system design for 2 different games

[Butch]

Just want to know as en entity (a company, a "vanity" press, a indie game designer) if you have two ideas of game in your mind, will you try to design a system to use in the two games or will you adapt a new system for each game?!

Patrick

[Mike Holmes]

I have a place in my heart for "generic" games. But you may find many here who oppose them. And in this case I would agree. Generic games are good for providing toolboxes for players to devise their own settings, etc. What they don't do well is address the issues of specific premises. The only other argument for generic systems (that I'm aware of) is for cross sales. Essentially, if you have one system for two games, players who like the first game may buy the second.

The latter argument has problems, however. Either the games have nearly identical premises (in which case why have two games) or the system is only really good for one of the games (at most). If you are making complete games, make a complete system for each that addrsses the particular premise of each.

Just how I see it.
Mike

[Ron Edwards]

Patrick,

Your question is actually two questions:

1) When is a product best served by sharing systems with another?
2) When is a system best for two games, rather than just one?

I'll deal with #2, which I think is probably more concrete.

I suggest that Story Engine, GURPS, and other games demonstrate that a given philosophy of play can be applied to many different settings. These games are not "universal," but "general" or "generic" - if you play GURPS in a fantasy setting or in a space-adventure setting, you are still playing in very similar ways, "about" the same things when it comes to numbers, dice, and decisions of all sorts. The same goes for Story Engine, although its philosophy is almost diametrically opposed to that of GURPS.

In other words, if you think your system (that is, its "philosophy") applies very well to many different settings, then present it as a system of its own and provide settings as add-ons, just like these two games do.

However, you stated that you wanted to know if one system may be applied to two different games, which I confess makes very little sense to me. If they use the same system (and remember that for me, "system" means a very broad set of things, not just resolution mechanics), then they are, basically, the same game already.

Best,
Ron