Codex Imaginata

[The Traveller]

Hello, I'm setting up a new RPG, Codex Imaginata, free to play for all, and I hope I'm in the right forum. This will be a generic system with several campaign worlds, and I'm trying to get it funded through fundit: http://www.fundit.ie/browse/category/games. The main site can be found here: http://www.codeximaginata.com. While the game itself is still in development, I have a nice bit of artwork done up and more on the website itself. Some previews can be seen here:

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The unique elements won't just be in the gameplay however but also in the website itself. Normally in TTRPGs you just get your PDF, and you can download it and print it off. After that you're on your own. Talking to numerous gamers made me realise a few failings in that model - many of them are happy enough to look at it on a screen, but don't need the whole manual or the hassle of scouring through a keyboard or touchscreen interface to get the sections they need. Others want to print off sections, but wipe out toner and ink cartridges in doing so, in order to get a lesser quality product than if it was actually printed and posted to them.

What we're trying to do is set up the entire rules system in a dynamic site. Lets say for example you only want medieval weapons tables and melee combat rules printed off, you select those as if they were in a shopping cart, they are stored to your account, choose with or without graphics, and print. Also there will be a large element of adjustability for generic tables and rules, lets say handguns:
- light pistol
- medium pistol
- large pistol
You can replace the text within those with your own names and even statistics, such as
- Derringer
- Beretta 9mm
- Desert Eagle
This is then stored in your account and printed if you like, along with notes and other info. Obviously that's not just for equipment but for monsters, spells, spacecraft and other sections within the game. It's almost as if you were tailoring the system entirely to your own specifications as you go, in as simple and straightforward a fashion as possible. No such software exists at this time, to my knowledge, and paying coders to build this likewise ain't cheap. What I'd also like to do is use it as a platform to give authors starting off a platform to tell people about their new work, artists to showcase their skills, and generally form a hub (one of many true) for imagination and creativity to flourish.

Most of all though I'd like this to be a community-friendly game, with constant feedback from people to improve and refine the game system, expand the game worlds, share their own creations (some of which get added to game canon) and generally have a great time with.

Questions, comments, threats, bribes, all gratefully accepted.

edited to turn pics  into links - RE

[Ron Edwards]

Hi and welcome,

As you can see, I've edited your post to turn the images into links. Please don't be put off by this; it's merely a thing about this forum that we don't post images except in special circumstances and by permission from me. Check out the various introductory sticky threads for other posting points for this (unusual) site.

Everyone, please ask questions and discuss as you see fit. New posters sometimes aren't sure how to start discussions, especially in this forum, so help out.

Best, Ron

[The Traveller]

Thanks Ron, apologies I should have paid more attention to the posting guidelines. Questions or thoughts would be most welcome!

[JSDiamond]

The unique elements won't just be in the gameplay however but also in the website itself. Normally in TTRPGs you just get your PDF, and you can download it and print it off. After that you're on your own. Talking to numerous gamers made me realise a few failings in that model - many of them are happy enough to look at it on a screen, but don't need the whole manual or the hassle of scouring through a keyboard or touchscreen interface to get the sections they need. Others want to print off sections, but wipe out toner and ink cartridges in doing so, in order to get a lesser quality product than if it was actually printed and posted to them.

Going with nice, tight greyscale will eliminate the ink problem. As far as the buyers; I'm thinking that most know what they're getting into with a PDF. If they didn't, rpgnow and its sister sites wouldn't exist. A a Kindle(tm) or some other similar device solves any problems about portability and finding sections can be accomplished with a bit of nifty code as a searchable index.

I like the wiki / personal game-world building approach in allowing players to making modifications, if I understand you correctly.

I reckon you got some work ahead of you.




   

[The Traveller]

If they didn't, rpgnow and its sister sites wouldn't exist.

My concern is that they exist as icons of a dying hobby.

A a Kindle(tm) or some other similar device solves any problems about portability and finding sections can be accomplished with a bit of nifty code as a searchable index.

The problem is that the vast majority of users haven't the interest or capacity to run off a bit of nifty code.

I reckon you got some work ahead of you.

Oh yeah. I'd be on a hiding to nothing if I didn't love it as much as I do.

[JSDiamond]

My concern is that they exist as icons of a dying hobby.

Speaking as a grognard I have those thoughts too, from time to time. But I'm happily proven wrong. Gaming is a lot like the music industry. I've heard many people quantify their patronage with, "I still buy CDs." That is telling. Downloads are the now/future. In my opinion, the humble PDF is probably doing more good for renewed interest in tabletop gaming than we know. 

The problem is that the vast majority of users haven't the interest or capacity to run off a bit of nifty code.

What I meant was that you would write the code (or hire someone) and embed it as an interactve index into your electronic publication. Then it would be fast searching and you could go bonkers with the art.  ^_^

 

[The Traveller]

Speaking as a grognard I have those thoughts too, from time to time. But I'm happily proven wrong. Gaming is a lot like the music industry. I've heard many people quantify their patronage with, "I still buy CDs." That is telling. Downloads are the now/future. In my opinion, the humble PDF is probably doing more good for renewed interest in tabletop gaming than we know. 

Mm. I have no doubt it is quite capable of circling the drain for decades to come, but compared to ten or even five years ago, TTRPGs are a much diminished phenomenon, mostly reduced to self referential groups with a high barrier to entry (have you see the exalted threads over on the big purple). You may disagree, and that's fair enough.

What I meant was that you would write the code (or hire someone) and embed it as an interactve index into your electronic publication. Then it would be fast searching and you could go bonkers with the art.  ^_^

Ereaders already have fast searching. What they don't have is the ability to load specific sections of text onto one page, rename items in a table to suit their own campaign, and especially the ability to publish your changes back at the source for the entire community to avail of and grow, creating a library of ideas for new players to take advantage of.

Then we get to the categorisation of resource depth, which isn't an issue for niche games, since they don't have any resource depth, but for a more comprehensive game for example I want to be able to select from a menu monsters->swamp->natural+unnatural+undead->low or no magic. This will then present me with a list of monsters which fit that criteria, some of which I save into my private adventure folder. Then I can go over each one and make adjustments to the stats, description, or what have you, before printing it off or leaving it in there readily tabbed for my game. Upon completion, I then make it public, building a massive library of scenrios, new creatures, quirks and commentary over time.

Relying on the dated print/pdf milll cycle (just like the music industry) to secure the future is missing out on some big opportunities enabled by the latest tech, albeit opportunities which only reach their greatest potential when the profit motive isn't foremost. But I suppose that would apply to almost any endeavour.

[The Traveller]

Hello again, I've more details on game mechanics and so on emerging over here:

http://codeximaginata.blogspot.com/

[The Traveller]

Combat mechanics up there now...

[The Traveller]

Any comments on the combat mechanics?

[Malckuss]

Aw, man Traveller, I wish you had posted the link to your fundite in the stickied crowd-funding thread at the big purple. Also, I was under the impressions you were mostly interested in feedback on the settin you put up on the blog; I'll have to go back and look at the combat rules. I really dig your setting, and the black & white art still manages to be very evocative; my only concern is that using so much black you may have issues with the picture quality if you go POD as several of the more affordable venues have problems with that much ink in one place.

[The Traveller]

I pmed one of the mods over there to put it up, as far as I know its hiding in that thread. Not getting any actual funding from it, but sure it provides an incentive to keep rolling out the updates anyway! I've no particular plans to go POD in any case, I'm not even sure if a pdf is a good idea. Maybe for the core rules, thats what everyone in the hobby is used to.