rpgs being designed by women

[Emily Care]

Which is closest to being done?

1001 Nights, definately.

Good deal. I hope to play it someday. I particularly love the nested narratives aspect of it you've talked about.

[Paul's Girl]

I've been playing for a bit less than four years now, and just beginning to think of ideas for game designs. My first, a pretty big flop, was a free-form meta game, Switch. We actually play-tested it and while I had some good concepts (I believe), the didn't work in actuality.  However, here are my answers:

What games am I working on?
An untitled pirate themed game, inspired by a great non-fiction book on the subject I read last summer. I got the idea for the game at Gen-Con last year.  I also started some ideas on a parody game, based on a friends finished game, but I won't announce the name because he doesn't know it exists. It will be playable, but in a way goofy.


Which is closest to being done?
Eh, done, started..what's the diff? I would like to concentrate on the pirate idea since that could be taken more seriously, so right now its research and basic mechanic ideas.


What would I need to publish it this year?
Not gonna happen. Next year?

[Zahtevnik]

Currently I am working with one other on Abeo. Then we both work with three other people on Anointed.

This doesn't include all the outstanding help we've received with the art. We also have a handful of people writing short fiction for Abeo and a mini-fan base from our last convention.

I honestly haven't found any problems as a female developer that I wouldn't have expected as a male developer. The only biased hurdles I've come across are all age-based; and all of that is from people that aren't gamers. Individuals outside the whole gaming clique have a lot of trouble wrapping their head around the concept of writing an RPG being hard work instead of casual play.

What has helped me get things done - besides the amazing group I have to work with - is a business-based background, a horribly bossy nature and an obsession with working non-stop when I have a goal in mind. While the guys I was working with treated writing the games as a fun hobby (with good reason; it was) I was writing out business plans consisting of how many months it would take for our games to be listed on the New York Times Bestsellers. We never did figure out how long it would take since no one could stop laughing at the idea.

What has held me back, personally, is a lack of experience in the field. I'm the baby-gamer out of everyone involved, with only five years of gaming under my belt. And virtually all of that experience came from White Wolf's World of Darkness. In the past two years I've had to fit in time to become more knowledgeable in the gaming world as a whole. Diving headfirst into a business venture like this has meant a lot of frantic learning to keep from repeating a faux pas.

Another big holdback has been the money aspect. We have been pulling out the stops, reading marketing/business/etc books and wracking our minds with ways to make our products look professional. I have personal funds that are going directly into advertising and every dime has been well spent. For all the girls out there (and guys, too) I can't stress how great the advertising has been. For myself, it meant not eating out anymore or going out and doing anything that costs money.

By the by, Emily, Rise Up sounds like it'll be an extremely interesting game. Other than the thread you linked do you have anything else up about it?

Jennifer-
Insomnium Games
http://insomniumgames.com

[Emily Care]

Hey there,

Danielle:  What didn't work about Switch?  It's frustrating to work on games that don't click.  Though what Vincent has said about "practice games" rings true to me, and for every game the gets published I bet there are piles by the same writer that do not. I look forward to the pirate, game, though.  Perhaps I can lure my housemate Phoebe deeper in to the dark side (ie gaming) through her love of things privateer.

Individuals outside the whole gaming clique have a lot of trouble wrapping their head around the concept of writing an RPG being hard work instead of casual play.... While the guys I was working with treated writing the games as a fun hobby (with good reason; it was) I was writing out business plans consisting of how many months it would take for our games to be listed on the New York Times Bestsellers.

Go Jennifer! Yes, it's hard to think of it somehow as work since it is so intertwined with play.  Cultural stereotypes about the hobby itself don't help.  You are taking it very seriously though.

For all the girls out there (and guys, too) I can't stress how great the advertising has been. For myself, it meant not eating out anymore or going out and doing anything that costs money.

That's commitment. It seems like this is an ideal time to publish though--the pdf boom makes capital investments much lower than possible before. And the internet is such a fluid way to access consumers.  I can see advertising be a major portion of the budget (along with production/writing etc.) since that's what you need to get the demand kick-started.  

By the by, Emily, Rise Up sounds like it'll be an extremely interesting game. Other than the thread you linked do you have anything else up about it?

Thanks for the question. No, nothing else is out there, I believe.  I've given it quite a bit of thought, and it's actually at a pretty different state than it was when I made that post (more small scale, more focused on individual struggle rather than societal, very focused situation-wise, but still intended to be fully collaborative).  I've also been giving a lot of careful thought to issues about the content.  It's no small thing to approach race & slavery in this country.  When I write it, it has to be well researched.  However, it's the project I'm most excited about in some ways.  The goal is to write 3-4 settings for it: US slavery, Roman slavery, contemporary sexual slavery and/or indentured servitude in a sweatshop, and a futuristic setting.  This will probably be the last of these games that I write, so that I can cut my teeth and make my mistakes on the others first.  This will be challenging enough as it is. I'll need to already have my pencils sharpened with respect to design/writing/publishing.

Writing games has so many layers to it: finding a concept, creating functional rules & mechanics, writing comprehensible text, getting good layout & art, putting it out there and getting it seen & purchased. Getting to the "comprehensible text" part is my current challenge.

best,
Em

[itesser]

Since my name was mentioned, I guess I should reply. ;)

What games am I working on?
I have half a dozen projects with formal notes or writing done, and about that many still in my head. Most recently I've worked on Interrrorgation and Monster Mission Squad.

The former is a horror game with its story told in flashbacks. Inital writing is 100% done, I just want playtest feedback before moving into the final editing/layout stages.

Monster Mission Squad is a superhero-esq game for playing cute Monsters. Working on this is what I would be doing, had John not pointed this thread out to me. The initial writing is maybe 40% completed. It will be ready before GenCon, though.
Here are a few posts about MMS progress.

Most of the projects I'm working on will be done by the end of the year. ;)

L&L
annie

[Emily Care]

Most of the projects I'm working on will be done by the end of the year. ;)

Go!

Any observations or words of advice?

--Em

[itesser]

Any observations or words of advice?

--Em

I think I'm lucky to "get into the indutry" by doing small games for a small publisher (and retaining ownership of my stuff). Also, I started designing rpgs when I only had limited experience playing them; I think that helped me stay out of any set view of what a game "should be", and what it "should have".

Most any advice I give would be cribbing from John or Jared. :)

I say write about what you love, and don't lose sight of that. and don't let people who read it lose sight of it either. Hand to Kang, I will incorperate knitting into one of my games by the end of the year. :D

[daemonchild]

Hi,

I'd like to introduce myself at this point.  

My real name is Monica Valentinelli, I am project manager for http://www.flamesrising.com  I work with Matt M McElroy. While I am relatively new to the RPG industry, I have a strong background in writing.  I hail from UW-Madison's creative writing program.

(Started a thread about it in this forum so won't bother to repeat the specifics). I am working on my first game, called Occupation. It originally started out as a novel, so I'm trying to focus on the mechanics for the system.

I am currently writing some serial fan fiction for Keith Senkowski (Conspiracy of Shadows).  If you ever have the chance to meet him, he's a lot of fun and very knowledgeable. Other projects I'd like to start up, whether they be editing or creating.  

Hope all your projects are wildly successful,

Monica

[Emily Care]

Hi Monica,

Glad to hear about Occupation. (My thanks to Mike).
How did you get involved with Flames Rising?

best,
Emily

[daemonchild]

How did I get involved?

Well, at first I was just a sacrificial victim.  I had never heard of things like LARP before.  Matt ran a vampire LARP called "Milwaukee by Night." Crystal Odenkirk (web designer, editor, and artiste extraordinare) performed with me in a rock opera.  She raved about Matt's LARP, and as it came to a close the LARP site transformed to the first design of Flames Rising. I started writing some reviews, one thing led to another and now I've expanded my horizons into doing some demo work (Flames, Eden Studios) fiction, more reviews, and working at cons.  I've also had the chance to expand my digital photography.  As of this year, I have had the fortune to acquire my own software so I do all my own edits.  It's fun, I get to take pics at the cons we go to, various gaming events, and meet new people at the same time.

I hope to keep the momentum going!  

Monica

[Emily Care]

Crystal Odenkirk (web designer, editor, and artiste extraordinare) performed with me in a rock opera. She raved about Matt's LARP, and as it came to a close the LARP site transformed to the first design of Flames Rising. I started writing some reviews, one thing led to another and now I've expanded my horizons into doing some demo work (Flames, Eden Studios) fiction, more reviews, and working at cons. I've also had the chance to expand my digital photography. As of this year, I have had the fortune to acquire my own software so I do all my own edits. It's fun, I get to take pics at the cons we go to, various gaming events, and meet new people at the same time.

That's some serious mess of talents. This is part time work/hobby? Sounds great. Hope to see you at GenCon!

Speaking of GenCon, anybody have an indie game they wrote last year? Times' almost out for the Indie Game Award nominations.  I think I've already bugged Annie about this enough, but it's a great way to get more exposure for your game, if it applies.  Green's Kathanaksaya was entered last year. I imagine the feedback from the judges was great to receive. I loved reading it.

best,
Em

[MatrixGamer]

My own internal insecurity has been my major obstacle



This is the biggest barrier to putting out a game. Sadly, the writing and play testing are the easy parts. Printing a game is easy to - if you've got money, printers will take it. It's the selling, accounting and other business stuff that wrecks most game plans. That is true for men and women.

I had a game in 1995 that I thought was pretty good. The thought hit me "What if this were a success?" (Note the blind optomism.) I realized that I would screw up. I wouldn't do the accounting right, I wouldn't be able to follow it up quickly, I wouldn't sell it right. My own personality flaws would destroy me. In short I wasn't ready. So I started the slow slog to individual competence. Taught myself accounting, refined the game so that I could turn out new product rapidly if it hit, and never made a step that I could not do again or sustain. All very conservative.

Am I ready now? I'm not sure. I think I am. I feel pretty comfortable with my business skills and my skin is MUCH thicker. The ego part that started this project has been solidly kicked to death and I know exactly how much things cost so I don't lose money and I know any store that buys from me will make money. I guess I can't get more ready.

These are the observations of a male game maker but I think they do apply to everyone.

Learning basic business skills is boring but real helpful.

Chris Engle
Hamster Press

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

Interesting thread. I'd like to see these games actually hit the market.