What makes a game it's own thing?

[ethan_greer]

So.  I'm hard at work on a "new" RPG.  I'm quite pleased with what I have so far, and more information will of course be forthcoming as it approaches drafthood.  But this isn't a design thread.  This is about those quotation marks around the word "new" in the sentence above.

See, I'm using a version of the combat system found in Donjon.  I'm using the dice mechanic from Sorcerer.  I'm suggesting the use of GURPS skill lists.  I'm using the character creation stuff from Pollies.  I'm (probably) using a derivative of the character advancement system from Toast.

Basically, the only thing I have that will be mildly original (and I have my doubts that nobody's done it before) is the Premise.  Of course I'm hip to the fact that no game is going to be completely original, but I'm beginning to question whether or not this current project of mine will contain a shred of originality.  And I don't know whether I should worry about that or not.

Flour, yeast, water, sugar, and salt mixed in various ratios will make pizza dough.  Is it enough to play with the ratios?

Thoughts, anyone?

[Ron Edwards]

Hello,

An original mix is an original thing. (You're talking to a biologist here, after all, who just taught a horde of students about recombination ...)

My only concern - and this is a personal thing, not a professional admonition - is that you give credit to your inspirations somewhere in the text. Aside from that, mix, match, combine, and be happy, is my view.

Best,
Ron

[Mike Holmes]

Where's the line? I agree with Ron, that a mix like yours is quite "new" (then again, I would say that as I've got a game that was assembled similarly). So, where does the line stand? Obviously, if I change - say - only the name, that's not original. So it has to be somewhere in between these two points. Is a game with all the rules of one game, and one additional rule original? Um, slightly, I suppose. What about a game that combines elements from just two games? Probably a bit more original.

I'd say the point that you're at, where you mix elements from several games is quite original enough, and that you can probably get a great game with much less originality than that.

Given this situation, however, you have some cool opportunities for greater originality. It's been my experience that when you have a mix like you do, that a bit of analysis will reveal that there are ways that you can combine the mechanics in ways that are more elegant than just having them stare at each other. This can be a source of great originality as well as streamlining your design.

Or mixing can just generate new additional ideas. For example, I've read and helped with one game recently that ended up with the Sorcerer mechanic and something like Dunjon facts. In combining these things a whole lot of new ideas for how they could be used together came out.

I wholeheartedly endorse the mixing method of game creation.

Mike