Out of the Box Review

[Jason L Blair]

HeartQuest got reviewed by Ken Hite over at http://www.gamersrealm.com/store1/outofthebox.php

[Ron Edwards]

Hi there,

And visibility increases. Congratulations, Michael - that's the map, and you're on it.

Ken's point about personality or relationship mechanics is kind of interesting, but it illustrates an outlook that dovetails with his preference for games like Unknown Armies. Psychological-modelling is central to that mode of play.

However, Fudge is a much more physically-spatially Simulationist game, I think, compared to UA. It's not too surprising that every Fudge-modification I've read (and I haven't seen them all) focuses on powers, attributes, and skills - that's what the basic game is built to do, and how its customizing-guidelines work. HeartQuest relies on text-based inspiration to get its theme across, and whether this is good or bad is pretty much a personal call.

On the other hand, could you 'port a "relationship with Miho - Great" into the Fudge system, to produce something more like Hero Wars? Sure you could. I see that as an excellent add-on idea that Michael might explore through playtesting, and then Ken would be happy.

Best,
Ron

[Michael Hopcroft]

When we were in the very early design of HeartQuest, we tooled around with a concept called "Threads", links between characters begun udirng character creation that coule be advanced or degraded during play by each character's actions. At the time we decided that it was an enormous amount of trouble for the GM to track it all.

Howveer, the concept does have some value and GMs are welcome to formulate their own adaptions of it. The very nature of all FUDGE games is that GMs can adapt them to suit their needs.

[Mike Holmes]

Howveer, the concept does have some value and GMs are welcome to formulate their own adaptions of it.

Something perhaps to include your interperetation of in a supplement?

Mike

[Andrew Martin]

Quoted from The Gamer's Realm, because it's a bit hard to find:

From terrifying screams and unearthly conflict, to -- well, more of the same. In Michael Hopcroft's HeartQuest (127 pages, black and white softcover, no price printed on the book but a little bird tells me it's $19.95), the fine and fabulous FUDGE meets shoujo manga, which the front part of the book tells me is "manga that girls like." This version of FUDGE looks a little rules-intense for the subject matter, and doesn't introduce any rules at all for romantic interactions. How is crazy love supposed to make you do things if, well, crazy love doesn't make you do things? I would have thought that to game a genre that's centered on furtive glances and romantic gestures, you'd need more rules for that than "none," and could perhaps have gotten by with fewer types of ranged weapons. Of course, shoujo manga includes all kinds of subgenres, some of which have lots of fightin' in them (the "magical girl" subgenre produced, among other things, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), but the fightin' is seldom the main point even there. The rulebook gives a lot of interesting tips for romantic storylines, helpful notes on Japanese teen courtship rituals, and loads of examples for games -- the last forty pages or so are sample campaigns (with some Gifts and Faults not present in the rules, sadly) including one, "Steel Heidi," which sounds like a hoot. But, much like in real life, you have to bring your own love.

[Andrew Martin]

On the other hand, could you 'port a "relationship with Miho - Great" into the Fudge system, to produce something more like Hero Wars? Sure you could. I see that as an excellent add-on idea that Michael might explore through playtesting, and then Ken would be happy.

However, the concept does have some value and GMs are welcome to formulate their own adaptions of it.

I think that Ron's idea is excellent; I'll have to include it in Cherry Blossoms.