The bigger they are…
A few nights ago, the question was posed to me via email on how I would handle creatures in a level-less D&D redesign. That question really was just a jumping off point into a larger series of...
View ArticleHunters vs. Vampires – Vampire hunting rules
If you’re going to be hunting vampires, you better know the rules… To that end, here’s the link to to the rules for Hunters vs. Vampires dice game rules. Hunters vs. Vampires Rules The format is double...
View ArticleHunters vs Vampires – initial Prototyping and Playtesting
A few days back I did a little prototyping for Hunters vs. Vampires. Basically I cut out small pieces of paper and taped them to some old d6 I had in my dice collection while for the tokens I simply …...
View ArticleThe Next Big Thing
With Hunters vs. Vampires and I Shoot Randy under my belt, and with Mad Scientist finally finding some traction in the artwork department (results to be posted soon), I’m finding myself looking over...
View ArticleFor Truth and Justice! – an updated Justice City layout
Don’t freak out… this isn’t an indication that the voting is over. I thought I’d go back and do a little on each game to keep my mind fresh on them. In that way, I can move forward more easily …...
View ArticleSomeone tell Hasbro and WotC they need to stop making games!
Thanks to Stargazer for bringing this post to my attention. The original post as well as the response are worth the read if you have the time. For the record, I’m in agreement that the argument that we...
View ArticleThe Mad Scientist artwork of Deadfront Jack
I mentioned a while back that I’d finally gotten some traction on having someone help me generate the artwork for Mad Scientist. I believe I referred to the work being done as Awesome! And believe me,...
View ArticleEven more amazing Mad Science artwork from Deadfront Jack
Words are cheap in this regard. Feast your Mad Scientist eyes on these beauties… Yep. Amazing.
View ArticleThe KORPG™ 2011 year in review
2011 was a year that can really only speak for itself. As with all things, there were highs and lows for KORPG™. Some were expected and others were quite unanticipated. There were some really...
View ArticleIt takes more than just an idea
You know, one of the things that really hurt Apple was after I left John Sculley got a very serious disease. It’s the disease of thinking that a really great idea is 90 percent of the work. And if you...
View ArticleSet the right priorities first
I got sidetracked by a few shiny objects last year but have wanted to return to 37Signal’s Getting Real and how it applies to game development. Today let’s do just that. A Brief Recap: Recall that...
View ArticleDeadfront Jack’s newest Mad Scientist art
Once again I’m bringing you the colorized art that Deadfront Jack has sent over for some of the monsters in Mad Scientist: the Game. And as usual, once again I’m left with the quite obvious realization...
View ArticleGood Luck WotC, I wish you the best in your 5E product…
… Lord knows I don’t envy you in the task. Why? You have a divided fan-base. Half wants hard and structured rules while the other demands less rules and more guidelines for rulings. Half the fan-base...
View ArticleJustice City get’s a facelift
Justice City, where heroes fight against the minions and masters of evil. New and improved with neat-o little icons to represent various board positions. Click the image for a much larger view.
View ArticleCriminal Master Plans help needed
I need a bit of assistance in compiling a good list of “over-the-top, ridiculous, absurd and funny” criminal master plots and modus operendi for the board game For Truth and Justice! Currently I have:...
View ArticleAwesome production results for Hunters vs. Vampires dice
Tonight I finally got around to getting some work done on what looks to be a final, production quality version of Hunters vs. Vampires. You may recall that the card tokens have been complete for a...
View ArticleGetting Real with what you’re offering
Today let’s discuss the next chapter in 37 Signal’s development philosophy book, Getting Real. A Brief Recap: As usual, let’s recap where we’ve already been. Recall that we’ve covered the following:...
View ArticleIn Defense of the Vignette Adventure
The Rhetorical Gamer had an interesting post about the One Hour D&D game that you really should go read. Don’t worry, I’ll wait. Done? Good, because I’m going to expand on my comment posted there...
View ArticleNegative Event and Trap Positions on the For Truth and Justice! Board
Threats: Being a paragon of Justice and Truth isn’t as easy as it sounds. Sure, you’ve got super powers and are guided by an ideal that just speaks to your honest, law abiding position among the good...
View ArticlePositive Event and Bonus Positions on the For Truth and Justice! Board
A couple days ago I posted about some Negative Event and Trap Board Positions for For Truth and Justice! With those described, and to offset the hazards of being a superhero, I wanted to go the...
View ArticleFor Truth and Justice – Justice City nearing completion
Here’s a quick look at the most recent iteration of the Justice City board for the game For Truth and Justice! Click to open a window to the large version. As you can see, as discussed last month, I’ve...
View ArticleThe lesson of 4E – apply it to your game
Breaking all the rules of blogging again, I’m once more going to link to the article that spawned this post early: Things That Kinda Ruined 4e DnD Go read it, it’s worth the time… Back? Excellent. Not...
View ArticleD&D Next – initial thoughts
Play-test! So I finally got the play-test materials downloaded after apparently having something wrong with my account – my guess is that, because I created the account last night (during the initial...
View ArticleD&D Next and Me Me Me
Maybe I’ve been tainted with by 37Signal’s design methodology Getting Real. Maybe I’m seeing the writing on the wall. Maybe I’m tired of arguments about scope and default stance. Maybe I’m just not as...
View ArticleMad Scientist: the game – Breaking up is hard to do
In case any of you get the false impression that I’m not busy working on KORPG™ games, allow me to set your concerns at ease. Take a look at the work I’ve gotten done for Mad Scientist: the game....
View ArticleAn exercise is game creation – Swimming with Sharks
Random Speed Designing: Earlier today I decided to set up a bit of a game design challenge for myself. The general idea I had was this: Essentially, I’d Get Real and design a game. I would allocate no...
View ArticleWhen to end the game – Swimming with Sharks
So over the weekend, as I thought about Swimming with Sharks, I realized there was an inherent flaw to the game. My fear was the two round smack-down, and it goes something like this: The Flaw: Round...
View ArticleSwimming with Sharks – To “Nerd it up” or not?
While discussing Swimming with Sharks with my wife, she had a simple thought on how to add some “depth” to the game without changing a single mechanic. Now for the record, I’ve been fighting a battle...
View ArticleSwimming with Sharks concept sheet
The other day, while participating in an online presentation, I started to flesh out Swimming with Sharks on a legal pad. This is a technique I use often, start with a blank sheet and redesign a game...
View ArticleWho are the Prime Movers in your game?
You’ve just sat down at the table and are ready to begin a new role-playing game with your friends. The entirety of possibilities lie before you like a landscape of infinite opportunity. As the game...
View ArticleSwimming with Sharks initial card layout
Here’s my initial card design for Swimming with Sharks: Thoughts?
View ArticleSwimming with Sharks: a more detailed card template
Better? Worse? No change in opinion? No opinion whatsoever?
View ArticleRed Zone
Red Zone In American football, the red zone is the area of the field between the 20 yard line and the goal line. It also is a great game for 2 players with a single d6 die. Number of Players: …...
View ArticleMad Scientist: the Game Lab stuff
With the cards nearing a production quality (barring the bleed issue) work continues on getting Mad Scientist: the Game to release completion. Next up, work continues on the Lab Sheets and the...
View ArticleSwimming with Sharks – setting up the game deck
I set forth to determine a good baseline beginning of the percentages of shark to water cards for Swimming with Sharks. A game such as this, with a limited play choice, really lives and dies based on...
View ArticleStep into my Laboratory
So after pricing out posters that should be the right size for the Laboratory for Mad Scientist: the Game, I realized I needed to go back to the drawing board. Seriously, the prices on these things are...
View ArticleSwimming with Sharks – a first splash at the water cards
Swimming with Sharks is coming along nicely. You may recall that I’ve been planning on categorizing the both the water and shark cards into point criteria. I’ve got the shark cards set with the...
View ArticleMore system does not equal more choices
Today, while idly perusing my site statistics, I came upon a new referrer that seemed to be generating a bit of a tempest in a teapot of visitors. That referrer is Creative Campaigns. Seems someone...
View ArticleSomething was missing
From a game design and creation viewpoint, Mad Scientist: The Game has been progressing nicely: The Monster Part Cards are done. The Laboratory board is done (with a few tweaks). The Lab Sheets are in...
View ArticleThe Angry Townspeople are coming!
You may recall that I tried out hiring an artist on Fiverr for the Event Card artwork for Mad Scientist: the Game. I sent a request to joshuanimation and asked him to create the artwork for “Igor Has...
View ArticleGive unnecessary rules a boot to the head
Call it Spring cleaning, Getting Real, trimming down, slimming down, or just giving excess rules the boot. Regardless, its that time of the year, and we’re all put in a mind to throw open the shutters,...
View ArticleAre these the right card names?
Last night during dinner I was talking to my family about the current progress of the Mad Scientist game. The game is close to completion and I’m excited to get it done. In light of the artwork I’ve...
View ArticleGoing out of alignment
Loyal reader Isaac sent me an email with a simple question indicating that I may still have much to do to eliminate pointless rules from D&D. With a single sentence, he demonstrated that I’ve...
View ArticleSuper Growth! becomes Team Building Exercise!
At the end of April I posted that I wasn’t happy with the names for the “add a card” mechanic event cards for Mad Scientist. As a result, I tossed it out to the public to help perhaps identify better,...
View ArticleGrowth! becomes Sew What?
Its complete! joshuanimation has come through once again with artwork for Mad Scientist: the Game. You’ll recall that, much like Super Growth, I didn’t really think Growth evoked the right imagery for...
View ArticleWhy Charisma and not Intelligence and/or Wisdom?
A while back I received this rather intriguing email from Demiurugs: Kevin, As so oft happens late(ish) at night, I started having creative thoughts, and was wondering about some of the implication of...
View ArticleBack to making games… sort of
So if you’ve followed me for a while, you’ll note that I haven’t been posting here about ideas or products or developments in game designs and game creations for quite some time. Truth be told, I’ve...
View ArticleNo coding! Yet.
One of the first things I like to do when designing any type of game is to just start with a text document and get a feel for what it is I’m wanting to make. It usually isn’t pretty. It’s … Continue...
View ArticleConsidering High Scores in a closed-loop game
Short post while I spend some time thinking about games. Given the the zombie top-down shooter I’m working on is in a closed, looping world, and I want it to have a very arcade-style feel, I have been...
View ArticleWell that was fast
And… I’m done. Zombie Top-Down Shooter is complete (enough.) I’ve coded all the elements of the game, developed all the levels, added all the sprites, included some cool audio, etc. The game is...
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