Previous Topics
In Indie Game Design

1/16/2003 Shreyas Sampat: The Calligrapher's Sword: Formalizing Conflict
I've been thinking about conflict in a malleable world for a while; it's the backbone of my game The Calligrapher's Sword. TCS uses a formalization to state conflicts in three…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Shreyas Sampat.

1/15/2003 RHJunior: Hello. Total Newbie here...
I am a freelance illustrator/cartoonist with three online webcomics. Two are just basic gag-a-day strips... but one is an ongoing fantasy comic book. As of late, I have been toying…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: RHJunior, Eric J., Gwen, Andrew Martin, Michael S. Miller, Paul Czege, szilard, Jack Spencer Jr, Paganini, quozl, Ron Edwards, Henry Fitch, Shadeling, Jasper.

1/14/2003 Enoch: Unworthy - A Working Mechanic?
A long long time ago, I posted woes over coming up with a rule mechanic. Settings are freaking easy. Rules are hard. Anyway, I don't have a cohesive mechanic right…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Enoch, Ron Edwards.

1/13/2003 Jeph: Hell's Rising: the beginnings of a system
Hi all! Anyway, I'm in the beginning stages of designing a game about the secret, epic battle for control of the earth between the Divine and the Damned, and how…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Jeph, Paganini, Gwen, Drew Stevens, Ashlin_Evenstar, Ron Edwards.

1/13/2003 ace pilot: satirizing the government
Hey all, I am writing a sci-fi RPG and one of the governments is a facist, totalitarian regime that has been run over the decades by guys named Bush, Reagan,…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: ace pilot, Jack Spencer Jr, Valamir, contracycle, bluegargantua, Ron Edwards, Johannes.

1/11/2003 Alan: Spiritual Attributes for Traveller
[color=darkblue]Spiritual Attributes for Traveller[/color] I've been considering different approaches to designing narrativist-favoring mechanics for a hard SF RPG about stellar exploration and trade. Here's some past ideas I've posted: [url=http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4661]RPG…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Alan, simon_hibbs, Paul Czege, Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards, Dave Panchyk, Blake Hutchins.

1/10/2003 Morrius: My insanity: OtherWorlds
Hello, Over the last year or so I've been working on a project which I call "OtherWorlds", an urban fantasy game. The original idea for this game came to me…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Morrius, Dev.

1/9/2003 Paganini: [Cornerstone] - Theory Results
Okay, so Cornerstone is back, kind of. The name is, anyway, and just a little bit of the content. If you saw the old game, you might recognize a few…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Paganini, ethan_greer, Bob McNamee, Ron Edwards.

1/8/2003 Brian Leybourne: My game: Invasion (working title): Dice Mechanics (long)
Hi all. I could do with some help regarding a game I've been working on, on and off for several years now, but have recently been encouraged to get back…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Brian Leybourne, Drew Stevens, Andrew Martin, Eric J., Paganini, Jake Norwood, Henry Fitch, Steve Dustin, contracycle, clehrich, szilard, Spooky Fanboy.

1/8/2003 xiombarg: Unsung and Jared
Okay, in preparation to actually running it in a couple of weeks, I've re-organized and updated Unsung: http://ivanhoeunbound.com/unsung.html I've moved some of the sections around so they make more sense,…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: xiombarg, Jared A. Sorensen.

1/6/2003 Tony Irwin: Theme-Chaser: PDF
ohmigod its finally here!!!! I've provided a link to the PDF version of the extremely sketchy/preview/drawing-board file for the Theme-Chaser game I've been working on. I've been stuffing this down…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Tony Irwin, Drew Stevens, Shreyas Sampat.

1/5/2003 signoftheserpent: Pulp SF system ideas
For the past several months i have accumulated 50 odd pages of background for a cliffhanger style pulp (a word in danger of being overused) SF setting in the mould…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: signoftheserpent.

1/5/2003 contracycle: micro-system: initiative
Another little sub-system, one which might conceivebaly be used for some extant games in place of their initiative mechanics. Everybody gets a card, one per combatant or bystander or Other…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: contracycle, Henry Fitch, Rich Forest.

1/5/2003 greyorm: Who Gets Narrative Power?
In designing Orx I hadn't given much thought to the idea of who narrated being important; however, during the playtest sessions I ran, I found that who had the rights…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: greyorm, Jack Spencer Jr, Ron Edwards, Paganini, Le Joueur, Bob McNamee.

1/4/2003 Drew Stevens: A mechanic idea for dealing with potential
So, I idly mentioned that I really liked the idea of characters not all being equal, even with unlimited experience. And then, a fairly simply means of creating such a…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Drew Stevens, Andrew Martin, ethan_greer, M. J. Young, contracycle, Jamie, James V. West, Michael S. Miller, Ron Edwards, Valamir, Paganini.

1/3/2003 Jonathan Walton: Vespertine: Sin & Teenagers
Originally, this game concept was called "Vesperteen," a pun on the word "vespertine" (meaning "having to do with night"). However, I soon discovered that very few people were familiar with…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Jonathan Walton, szilard, Paul Czege, ethan_greer, Andrew Martin, Drew Stevens, talysman, Shreyas Sampat.

1/2/2003 Andy Kitkowski: Indie RPG Awards: Theme Feedback
Around October I proposed the Indie RPG Awards: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3774 (please direct any comments or questions on the methodology of awarding people, how the award nomination/giving process will run, etc to…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Andy Kitkowski, Henry Fitch, J B Bell, Eric J., ethan_greer, Ron Edwards, Paul Czege, Steve Dustin, bluegargantua, GreatWolf, Jason L Blair, Enoch, John Wick, Ian Freeman, Rod Phillips, Mike Holmes, Jared A. Sorensen.

1/1/2003 Jack Spencer Jr: Truckers
I had recently gotten a weird idea of an RPG based on the folklore of truckers and the CB-era and such. I haven't read up on my road lore, but…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Eric J., Maurice Forrester.

12/30/2002 Shreyas Sampat: Mridangam: The Calligrapher's Sword in another Medium
[url=http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4584]The Calligrapher's Sword[/url] is a game set in a rather rarefied medium. I thought to condense it into something more concrete. So, we have [b]Mridangam[/b], the game of Vedic superheroes.…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Shreyas Sampat, Drew Stevens, greyorm, Mike Holmes.

12/30/2002 ejh: There and Back (split)
hmm... both "ohne" and the RPG referred to here by Clinton are no longer apparent on the web... no, wait, Clinton's RPG is still there as "There and Back," just…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: ejh, Ron Edwards.

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Subsequent Topics
In Indie Game Design

1/19/2003 Jonathan Walton: The GM is Dead: Scripted Roleplaying
Okay, I'm going to try to come at this concept from a completely new direction. The plan is to make a game that combines Clue, Diplomacy, traditional roleplaying, freeform improvization,…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Jonathan Walton, jllama, ADGBoss, RN3G8 4E.

1/20/2003 richks: Urban Mythos: Lock, Stock and 2 Smoking Wands of +2 Fireball
Hi, I've just joined this forum, and I've had a read through some of the older posts and I'm posting some of the notes on my current project. The setting's…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: richks, Shreyas Sampat, Mike Holmes, Spooky Fanboy.

1/22/2003 talysman: [Court of 9 Chambers] Flashback Rolls/Conflict Resolution
hi, all. I have run into a potential problem with the Court of 9 Chambers game mechanics; when I described a new feature which I considered innovative and exciting to…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: talysman, clehrich, Tony Irwin, Michael S. Miller, ethan_greer, Shreyas Sampat, Dave Panchyk.

1/22/2003 RobMuadib: TMW:COTEC - Shared Play concepts - Scripts
Hi all The rumours of my death were, as usual, quite exagerrated. I am still alive, and still working on my game, TMW:COTEC. When last we left your hero, he…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: RobMuadib, J. Backman, Le Joueur.

1/24/2003 Jasper: The West Wind: N/S Fantasy about the Process of adventuring
Hello everyone, I realise fully that there is no dearth of fantasy games -- especially ones involving "adventuring" -- and I don't want to be writing a game that only…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Jasper, Rich Forest, Mike Holmes, Shreyas Sampat, Blake Hutchins, Walt Freitag, ThreeGee.

1/24/2003 ethan_greer: Toast 6.0
I have written the Greatest Role-Playing Game of All Time. Not really. But it's fun to say. In fact I have so much fun saying it that I put it…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: ethan_greer, Andrew Martin, Jasper, Rich Forest, Shreyas Sampat, Gwen, Ben Morgan, Mike Holmes.

1/25/2003 Enoch: Unworthy - YAY! I found a mechanic!
Jeeze, I'm tired. I finally got past the mechanic block that's been plaguing me for so long. Once I did that it just started pouring out. Please take a look…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Enoch, clehrich, Mike Holmes, Spooky Fanboy.

1/26/2003 Nathan: Edena (once known as Bloody Fantasy)
Hello all, I have some new things finished up, and I wanted to share. I appreciate all the support the Forge has given me over the years. It brings a…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Nathan, talysman, ethan_greer, szilard.

1/27/2003 simon: quasi-narrativist mechanic for quicker/better simulationism
I've only ever posted a couple of times and so I'm not sure if this is the right place. Anyway, I've become bogged down/completely at a loss with what I…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: simon, Ron Edwards, M. J. Young, Mike Holmes.

1/27/2003 clehrich: New game - Shadows in the Fog - help wanted
[a href="http://auroragames.com/pdf/shadows.pdf" target="blank"][b]Shadows In the Fog PDF[/b][/a] At this link, you’ll find a first draft of [i]Shadows in the Fog[/i], a new RPG set in an occult version of Jack…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: clehrich, simon, Spooky Fanboy, marknau, Valamir, Gwen, Piers Brown.

1/28/2003 xechnao: I need advice and compassion
Hi to all!!! My first post over here! I want to create a new rpg, possibly with some limited commercial value. First I want to make a setting book describing…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: xechnao, contracycle, Gwen, Jasper, clehrich, Dave Panchyk, greyorm.

1/29/2003 xiombarg: YAUU!
YAUU: Yet Another Unsung Update I've made some major changes this time. I've added to virtually every section, modified the Rule of Currency, the Rule of Gifts, and the combat…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: xiombarg, Walt Freitag, Ron Edwards, Mike Holmes.

1/30/2003 Erekon: Help wanted in design of Medieval Fantasy RPG
I've played several different RPGs, experimenting. I've decided that I want the game to have features from the following games: Diablo Everquest Dungeons and Dragons I need help designing basically…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Erekon, clehrich, Eric J., Roy, Jeffrey Miller, Jake Norwood.

1/30/2003 ThreeGee: Mass Acres LARP
Hey all, Some time ago, I brought up larps in general in this thread, but today I would like to revisit the idea by presenting an actual larp rulebook. This…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: ThreeGee, Walt Freitag.

1/30/2003 RN3G8 4E: Want opinions on names (Realms of Eastden)
Hey everyone- this is my second post. I know Jake Norwood, the guy who made Riddle of Steel and I made a New Year's resolution to write a rough draft…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: RN3G8 4E, Eric J., Ben Morgan, Ron Edwards, Valamir, szilard, Jasper, ADGBoss, clehrich.

2/1/2003 Shreyas Sampat: Koh-i-Noor: Scifi with Uniqueness
[i]When optical computing was still new and biotech in its infancy, a scientist calling himself Suleiman made the first true AI, in the heart of a great diamond. He named…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Shreyas Sampat, clehrich, szilard.

2/3/2003 Matt Snyder: Rethinking Simulationist character creation
Well, I’ve read through the Simulationism essay with much interest. If my history of reading and re-reading the GNS essay, I’m bound to misunderstand whole reams of stuff, but I’d…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Matt Snyder, Andrew Martin, talysman, Valamir, Matt Wilson, xiombarg, szilard, Mike Holmes, contracycle, RobMuadib, Stuart DJ Purdie, Ron Edwards, ThreeGee, M. J. Young, btrc, Mortaneus.

2/3/2003 Shade Cydel: Phoenix Dawn
I've been designing a role playing game for the last few years. Recently I completed the Players Hand Book, Magic Tomb, Guide To Phoenix Dawn (detailed maps of continents &…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Shade Cydel, Jasper.

2/3/2003 Rod Phillips: SF Groundbreakers: Messiahs & Destroyers
This is a spin-off thread from SF Groundbreakers in the RPG Theory forum. I'll start by repeating the contents of my earlier post to that thread for context: Harlequin wrote:…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Rod Phillips, contracycle.

2/4/2003 Tim C Koppang: Lineage
Over a year ago I began to work on a game that I was calling Influence: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1709 http://www.indie-rpgs.com/viewtopic.php?t=1719 That was back in ’01, and now I’m finally getting back into…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: Tim C Koppang, ThreeGee, wyrdlyng.

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