White Line Nightmare is currently a bunch of half-finished parts scattered around a chassis in a dingy garage, like in one of those automotive survival video games. I briefly went into what WLN's about in an earlier post - this is more of a status report to keep me accountable.
Often when I'm running a game, I focus on antagonist NPCs, characters who force me to think about what they're doing and how the player characters can react to their activities. It is rare when an allied NPC gets spotlight time, which brings me to this idea of "checklist NPCs". The NPC is associated with a checklist of prompts or events that best represent their purpose in the game. A player can check an item off the list to bring that event into play.
The OGL wildfires have inspired me to get back to game design. I've thought about this unformed game a lot (four years if you count that first blog post), and worked on it very little. I'm writing about it now to put it out into the world, to add that weight of accountability.
Last year I talked about using Cortex Prime with Star Wars. I've run a few more times and while there are no major changes in my philosophy, I've learned enough to warrant sharing some ideas.
I made a Fiasco playset for the July Sixth Park Dinojam over at itch.io. Spared No Expense brings lofty ambitions and poor impulse control to an all-inclusive theme park and resort, where their aging robosaur attractions have been replaced with all-new real life dinoclones! Find your way to the one-of-a-kind Mesozoic Valley Resort and Casino, … Continue reading A Fiasco Playset 65 Million Years in the Making
I made 24XX: BANDIT a while back for Pretendo Games' 24XX Jam on itch. Of the two 24XX games I've made (BREACH being the first and simplest), I've run BANDIT many more times and its rough edges are more apparent now after a fairly lengthy online campaign. Like the Super Sabre, Super Hornet, and Super … Continue reading Super Bandit Development
Two and a half years ago I wrote a series of posts about adapting Cortex Prime for Star Wars. I've had some sessions and learned some lessons since then, not just about StarCortexPrimeWars but also about what parts of the expansive Cortex toolkit work best for me. As usual, preferences vary, I'm not your dad, do what you like. Let's go.
Finding the right words is worth it, especially when they're going on a character sheet. Take the time to nail the right vibe and your games will be better for it.
Here's the Wasteland from Glow in the Dark reframed as Hard Zones for AW: Burned Over.
Don't Roll a One 