Check out the video game Smash TV for ideas - not of actual items, but for inspiration of how to take a blanket idea of "points" and give it a more interesting coat of paint. Can't wait to see if it comes with badges. 4 Points, Bogart Point Achieved

The card is an 8.5x11 sheet of paper with all my original and edited design notes. I figure if everything will fit written on one sheet...well, anyway, I also figured that coming up with fun treasures will be half of the fun of making this game, but I didn't want to get ahead of myself. It's very easy to get seduced by a fun theme and forget that the game has to be mechanically sound.

# ? Aug 12, 2014 06:12

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