Thursday, February 03, 2005

Gaming Wow and Fwee!

Okay, so this spot's been pretty quiet for a while. No idea who's given up on it and who hasn't. But I have a few cool things for those who've stuck with me...

Four, count 'em, four games, available in some version or another right here online, and all really cool.
  • The Shadows of Yesterday by Clinton R. Nixon, a fantasy game with a really funky setting, a truly cool experience engine, and a fantastic scalable conflict-resolution mechanic. Don't like the way that one-roll-one-scene die roll came out? Then Bring Down the Pain. Wonderful stuff.
  • Toward One by Vincent Baker, a classy and incomplete game of binding djinn in the glory days of Islam. A period I really enjoy, and some brilliant touches (the djinn get stronger when successfully opposed, which is necessary for your goals)... this is on my list to playtest some Friday, probably soon.
  • The Mountain Witch by Timothy Kleinert, a one-shot game/scenario about a mistrustful group of ronin taking on the fearsome Mountain Witch of Mount Fuji in a mythical Japan. Half Kurosawa, half heist movie, with a Trust mechanic which just drips consequences. I've asked to help playtest this one, Tim'll be sending me a copy of the draft he's currently polishing sometime in the next couple of weeks. Players wanted.
  • Polaris by Ben Lehman, is a really classy oeuvre about a decayed ice-fey culture and the hopeless efforts of its loyal knights. I love his setting here, and the mechanics are a bit on the quirky side but really neat. Also a work in progress, this one, and I'm interested to see where he goes from here. I'd like to playtest the next edit he puts out.

    All of which makes me want to start running short campaigns of cool small-press games. Sound like a Fridays project to anyone? Death's Door, too, even though I'm still unsure about my ability and/or willingness to actually play that one. Half because it makes me nervous, half because I'm a little hesitant about the depth or shallowness of resulting story, and half because I really don't like things not having reasons and that part of the premise just bugs me. It is nonetheless a totally cool idea which we should all help James hammer into shape.

    On the more general game theory front, some good news and some scary news.

    Good news, aka a plan... One of the nights of GenCon this year, I plan to bring together as many of the brilliant indie minds I can get my grubby little hands on, for dinner and conversation. The subject: Distill what we know, what we think, and what we've seen work, into a prescriptive menu for indie design. Things that make games kick ass. Discussion of this will most likely take place here, for those interested. I'm really, really looking forward to this.

    Scary news. Seldom have I followed a "You are watching this link..." email on the Forge, to find something as flat-out flabbergasting as this. For a community I've grown very fond of, this is a fucking scary revelation. Probably wise, probably smart... but a big damn step. Expect this blog to retask itself slightly to carrying some of that banner. Because this is something I care about, a lot, and expect to have only increase as I go through with plans (shortly!) to formally incorporate Hellequin Games as a company. James, being who he is, beat me to the actual deed... but dammit, I was talking about it first. :P Any of the artists reading this feel like volunteering a logo design?

    Taking a half-step back out of the gaming world, we have this link to prove (to anyone who didn't already know it) that my beloved wife is evil, evil, evil. And I quote: "Dear, we do not need a thirteen-year-old boy." "Yes, but what if he needs us?"

    Grrr. Wench.

    And taking a full step back out of the gaming world and overshooting the real one for a moment, we have a surreal moment for all of you (note - free registration required). Register and read it; it's worth it. Your world will be a better place. And - somebody tell Jim.