Getting started.

[drimitz]

Greetings all,

I am new here and I have a very simple question, though I expect the answers to be complex.  What is the best way to get started in RPG design?  How do each of you create your mechanics for the game?  Any links to sites with how to get started with creating RPGs would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Drimitz

[Domhnall]

Hi drimitz--

My own experience was this:

I (like most) was raised on D&D from the "ol' days".  Also as most, I was a tweaker--using most of D&D with our own house rules.  When I decided to make my own system, I decided to divorce myself from D&D and just examine & ponder the elements that we need the rules for.  

I analyzed martial arts and the staff-fighting that I had done.  Later, I joined a SCA-type group where we use safe swords and shields and really fought each other.  I pondered the concepts of magic from many authors, from Tolkien to Gemmell, and thought about the best way to draw up boundaries and "magic-realities".

In short, I suggest getting far away from whatever system you are used to playing and (try to) erase those systemic categories from your memory to generate your own.  

Some will suggest looking at a plethora of other RPGs to get ideas.  I donno if I agree or not.  Whatever path you take, take your time--a rushed system will be crap.  I have been developing mine off and on for ~12 years!  I try to stay open to new ideas and to discarding and changing rules as time passes.  

Good luck.

[drimitz]

So using the D20 system for my rules and mechanics would be a bad idea for a game?  I am still reading over the license, but thus far it seems I can take the D20 system and mold it to fit my game.

[Domhnall]

So using the D20 system for my rules and mechanics would be a bad idea for a game?  I am still reading over the license, but thus far it seems I can take the D20 system and mold it to fit my game.

I'm pretty sure you're right as far as the legal thing--Others here know all the legal stuff very well.
But, I dislike the D20 paradigm for it's simplicity.  Die rolls get trapped in a 5-percetile lock-up.  I'm more for a D100 structure which can be more specific.

[Ben Lehman]

What's the best way to get started in game design?

(given that you're probably a gamer, you'll like this answer)

Play.  A lot.

But don't just play the same game over and over.  Play a lot of different games.  Play wierd little games that you download over the web for five bucks.  Play big corporate games, but only if you can get a friend to help you with the splatbook purchasing.

Think about your social contracts.  Read Ron's Essays, and just think about what, in play, makes you happy, and what makes you stressed and unhappy.  Play with different groups of people, and watch how the interactions are different.

Don't assume anything.  You are not here to play the same games again.  You are here to learn, and study.  It makes no sense to go into a physics lab and say "I already know everything I need to know:  Things fall down and sometimes move when you push them.  Where's my research grant?"  This is a course of self-taught professional training, and you should take it seriously.  You should not "kinda sorta have fun."  You should revise, replan, reconstruct, ressurect your gaming until you are having a fuckload of fun all the time, and understand *why* you are.

Then, and only then, will you be ready to write a good game.

yrs--
--Ben

P.S. Some Game and Decision Theory, as well as Probability and Statistic training won't hurt you either.

[Jack Spencer Jr]

When attempting any art form, be prepared for a lot of work. The first phase will be learning. You think you know what an RPG is? Well, be prepared to have that completely screwed with.

How do you learn? Well various theories like GNS may help, but Ben is right. Play a lot. Read a lot. Play a lot. And, most important, be aware of what's going on while you play. You observations and the deductions you make based on this experience with shape your knowledge of the craft. This will then shape the games you design.

This is true of most art forms. If you want to write music, listen to a lot of music, perhaps even play it. If you want to write fiction, read a lot. And so on. It's important to understand what has come before to make something unique.

[Ron Edwards]

Hello,

I'd like to clarify a bit about the D20 question.

Bluntly, if D20 does work for what you'd like to do, then use it! What everyone has said about having fun and enjoying play is correct.

But be sure you know that D20 (or any proposed system, including one that you write yourself) does work for what you'd like to do. If you're operating out of habit alone, you're working with blinders on.

Best,
Ron

[ethan_greer]

Hi, and welcome to the Forge!

I'll add that a key factor in designing a good game is your own enthusiasm for the project.  Design a game that you love and want to play like crazy.

This has two advantages.  First, you'll be far more likely to complete the project, persevering through any setbacks you encounter.  (And you will encounter setbacks.  Count on it.)  Second, your enthusiasm will come through in the work and infect others.  Trying to design a game that will "appeal to others," or that will "attract as many players as possible" is doing it backwards.

[drimitz]

Thanks for all the replies thus far guys.  I have played rpgs for almost 7 years and I have no intention of stopping.  I am just trying to get an idea if everyone creates their own system or if they use OGL/D20 to create their games.  Also how do most people publish their games, if I am going to spend money on artwork I at least want to make that money back.  Is self publishing, going to a "big" name publisher, or finding a "small" publisher the best option for a first time RPG creator?

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Drimitz,

This isn't the place to discuss these questions; they should be brought up in the Publishing forum. I also think you ought to do a couple of things first:

1. Check out the older threads in the Publishing forum, especially if you run a search using the word "success."

2. Take some time to read a few threads from all of the forums here. You'll get an idea about what each one is about.

3. Try to phrase questions as specifically as possible. In fact, a question like "what's better for a publisher" is awfully general, and we can't answer just by flinging back personalized opinions (like a survey). It's better to come up with a very focused question and gather data about what people have really done.

Best,
Ron

[drimitz]

Sorry didn't realize I was posting in the wrong place.  I won't be a bother again.  I guess people really do forget what it is like to be a newbie.