Quartet, Designing a system.

[Jason Petrasko]

The more I come to this forum, the more I think I'd like to see how people design their games more than the specifics of them. What goes on in the designers head? How do they come to select this mechanic over that one? I've come to understand that if you want to see change, start with yourself. Here I'm going to describe what I used to make the system for Delphian Tides, and the why of each choice. I can only wonder if others are interested in something like this, but I feel it could be very informative to people just starting on their game creation journey. Here I go with part I...

Quartet is the basic system that drives Delphian Tides. It was first applied to my Di Lie Ren wuxia game.  Here I'll talk about the general design and the 'why' of it.
In this short series of posts you'll see a method of creating a game. Quartet offers a guide on how to create a game in a specific mold. We start by showing the why's and specifics of the system concept, then finally an example of it's use in creating a game. The first two posts cover the basic mechanics and ideas, so if by the end of that your unhappy it won't get any better.
Quartet uses a trait system instead of attributes. These traits cover four specific concepts. The specific traits are changed to fit both the game world and the general concept. Here are the concepts:

Fortune
Passion
Skill
Spirit
[/list:u]

Fortune is luck and natural blessing. It makes the character stand out from the crowd. In Delphian Tides this is Magic, in Die Lie Ren this is Ming.

Passion is agenda and drive. It lets us see more of the character than just their face value. In Delphian Tides this is Humanity, in Die Lie Ren this is Nu.

Skill is natural talent and learned ability. It is used just as much to give the character ability as to give them depth. Is the character a natural? Are they older and wiser? In Delphian Tides this is Command, in Die Lie Ren this is Xue.

Spirit is our focus. It must connect to a main concept in the game. Also it should bridge to something that is very 'internal' to the character. If any single trait in the game is both good and bad, this should be it. In Delphian Tides this is Materia, in Die Lie Ren this is Wushu.

Now each trait has not a single score, but a set of three scores that stem from the traits overall value.

The focused score is equal to the full value of the trait. It is linked to a very specific use of that trait. For example, a focused materia trait is a specific action that the PC can do with materia.

The weakened score is equal to the value of the trait minus one. It is linked to a moderate scope of that trait. For example, a weakened materia trait is a specific type of action that the PC can do with materia.

The global score is equal to the value of the trait minus three. It is a catch for actions that trait drives but doesn't fall into the two above. For example, a global command trait is called 'General Skill'. This applies for skilled actions that wouldn't fit the better weakened and focused scores.

Why do this? It builds a character with more depth that a traditional stat system supplies. The way it does this is almost innocuous, since it's the main part of character creation. Most games build on top of this basis, adding specifics for the game world.

We use six-sided dice in the quartet system. Character creation is begun by allocating a set amount of them between Spirit, Skill, and Passion. Then these are rolled. Dice that come up 4 or less add one to that traits overall score. Dice that come up 5 or more add one to Fortune. No die ever fails, but sometimes it doesn't end where you want it too. Both games so far allocate 10 dice with no more than 6 allowed to be placed in any one trait. In these games all the scores have a base of 3, to keep the subtraction clean.

Why? This allows the player to create a character but not to get exactly what they want. It's kind of slightly random allocation method that never loses points. You could of course give the players ten points to allocate instead, but I think this system has a type of quirky beauty to it.

Next Post: The Mechanics.
After that: A Small Implementation.

[Icel]

Hello, this is my first post in the Forge.
I signed in yesterday and I was looking for some guides or advise on designing a system. Of course, I didn't find any (any post, at least, there was a couple articles), so your post is a real blessing, especially if others will continue your line.

[timfire]

Jason, I understand your feelings. It's frustrating, when you want advice on the process of designing, but no there's no easily accessible article on the subject. The topic has been discussed before, and when I get a bit mre time I'll find the threads and post the links. I still believe the topic could be discussesd more, though. (At one time I was trying to write an article on the subject, but other things have since demanded my attention.)

I do have to say this, though. If you want feedback specifically on your game, then fine, keep this thread here. But if you wanted to discuss the design process in general (which it seems you want to do), this topic would be better suited for the Theory board. The Indie Design boards is reserved for discussing specific, actual projects. The Theory board is for general topics like the design process. Don't worry about it, just remember it for next time.