[Grundo Storybook] Forge Mutt, Mainstream Aspirations - Feedback please?

[daMoose_Neo]

A great big hearty thanks to the folks at GenCon this year, I owe a lot of people credit for the following!

As some may know, I'm bartering with the copyright holders of the Teddy Ruxpin characters and universe for the rights to a tabletop game. I've been talking off and on with them since last December, between my own release schedules and their production and meeting schedules. Some ideas came and went, little seemed to work, until GenCon and series of demos that set off a chain reaction!
Short list for credits includes TonyLB for the Under the Bed demo, Allan of "Sweet Dreams" and "Big Night" for the Big Night and some neat ideas, and the author of Under the Bed (Who?! My memory fails me, yet again) for a very quick, simple, but suitable die mechanic, and you'll see why! I'll also be glimpsing over Pokemon Jr. for some ideas on getting the kids in on the world exploration a little more.

Basic gist of the system:
- There is a basic GM and Player setup, GM preferably played by Mom, Dad, Grandma or Grandpa, and referred to as a "Story Guide", which I consider important. They primarily act as that, a Guide, setting up the initial adventure, describing the world and characters, and playing any other parts, such as bad guys or other good guys.
- Players are everyone else, naturally, referred to as "Storytellers", who control the bulk of the actual action.
- "Character Generation" consists of choosing one of the characters from the world, included as reproducable, colorable, character sheets packed with all sorts of fun information and factoids. Characters represent one of six traits: Imagination, Trust, Honesty, Bravery, Friendship and Freedom. The character comes with one right away and the players choose one.
- When a storyteller wants a character to do something hard or dangerous, they have to roll. The goal is to beat the Story Guide's roll. Initially, they get one die, but can earn more. If they can explain how one or both of their Traits can impact the characters actions, they'd get a die for each. If they can incorporate some kind of character Quirk (action, phrase, etc), they'd get a die, or they could ask someone for help, in which case that person would have to describe how one of their traits can assist in the action. State your action, roll, beat the Story Guide's die, win, describe what the characters do. Fail, however, and state what happens instead of what you wanted to happen. The Story Guide's only input in the situation is as a mediator - "Okay, thats a good description" or "Well, thats a little bit much, how about they X?" or "Since they are doing X, they may end up in a little more trouble than that. How about Y also happens?"

I'll jump ahead of some Forge questions and rip off the TV series for a sample of how a session would go.

SG: (after initial descriptions and setups...) Gimmick gathers Teddy and Grubby into the circle in front of his Reducing Machine and gets ready to press the button. "Okay, here we go!" he says and zap! The Reducing Machine shines on everyone and they start to get really really small...and after a few moments, the light goes away and everyone is still standing in the circle, except they're very small, only a little more than an inch tall! "Oh dear," Says Gimmick. "It would appear the Reducing Machine control didn't shrink with us!" He says looking up at a very large block shaped object. "Um, what is that?" Grubby asks, slightly confused. "That, er ah, would be the control!" Gimmick replies. "We have to find a way to hit that button again, but it'll be pretty hard seeing as how we're so small!"
Gimmick explains to everyone that they need to get on top of the remote and jump on the button to get everyone back to normal! You need to help Teddy, Grubby and Gimmick find a way to the top of the remote first, and then get everyone to hit the button at once! How do you want to do that?

ST1: Can they climb on top?

SG: No, they are much too small, and the control is too smooth, they can't find a foothold.

ST2: Can they climb on something to jump on to it?

SG: The remote is right near Gimmick's couch. If they could somehow climb it, they could jump on top.

ST1: Cool! Teddy, Grubby and Gimmick go looking for a way to climb on top!

SG: Thats a little hard, being that they are so small. Lets make a roll for that.

ST1: Gimmick has Imagination! He can use that to think something up!

ST2: Teddy has it too! Can I help?

SG: Sure! So, you guys roll two dice, and I'll roll my one. (rolls, ST's beat SG) Okay, Teddy and Gimmick find a way up the couch! How do they do that?

ST1: There are holes in the couch! They can climb inside the couch to the top!

SG: Yes, they can! What kind of things do you think they might see in the couch?

ST2: Pennies! And stuffing...

ST1: Maybe some string?

SG: Alright. Now, if you were very small, small as a penny for instance, how would the inside of that couch look?
...

That feels a little more guided than I imagine play will actually go, but thats a partial cost of being 21 instead of 5-7 and using a scripted situation as a model.
I want to get some thoughts rolling on this, get some feedback on the setup and some thoughts on playing with kids and where they might run with such a system. For a little more explanation, I wrote up a quick little system summary here: http://www.neoproductions.net/files/Ruxpin.pdf

[Josh Roby]

I'm very interested in Gaming for Kids.  I have a couple questions for you:

a) What controls the Storyguide's roll?  How many dice do they roll, how is that determined?

b) The Storyguide in your example is doing a whole lot of articulation, both establishing imagined elements and manipulating them.  Do the Storytellers have any input on what is included in the game?

c) If you are writing this out, I imagine the bulk of the text will be written for the Storyguide.  How structured are you making that content?  Do you have rules for what they do and say, or guidelines on what they offer the Storytellers?  Are the determinations of what the Storyguide does "part of the game" or do they happen behind the curtain from the Storytellers?

d) Why Teddy Ruxpin?  What you have here is pretty setting-independent, and I don't think Teddy Ruxpin has the same currency with kids today to make it a marketing advantage.

[Callan S.]

Gimmick explains to everyone that they need to get on top of the remote and jump on the button to get everyone back to normal! You need to help Teddy, Grubby and Gimmick find a way to the top of the remote first, and then get everyone to hit the button at once! How do you want to do that?

ST1: Can they climb on top?

SG: No, they are much too small, and the control is too smooth, they can't find a foothold.

ST2: Can they climb on something to jump on to it?

SG: The remote is right near Gimmick's couch. If they could somehow climb it, they could jump on top.

How about instead of the players probing the GM for what the constraints of the challenge are, the players get points for first defining them themselves. So instead of asking "Can we climb on top of the controller" the system would reward players inventing difficulty by instead saying "We couldn't just climb the controller, it's to smooth!". Once all the players have added one or two difficulties, it should be quite a poser of a problem! But it would likely mean a GM fed "Wellllll, you could climb the couch (like I figured out in prep)" would be out of place.

[daMoose_Neo]

Joshua - I'm 21, and for twenty years I've had a Ruxpin at my side, which I am not ashamed to admit.
I just love the Teddy world, and Grundo is world ripe for traditional fantasy and imagination while still being good natured. The things I see in Teddy Ruxpin I don't see elsewhere. Elsewhere, violence is too prevelant, lessons are either non-existant or forced down the players/viewers throat, and other "worlds" just lack that sense of originality. Grundo and Teddy are truly organic concepts, grown from one persons ideas, not from a marketing panel.
As to why I'm wanting to do this? Initially, it started out last year as an attempt at a form of a marketing ploy. I love Teddy, but I wondered if it might be possible for little old me to snag an existing IP to toy with. Ruxpin and Grundo, with the rich fantasy elements and nearness to my own childhood, seemed a great choice, not to mention I thought it'd be fairly easy as you noted: its not a property in the forefront of people's minds right now. Little bit of leg work and I was able to track down the creator and contact him- much to my surprise.
In the conversations with him, I've learned Teddy's making a come-back for the 20th anniversary release this fall, followed by retail sales and expansions of the line next year. Theres some talk with some larger studio about a CGI Teddy movie, brand new story I understand.
So, within a year or so, Teddy will be more in people's minds than in the past, and AlchemyII wants to go ahead with the game I'm proposing. Thus, tis mostly a sheer love of the characters, with part cheap marketing ploy, and part good timing.

Joshua & Callan:
- Story Guide, as of this writing, would get one die. When using Bad Guys, I'm considering using a number of the same elements from the Storyteller's chances, as Bad Guys and Good Guys will be constructed the same. See below for other thought.

- The example hammered out is a little forced, as I did concede. Ideally yes, the Storytellers will have more power to introduce elements. I really need to actually run *this* system with players to get a better idea of how it will function. The narrative functions will be almost a direct lift from my Imp Game system, in which a GM has the same power to introduce elements as everyone else, so I hope & believe they will carry over the same. All of the mechanics work nicely themselves, I just need to run them all together.

- Bulk of it, actually, will probably be for Parents, which in a way is for intended Storyguides. As Teddy will be appealing to a wider range than your stereotypical gaming households, I want to fit a good deal of information into the parent's section about how the GAME runs and things to make it more entertaining and hands-on. Storyguide and Storyteller sections will also be included, primarily for the kids to A) Understand what the Guide will do, B) Help kids act as Guides, and C) Of course, be all the cool stuff for the Tellers.

- Callan, hmm...wheels are spinning. Not a bad idea. Only, slight, problem is the only in-game currency right now is dice for rolling against those conflicts. A "Luck" system might not be a bad idea though: Allow a player to cash in Luck points to buy the player out of a bad situation.

IE: Initial problem: the Airship is running out of fuel and slowly decending. The Grubby player looks at the map and decides they land in the Great Desert, in which there is no wood. Grubby's player gets a Luck point for complicating their situation.
Grubby, Teddy and Gimmick are then captured by Mudblups. The Grubby player could use that Luck and "luckily" the Mudblups love Roots...and Grubby, of course, makes a mean Roasted Root Stew. So, instead of being locked up, Grubby has free reign of the kitchen and the chance to help the other characters out.

Other times, players may be able to get a Luck chip by letting the Guide roll more than one die, mechanically making the task difficult. Which would give some of the really bad guys, Quellor for example, a better chance at making their "master plan" a reality, for the moment.
Actually, I rather like that. Helps bring something else into the world...

Other questions or discussion, more than welcome!

[Callan S.]

Well, you don't actually have to make the reward for adding complications, mechanically relevant. Great orc gods said it best, in that you can have scores that don't actually do anything...just like the score in space invaders. The idea is to get alot of it, even though it does nothing in game. The book just has to give the impression it's boast worthy stuff, to get these points.

[daMoose_Neo]

The idea is to get alot of it, even though it does nothing in game. The book just has to give the impression it's boast worthy stuff, to get these points.

That feels a little hollow to me. From what I understand of GOO, thats perfectly acceptable within the frame and flavor of the game. Orcs could easily like to match score and skill, even though it means nothing in the end. I can see applications for it, most definetly, but I don't see that for the Storybook. The general idea is to create adventures and bedtime stories, not video game records.

[mangaocid]

In my opinion, this is a very cool idea, because of the fact that a) it holds a lot of nostalgia and b)kids have the LARGEST imaginations I know of.

My question is, and I may have already asked nate, but what would be reward for staying "in character" or acting on what the character would truly do if it was them? Like if wooly gets excited, we know what sounds he makes....If a child starts makin that sound in game, would he get some reward? or if the Grubby child makes roasted root stew that WORKS in the current situation, what would they receive?

I do like the idea of "Luck" for this system, and it could even work as a reward for character behavior nate. That's my two cents for now.

DJ

[Callan S.]

Hollow? Well, that's interesting. What sort of GNS agenda does the design lean toward? I thought it was gamist?

The points are similar in a way to conflict resolution mechanics...they don't really work until someone injects meaning into them (I'm thinking of the capes actual play accounts, where the players didn't inject meaning and the experience was hollow).

[daMoose_Neo]

Callan -
In GNS terms, I can't see it really being gamist. May have gamist elements, but my direct lift system wise comes from my Imp Game, which aside from the chip mechanic which some people exploit, is a good deal Narritive. Under the Bed also provided a fair inspiration for the die-earning mechanic.

DJ-
Maybe you didn't see it under "Rolling for hard or difficult tasks", but the character sheets will include a number of trademark or characteristic actions or phrases used by that character alone. Incorperating one of those into the proposed solution nets the player a die, but only one die can be earned as a "Quirk", which is how I think I'll label those in the text. I'd also probably place the qualifier that the action/phrase must be performed, if possible. Thus, Wolly's "Grrrrr!" while shaking his head would have to be performed, whereas making Root Stew obviously wouldn't (but would likely fall under a "Hands on" activity in the Parent's section).
On the other hand, incorperating both traits into the solution can earn a player two dice.

Which brings me to what I, personally, think will be the neatest section.
Kids, as DJ noted, have the best imaginations, but sometimes us adults lose some of that, especially if we're talking parents. This day and age, its too easy to have technology babysit the kid. The Parent's section for the book will include a BOATLOAD of hands-on activities and suggestions for parents. One section would talk about cool things that could be used in constructing a mock-model of one of Gimmick's inventions. Some crayons, construction paper, shoeboxes and cardboard tubes, and ten to twenty minutes and WOW, you have your own "Reducing Machine". Other suggestions include trips to the library to play, letting kids pick out books on say Desert's and bringing things from some research for benefits or a day at the park when dealing with something in one of Grundo's many forests.