Previous Topics
In Game Development

12/15/2010 Eszed: "All games are, is systems" - interesting article about game design
I'm not developing a game, I just want to direct attention to an article that may be of interest.  It's about Brenda Braithwaite, a long-time video game designer who has…
In Game Development
Participants: Eszed, Ron Edwards.

12/14/2010 paddirn: Skills that don't necessarily go up with level?
I'm curious what about people's thoughts are on a skill system where skills advance based on frequency of use, with the most-used skills increasing in proficiency and least-used skills actually…
In Game Development
Participants: paddirn, Ron Edwards.

12/14/2010 dindenver: [Legends of Lanasia] Conflict Flow
Here is what I have so far: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ouEJchAXRJ4/TQWJLueU9vI/AAAAAAAAAA0/14Gh5k7GUks/s1600/LoL-Conflict%2BFlow%2B-%2BAdvanced.png Conflict Flow 1) Agree that there is a conflict 2) Players declare their Stakes (what are they fighting for?) 3) Judge declares…
In Game Development
Participants: dindenver, Ron Edwards, Noon.

12/13/2010 Ron Edwards: [GRAY MAGICK] My fantasy heartbreaker design work, approximately 1994
Hello, I recently found an old folder full of my RPG design work from the early-to-middle 1990s. The first game I made up and played was in 1987 or so,…
In Game Development
Participants: Ron Edwards, Paul Czege, contracycle.

12/13/2010 New Fire: Stats for an Army Unit, Stats for a Town
Greetings, everyone! I am working on a game known as New Fire. It is a fantasy RPG set in a world based on Aztec/Mayan/Mesoamerican culture and mythology. Players take on…
In Game Development
Participants: New Fire, Dr. Velocity, Ron Edwards, Simons.

12/12/2010 talisman: Using Tarot Cards in-game
Hi everyone, I'm new.  Long-time reader, first time poster. Anyways, me and my brother have been playtesting a new game I've been developing, and when we playtest I pull tarot…
In Game Development
Participants: talisman, Ron Edwards, Finarvyn, Noon, Web_Weaver, Chris_Chinn, Bill_White, Dantai.

12/10/2010 johnthedm7000: The revised task resolution system for the RPG I'm working on
Task Resolution: All important tasks (ie. those that have a chance of failure, and which have significant consequences for failure) are resolved using the following method. 2d10+Ability+/- Circumstances Against a…
In Game Development
Participants: johnthedm7000, Abkajud, Ron Edwards.

12/9/2010 Abkajud: [a greek adventure game] mercurial heroes (or should that be hermetic?)
[x-posted at Story Games] Idea: three kinds of traits - d4's for arete (skill), d6's for names (relationships/allies), and d8's for aegis (divine favor). you can have multiple dice in…
In Game Development
Participants: Abkajud, Ron Edwards, masqueradeball.

12/7/2010 Troy_Costisick: [Three Roses] Vision Statement
Heya, Back a few years ago I wrote a game for Game Chef.  It was called Hunter Rose.  I loved the game.  A few playtests showed me that it could…
In Game Development
Participants: Troy_Costisick, Artanis, Ron Edwards.

12/7/2010 Ron Edwards: IMPORTANT FOR START-UP
Hi everyone, I would like to import current threads from First Thoughts into this new forum. However! Threads here now have to include a link to some useable game document…
In Game Development
Participants: Ron Edwards, epweissengruber, dmkdesigns.

12/7/2010 Ron Edwards: Welcome to the Game Development forum - please read here first
This forum is devoted to notions about your own RPG design. By posting here, you should be at least 10% personally serious about developing an actual RPG. Your posts should…
In Game Development
Participants: Ron Edwards.

11/30/2010 New Fire: Stat Advancement at Character Creation vs During Gameplay
I've been working on a game for quite awhile now called New Fire. It's an Aztec-themed fantasy RPG using a d10 system and done in a very heroic and dramatic…
In Game Development
Participants: New Fire, Doug Law, Holywar, Certified, Finarvyn, johnthedm7000, Ron Edwards, DJ Ghost.

11/19/2010 Abkajud: [Dwarf Fortress] whoops! it's Right to Dream play!
Anybody ever design a game, execute it correctly, and then think "Well, crap. I wouldn't play this game"? That happened to me last night. I did my first playtest for…
In Game Development
Participants: Abkajud, mreuther, Alfryd, Noon.

11/17/2010 Dan Maruschak: [Final Hour of a Storied Age] Heart of the Fire
For the past few weeks I've been playtesting Final Hour of a Storied Age, my GM-less no-prep game of Epic Fantasy with Leo Lalande and Nolan Callender. This AP report…
In Game Development
Participants: Dan Maruschak.

11/17/2010 Artanis: [Unspeakable] Abashed or anti Czege principle?
Hello all I've been toiling away at a game based on my group's chaotic play of Call of Cthulhu of years past. After two years of development in French, I…
In Game Development
Participants: Artanis, Ron Edwards, Eero Tuovinen.

11/15/2010 Ron Edwards: [Doctor Chaos] World peace, my way
Back in 2005, I noodled around with a game design that I really liked, but set it aside for a number of reasons, partly because playtesting had shown a couple…
In Game Development
Participants: Ron Edwards, SamuelRiv, Chris_Chinn, Troy_Costisick, pkalata, Miskatonic.

11/13/2010 Pen: Skill advancement doesn't feel right
I came up with a roleplaying setting that I felt needed its own game system.  It's called The Raptured and it starts out on our current real world Earth and…
In Game Development
Participants: Pen, mreuther, Ar Kayon, Finarvyn, johnthedm7000, Ron Edwards.

10/30/2010 mreuther: [Untitled Paranormal Romance] Playtest I
So, as mentioned elsewhere, I worked up a system to test with my group (part of anyway) this weekend. Just got back in from what proved to be an edifying…
In Game Development
Participants: mreuther, Michiel Rutte, Troy_Costisick.

10/28/2010 epweissengruber: [In this Sign, Conquer] Toronto Area Gamers Playtest
The setting: 2nd floor of a restaurant with 5 sets of RPG ers getting down.  D&D, WoD High Fantasy, Deliria, .44, and ItSic. I am not presenting the game to…
In Game Development
Participants: epweissengruber.

10/16/2010 FetusCommander: [Supers Chess] story elements in a mechaically focused game
[url=http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forge/index.php?topic=29574.0]Supers Chess[/url] has seen about 6 playtesting sessions now, and I have some concerns about how it's shaping up. The chess mechanics, central to the conflict resolution of the game,…
In Game Development
Participants: FetusCommander, Noon, SamuelRiv, Holywar.

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Subsequent Topics
In Game Development

12/17/2010 btrc: Crowdsourced RPG research
I'm looking for some input from a bunch of sources, and since this spot is populated by gamers, it seems relevant. I'll also be making the request elsewhere, so don't…
In Game Development
Participants: btrc, Ron Edwards, Paladin.

12/17/2010 markgamemaker: Stone, Steel, and Steam - Revised and Ready to Test
[i]Stone, Steel, and Steam[/i] is a tabletop RPG about cultures in collision.  It features eight unique human civilizations on two continents with technology levels ranging from Stone Age to early…
In Game Development
Participants: markgamemaker, johnthedm7000, Ron Edwards, hardcoremoose, masqueradeball, Shimera9.

12/18/2010 Ar Kayon: [Nevercast] - Truth through Mastery
“The world was destroyed without dropping a single bomb. It's been centuries since the cataclysmic economic collapse, and the world still has not recovered.  It may never recover.  As strip…
In Game Development
Participants: Ar Kayon, Ron Edwards, Noon, Chris_Chinn, masqueradeball, dindenver, horomancer.

12/19/2010 Rackham: flag framing?
Hey everyone! First port here ever, found my way here after having played some Apocalypse World. I'm interested in game design and I'm now trying to get a grip on…
In Game Development
Participants: Rackham, Ron Edwards, Chris_Chinn, Trevis Martin.

12/20/2010 dindenver: [Legends of Lanasia] Character Creation
[center][b]Character Creation[/b][/center]   1. Come up with a basic character concept, what is the character you will play like?   2. Name - What is your character’s name?   3.…
In Game Development
Participants: dindenver, Ar Kayon, Ron Edwards, Noon.

12/21/2010 twztdwndpipe: Special Attack Questions
I'm looking for tips on developing a system, based almost entirely on fighting, (preferably 1v1) After getting through alot of my ideas, and 86ing the ones that didn't work well…
In Game Development
Participants: twztdwndpipe, johnthedm7000, Ron Edwards, Dr. Velocity, Noon, contracycle, Certified, dindenver, Ar Kayon.

12/21/2010 Dan Maruschak: [Final Hour of a Storied Age] The trait/dice mechanics
In Final Hour of a Storied Age (get the latest revision from the download page, or here's a link straight to the rev 0.67 PDF) I'm using freeform traits to…
In Game Development
Participants: Dan Maruschak, Ron Edwards, masqueradeball, Noon, dindenver.

12/22/2010 Ben Lehman: [On the Ecology and Behavior of the Mud Dragon] Breezy, but dangerous
So I wrote a game five years ago called "On the Ecology and Behavior of the Mud Dragon." It's been played, like, twice I think, once by me which didn't…
In Game Development
Participants: Ben Lehman, Ron Edwards.

12/22/2010 Ron Edwards: [Pumpkin Bomb] Help me, Joe
I planned to play some Pumpkin Bomb at the last gaming-group meetup, but found myself confounded by some points in the rules. Here are my questions! Minor clarifications Is the…
In Game Development
Participants: Ron Edwards, Dantai.

12/23/2010 Marshall Burns: [MADcorp/Misadventures in Nowhere] Time machine time
So, A) Ron and Paul are totally awesome for making early designs available, and B) my only early design  Misadventures from Nowhere is directly relevant to my current primary design…
In Game Development
Participants: Marshall Burns.

12/24/2010 BunniRabbi: Wiki game problem
I've been working on this wargame in the form of a wiki, specifically to allow development by others as much or as little as they want.  It's great for fast…
In Game Development
Participants: BunniRabbi, Chris_Chinn.

12/24/2010 BunniRabbi: Have you developed Nobilis?
Well I hope this is the right place for this... A friend of mine is looking to do a system-redux of Nobilis, and I'm on the hunt for information.  Have…
In Game Development
Participants: BunniRabbi, Ron Edwards.

12/27/2010 Sir Fungus: [Cube: The Descent]: a tabletop pseudo-roguelike
Hello! I've been working on a game with a friend of mine for quite some time now, and we've recently been able to release a skeletal rulebook on our site.…
In Game Development
Participants: Sir Fungus, Noon, Ar Kayon, Dr. Velocity, Chris_Chinn, Cubed Excalibur.

12/28/2010 Alexis: [Mud Dragon] "I am Ancient Belly, Ruined of Parades!"
So yesterday night I got Ben and his roommate Jonathan R. to play Mud Dragon with me. Ben ran it, and Jon and I played mud dragons. Character creation was…
In Game Development
Participants: Alexis, Ben Lehman, Ron Edwards, DWeird.

12/28/2010 masqueradeball: Working Through It
In ruminating on how to make Chanbara fiction work in an RPG I came up with the idea that the GM would determine some aspect of the character that would…
In Game Development
Participants: masqueradeball, Ron Edwards, Ar Kayon, Noon, dindenver.

12/29/2010 dindenver: [Legends of Lanasia] Destiny Points
So,   This is the most significant non-conflict mechanic in my new fantasy game Legends of Lanasia.   Destiny Points are designed to be the players' reward for good play.…
In Game Development
Participants: dindenver, Chris_Chinn, Dan Maruschak, masqueradeball.

12/30/2010 wburdick: [Death of the Vele] playtesters wanted
I’m ready to play test a new collaborative role playing game, called “Death of the Vele,” which draws from Blood Red Sands, Spirit of the Century, and Lady Blackbird.  It’s…
In Game Development
Participants: wburdick, Ron Edwards.

12/30/2010 The Hound: RPGtonight online Living Game playtests round 2 - seeking LOTS of GMs, players
RPGtonight (a virtual tabletop site www.rpgtonight.com) is looking for many more GMs and a many, many more players for the second round of playtesting for a unique online tabletop style…
In Game Development
Participants: The Hound, Ron Edwards.

12/31/2010 masqueradeball: Chanbara Part 2, Characters
Over in this thread: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forge/index.php?topic=30807.0 I started talking about a session/scenario framework for a chanbara game that's currently nameless. When Ron pointed out the documentation requirements, I realized I hadn't…
In Game Development
Participants: masqueradeball, Dan Maruschak, Noon.

1/2/2011 sproket: Goldchest 0.4
Hi all, Goldchest 0.4 is available for download. There are few significant improvements in this release. * The game is now provided with a Java based installer so you don't…
In Game Development
Participants: sproket, Ron Edwards.

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