Serious Creators Block

[kpklukken]

*Isn't EXACTLY sure if this is the right forum area*

So if this post is supposed to be somewhere else then my apologies. move it wherever you will.

Some time ago I started to mull over game ideas for a pen and paper RPG. I came up with ideas and started to develop it and then it happened *writers block* so i stopped. Then i started a yahoo group to see if i could get peoples input and ideas. I got some takers but the members are quite complacent and give me about as many ideas as listening to a stone.

My stuff is posted at http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/Realms_of_Chaos/ .... I had to require membership due to spam. If there is anyone willing to look and help me with ideas i would so much appreciate it. I am new at designing so i have little experience with the needed structure. Not all of my stuff is posted since some of it is still not posted (like most of the races) but if someone would like to see all of what i have (rough draft) then i would be glad to email it to them. But i am just running dry and would like other peoples input.
(can't seem to get the URL to format right)

[Mike Sugarbaker]

Hello and welcome to the Forge.

So, what I'm wondering, as a way to approach your stuff here: what is your play life like, and what in your RPG play made you want to start writing this game?

I find that when I'm stuck for design ideas, the first and best thing is... well, the first thing is to look at other media or real-world phenomena, but the next is to go play something, anything. Either I'll get inspired with a bunch of new stuff to steal, or I'll get frustrated about some aspect of play and start dreaming up ways to fix it.

If we're gonna get you unstuck, we may need to know more about the course that led you into the muddy ditch to begin with...

[Simon C]

I'm gonna second that.  It's probably easier for you to post some ideas here of the kind of thing you're interested in, and we can point you to some stuff that might get your juices flowing.  As someone who's pretty new to the Forge as well, I can say that it's been a really great inspiration for improving my play, and for moving me towards game design, but you tend to get out what you put in.  The more specific, detailed questions you ask, the more useful responses you'll get.

Another idea is to look through the resources section, especially checking out the free games.  There are so many amazing ideas out there, I'd be surprised if something didn't spark your creative energy.  So many of those games make me think "Darn it, I wish I'D written that." 

[kpklukken]

     Well a little about me. I am 26 yrs old and have been a roleplayer for the past 14 years. I have played many different pen and paper rpgs (GURPS, Palladium, vampire, werewolf, mage, ADnD.. to name a few) My favorite has to be 2e ADnD. Anyone who looks at my stuff in my group probably sees some heavy influence from that.

     I worked hard on my rpg  for quite a while BUT then I got a job which took alot of time away from it and eventually I guess I suffered from burnout so I quit working on it. When I got back to it stuff just wasn't coming to me like it did before and that's why I am stuck. I am working on races (or at least trying) but giving them description and depth is difficult for me. I got one race to where I am happy with it and a couple to be at least playable but the rest are still up in the air and very incomplete.

     As for why I started designing it. I saw alot of "stuff" in 2nd ed ADnD (and others) that were inconsistent but I loved the system as a whole. I was not really impressed with 3rd ed ADnD and I don't care much more for 3.5 (but its all due to personal tastes *is not saying they are bad*). But I started working on the system before 3rd ed or 3.5 so that parts somewhat irrelevant. also I had alot of ideas but they didn't quite fit into an existing game so I started designing my own.

     Hope that's something of what you were asking for. Its hard to totally describe what i have done though i am willing to send it to whom every requests so they can see what I am trying to do. If there is something you wish for me to describe like the basis of the system I can post what info you need but I am trying to expand and add to the game while still fine tuning stuff I have. Fine tuning isn't as hard as expanding right now (thus Creators Block)

[GB Steve]

I find the random button on wiki to be a good source of inspiration.

Are you looking for help in the setting design or the system design? Although these two are obviously interdependent, you would want a system that delivers the kind of results that meet the setting requirements, it's not clear where you're blocked.

As for structure, Ron's model (at the top of the glossary) is useful in that it encapsulates the whole of the roleplaying process so I suggest you read that. Even if you disagree with the analysis, as I do, it's a very good starting point and offers a structure against which to test your ideas.

[Adam Dray]

I find that writer's block (or creator's block) comes from two sources:

1) You're editing. Stop editing before you write. Just shut that part off and write. Don't worry if it's good or right, let alone perfect. A writer mentor of my wife's says, "Allow yourself to write shit."

2) You don't know what you want. When you don't know where you want to go, wandering around doesn't help you get there. Clearly state what your goals are. For a game design, maybe write down an example transcript of three people playing your game, as if you're a fly on the wall. Make a list of things the game design should accomplish. Answer the Big Three questions, or the Power 19. These are great design tools for certain kinds of games.

Good luck!

[Sane]

1) You're editing. Stop editing before you write. Just shut that part off and write. Don't worry if it's good or right, let alone perfect. A writer mentor of my wife's says, "Allow yourself to write shit."

...on the other hand don't publish shit. Once your writer's block is gone, go back and remove the poor bits Brainstorming is a useful tactic, but its results are rarely neat or even legible.

Ash

[Leviathan]

   In my writing I have found that when I am not feeling creative, I need to step away from the topic for a short time. Do something mindless where you don't actively think. Your subconsious rarely lets go of something that isn't finished, but by taking away your conscious interferance, your mind is free to work at it's own pace and in it's own direction. I believe the technical term for the phenomenon is "Eureka Theory" as memory serves.

   Also I find that a good way to get your creativity flowing is just to pay attention to the things that happen in your non-creative portions of living. Walking the dog, cooking a meal, watching the TV. I am always marveling at where ideas come from. Some of them from the most seemingly uninspiring places. Any creative venture is a challenge. Not because one must create something, but because it is so hard to create something truely original. Almost any venture into creativity that is successful is not a new idea, but an old idea done in a new way or from a new perspective. If you have an area of your work that you need fleshed out but can't seem to come up with anything on, turn to your normal life and think of what a thing is at the very core. Take that core and build around it.

   An example for a game design issue could be statistics. Look at the typical game. The core of what statistics are is a tangible representation of a person's natural capability. Now many games have you seen where the stats seem like a simple copy of some older game with a single stat moved around or otherwise changed. Instead of looking at other games and how they have done their stats, try a whole new perspective. Look at a person and just decide for yourself what you feel are the important factors in deciding what nature and time have given them to work with.  Maybe you don't think strength is a single stat, but instead a series of 5 sorts of strength. Or maybe you consider endurance to be a portion of the mental abilities rather than physical. Who knows. Sometimes it is our preconcieved ideas that can get in the way of our creativity.

I hope these three tidbits were helpful. For me they usually are. Good luck!

[johnwedd]

i have a tendecy to agree with the eureka theory. i consum large amounts of caffine, to set up the soil, then i read fark, something awful, and here. then i do alot of paceing talking to myself. then i'm sure keep a big fat notebook, and lots of scribbleing.

[kpklukken]

Its been a help to just hear others opinions on how I should approach getting myself back into creating. A buddy of mine who helped a little before plans to start helping me again next month so hopefully it will get me going aswell. Also my thanks go to the two whom decided to take a look at what files i do have. hopefully I can get some input from you both.

[deneb829]

For me, I created games that I was interested in playing, but I could not afford or otherwise did not exist (as I am sure that everyone here does as well). I created my Star Wars RPG (in 1980) because I wanted to play in the Star Wars universe. In my mind, Star Wars didn't end with the movie (Empire Strikes Back hadn't been released yet) - it was a vast universe that I often visited in my imagination. By the time my friends and I started playing my RPG, I had scores of missions for them to run from just things that I imagined about the Star Wars universe - little of it was down on paper. I didn't worry about races, ships, combat, or charts. Much of the game was built on the fly. After the end the game, I went back and worked on some of the new things that came up. The game itself evolved by playing it. The last time that I played it (before the release of the West End Games version in 1987) the manual was at least 15-20 handwritten pages and maybe maybe 8-10 charts. It was no D&D by any stretch, but it was fun and born of wanting to play.

I guess what I am trying to say is get back into the fun of playing the game - remember the reasons that you wanted to make the game in the first place. Write stories about your game universe. If doing anything is not fun, then it's work. If expanding your game is work, then you may want to take a break - or even let it go. Don't force yourself to finish a game that you have lost interest in playing. There is no shame in moving on.

[Ron Edwards]

Hi guys,

I like this thread. People are being nice, and some good advice is being given.

However, now it's time for Mean Me to step in, and to say, "This forum is for ideas in progress. No one is being moderated in the negative sense, but the thread really needs to be called finished." So it's closed. The rule here is that, when I say that, no one can post to it again. Not even for thanks or good-bye. If you have any question (or want to object!) just send me a private message.

To kpklukken, I have one big suggestion - post in the Actual Play forum. It doesn't matter what game, or when you played it, as long as it really happened and you tell us what it was like. I won't make any promises, but if past experience is any judge, you will be amazed at what design ideas will come to you after initiating even just one thread of this kind.

Best, Ron

P.S. Remember - "closed" means, no more posting in this thread. Thanks.