The Ashcan Front FAQ

[Larry L.]

Kesher,

I hate to break it to you, but GenCon SoCal is no more.

http://www.gencon.com/2007/socal/default.aspx

[Kesher]

Yeah, Paul just IM'd me about that. Sigh. Well, dammit, I can make one for dungeonkind; wanna help me playtest? Email me.

Aaron

[ptevis]

I'm planning on producing an ashcan edition of my Game Chef entry, A Penny For My Thoughts. This is a small game that's nominally about people helping each other recover from global amnesia. In reality, it's about players learning active listening skills and embracing their fellow players' contributions. Based on the playtesting I've done so far and the feedback I've gotten, it seems to be about 75% of the way there. I'm struggling with some currency and endgame issues right now, but core mechanics seem to be good. Because this is intended somewhat as a teaching text, I want to be sure that the book tells you how to play the game correctly, which is something that only blind playtesting can really accomplish.

--Paul

[Paul Czege]

Hey Paul,

Yeah, that sounds cool. Welcome to The Front.

And y'know, probably Matt and I should post about the games we're each doing as ashcans.

Mine is Acts of Evil. It's a game about occult ambition. Player characters are new initiates to an occult tradition devoted to aggressive and competitive pursuit of personal godhood. They are irredeemably evil, and play is very disturbing. Again and again you'll do harm to people who don't deserve it. My goal for play is to transform non-occultist NPCs from objects and obstacles to subjects we care about, without ever separating the players from management of their occultist characters. Early versions weren't delivering on this, but the current mechanics are very very close.

Paul

[Matt Snyder]

Good point, Paul!

I'll be bringing an ashcan of my game 44.

It's a game about people who are being replaced with machines by a nefarious organization, Unit 44. It's a horror game, rather obviously.

Players portray individuals who have someone in their lives replaced, and they believe they are next. Each player takes a turn as a game-wide countdown ticks away toward the 0-hour. They confront their own Anxieties while dealing with their immediate situation. Agents of 44 emerge to interfere and hound the main characters.

Also, players are working against Control (the game master figure). At the end of each countdown, they roll off against Control to gain benefits or lose an advantage. Players strive to increase scores so that their characters can act in concert within the game (the scores have to meet or exceed the countdown).

Should individual players suffer enough stress, they will become replaced by Unit 44. Then, the player will become an ally of Control. This aspect of the game remains untested at this point, and is one of the key features, along with end game, I'll be seeking input on.

The game is about how you choose to treat others around you, whom to help, and why. We ran a very constructive playtest at Forge Midwest last weekend, and I'm very excited about some things worked out there.

[Thor]

Hi all,

I have dipped my toe in the printing thing again thanks to Paul (and I mean thanks! that was the kick in the pants I needed) I have a line on a good copy shop and some finishing and would be glad to produce ashcans for you.

If anyone is interested please feel free to contact me.

[chris_moore]

Michael and I are interested in doing an ashcan of psi run for the booth.  We have a ton of excitement, and zero knowledge about layout, printing, etc.  Anyone's advice would be helpful.

Chris Moore

[Matt Snyder]

Chris, that's great. I'd be happy to help out. Feel free to contact me. I'm off to work right this minute, but just wanted to chime in and say this Hawkeye's got your back.

[thelostgm]

Hey Folks,

I'd love to be part of this and bring an ashcan of my game Giants.

I also have some podcasting duties to consider, but I think this is a fantastic idea and can't wait to see how it goes.

I read some stuff about demos a few posts back, has there been any more thoughts on that?  I know for me one of the best thing about conventions is getting to demo games.

[somniturne]

I'd also love to participate with my game Kingdom of Nothing.  The only thing holding me back is the time commitment.  I also may have some podcasting responsibilities as well as self promotion for my illustration.  Are there any details yet on how long people will need to hang out at the booth?

[Paul Czege]

Hey Jeff,

It sort of depends on how many participants we have, but right now Matt and I are thinking folks would commit to two or three hours a day at the booth.

But what's truly important is that we make it clear to interested folks when you're going to be around to represent the game if they have questions. Probably we'll solve that with a schedule, and then you'd just slot yourself for time when you didn't have podcasting stuff going on.

Do you think you'd have days where your availability for representing your game at the booth was less than two hours? Less than an hour?

Paul

[Paul Czege]

Hey Jeff,

I read some stuff about demos a few posts back, has there been any more thoughts on that?  I know for me one of the best thing about conventions is getting to demo games.

We need to figure this out. Forge booth style demos probably don't make sense for games in development, because the value proposition of an ashcan isn't the play experience, but rather, creative engagement in game design, problem solving, and playtesting. We definitely want something demo-like going on. But not quickie "playtests." I'm thinking it's something we'll call a demo, but it'll be more of a demonstration of a game mechanic that needs the validation of playtesting, with some kind of conversational transition into the ashcan text, showing how the ashcan engages you in the design and problem solving effort.

Paul

[thelostgm]

So let me see if I get this right.  Would I be showing them a part of the system that I am having trouble with?  If so that might be a bad way to get interest in the game.

[thelostgm]

Ok, reading that a few hours later it sounded very negative, sorry about that.  I'm really into the demo idea and just want to be clear on how it's going to work.

[somniturne]

Okay that sounds reasonable.  I'm in.