Oh, BTW, I've completely given up Game Design

[Andy Kitkowski]

Yeah, so after some progress, then failures, with my Kyuseisha game (started out as a mini-sup for Sorcerer, became its own full game, etc), I've decided that I really don't get any pleasure out of "from scratch" design.  Playtesting, refining, and scrapping what doesn't work just doesn't work for me too well when I'm creating something from scratch.  At least, it hasn't thusfar. I enjoy playing with existing games that I modify a litt,e rather than taking all that time to make up my own crap. Besides, my systems end up usually being Another system with a kitchen sink duct-taped to the ass, so I figure might as well stick with the original system.

So I've given up game design from scratch.  ENTIRELY.

Kyuseisha, which I'm still loosely working on (I started a second gaming group so some personal works have been pushed back a bit), will return to being a Sorcerer mini-supplement.  Given my history with that project, though, I wouldn't put money on a release date. :-)

I'll always be tinkering, that's for damn sure.  I love to tinker, to make mods and side-rules and come up with new settings or ideas for existing systems.  But from-scratch design left the "Andy's Hobby" station a month ago for greener pastures.  From now on, I'm just going to be writing for existing systems that were better than my ideas anyway (Namely FATE/Fudge, Risus and Sorcerer).

Just something I've been meaning to post for a while.  So future posts of mine in Game Design will be about mods, tricks and edges, not about "my new system".  Not that I was that prolific, anyway. :-)

But man, in the end, trying to make my own system, and failing miserably, and on top of that coming to realize that my interests lie elsewhere, really gave me a newfound respect for those that tear their games apart through rigorous and thorough playtesting.  My hat's off to you folks out there.

[DevP]

I'll always be tinkering, that's for damn sure.  I love to tinker, to make mods and side-rules and come up with new settings or ideas for existing systems.  But from-scratch design left the "Andy's Hobby" station a month ago for greener pastures.  From now on, I'm just going to be writing for existing systems that were better than my ideas anyway (Namely FATE/Fudge, Risus and Sorcerer).

You know what? This isn't a bad thing. In general a flood of systems - every GM a designer? - isn't so good, and isn't so necessary. I've a very few ideas that I *might* flesh out into their own system, but really I'm just interested in coming up with good techniques and good games for myself, and perhaps keys to writing good stories for other systems. Not everyone is going to design. Some of us just have to kick ass and play.

Incidentally, I feel that just Setting design, aside from System, has its own set of terminology, methodology, and lengthy discussions to get into. (Dunno. "Setting does matter"? I'm trying to write something like that...) If anyone wants I'll meander that unto a thread some day, or else I'll do it anyway. <g> (Preface to above: if I've missed something that fits the above, apologies.)

[komradebob]

Dev:

I'm with you on the "setting matters" issue, and I'd very much like to see some posts on that.

Actually, unique settings are one of my main reasons for stopping by this site. Mechanics are less important to me personally, although the Forge discussions have lead me to appreciate how one's choice of mechanics really focus and reinforce (or not) styles of play within a setting.

Robert