The Chopper RPG Challenge.

[BeUrgaust]

In the world of motorcycles there are bikes and then there are choppers.From the Wikipedia Entry on Choppers:

Chopper refers to a particular type of motorcycle that was radically customized to meet the owner's design needs and desires, archetypical examples of which are the Harley-Davidsons as seen in the 1969 movie Easy Rider.

In the United States post WWII era motorcycle enthusiasts coming home from the war started to remove all parts which were deemed too big, too heavy, too ugly and/or not absolutely essential to the basic functionality of the machine. Typical elements fitting these criteria would be fenders, turn indicators, and even front brakes. As well, almost certainly the large, spring-suspended saddle was removed in order to sit as low as possible on the motorcycle's frame.

The goal of this Challenge is do the same with mainstream games. I am in no way advocating breaking copyright with this, however derivative work can fall outside of copyright law. So what does this mean?  Well firstly competetors in this challenge will strip some mainstream game down to its bear bones, its frame if you will, and then rebuild it to serve an new purpose.
This Challenge will come in several endeavors, each with a new goal. Deadlines for the endeavors will be one month from posting of that goal. The minimum size of each entry should be around 48 pages or about the size of "lite" versions of such work. On the day of the deadline each participant should then vote on: Best Adaptation, Best Organization,and Most Innovative use of Rules.

The First Goal is a Parody. Take a mainstream RPG and make fun of it, using its basic structure and engine. An example of doing similar would be http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackmaster. The deadline for this goal is September 8.

[Frank T]

Hi!

I like the idea and actually did something similar with Vampire: the Masquerade as a design exercise in German. Why the minimum size of 48 pages, though? That seems a lot of text for just a fun exercise.

- Frank

[BeUrgaust]

I set the page size at 48 because that is roughly the size of a few "lite" versions of games I've seen, for instance GURPS Lite is 36 pages but that number can be waved if the content portrays the stripped down original plus additions well. 48 pages is just a rough estimate of what it should take, I should have clarified there.

[BeUrgaust]

Did I accidentally kill my own thread?

[Kirk Mitchell]

No, I don't think you did. Its just that if you take a bit of closer look around, you'll find plenty of RPGs that are much much much shorter than 48 pages. Hell, I've written a complete, fun and very playable RPG at only two pages. I could slash D&D down to its barest of bones and present it in less than 10 pages. 48 pages is just a lot of writing, especially when the goal is to cut a game down to its smallest components and rebuild it without all the ugly, heavy weight.

Cheers,
Kirk

[BeUrgaust]

As I said in my second post that the 48 pages is no longer necessary. It was just a rough estimate on my part as to what I thought the count would end up.Above all I would like to see some games here. Just put them somewhere and link in a post. I apollogize if I scared people of with that number.