Hello,

All right! The October Ronnies are among us. Here are the new-ish rules, or rather, the current version. I've discovered that running this things is a lot like a wave-front.

The criteria are very similar to those for the previous round, re-stated a bit here (see also the links below, regarding writing and so on):

1. A 24-Hour game, posted in PDF form at the Twenty-Four Hour Games website during the time period I specify. See also 1km1kt.

Note well: you must send me an email with the game attached as well. This was a headache last time, so don't forget this part; this time, I won't be forgiving.

2. It has to be a role-playing game. If I can and want to play it, you get a Ronny. No guidelines for these, you're on your own.

Well, one piece of advice: the more you please yourself with it, the likelier I'll be engaged. That is a function of the honesty that shines through in your writing. The more you try to please me with it, the less likely I'll be engaged.

3. The central concepts of the game must rely on two and only two of the four terms I provide. Do recognize that the two you don't pick must be, by definition, excluded from a central role.

Important: do not make this harder than it is. See the links below.

Any number of entrants can win. The problem is, of course, that as more people submit, the bar might get raised. It's one of those life-not-fair things. The prize is still $75 for the full-on Ronny, but as the first contest demonstrated, a second tier seems called for, so there's a $25 version as well.

The period of submission for the October Ronnies Awards begins October 4th and ends October 14th. Only ten days this time. 12 AM to 12 PM, my time (Central Time, U.S.A.).

The four words for the October Ronnies are: fight pain cosmos sphere

Best,
Ron

Old Ronnies threads of interest:

Introducing a new contest
The Ronnies, September 2005 (I'll start a thread like this one, also in the Adept Press forum, for the October contest)
[Ronnies] The winners for September

As a point of curiosity, Ron, where are you getting your random words from?

Hi Josh,

I'm not sure "random" applies. As I was composing the Ronnies, and knew that I'd be doing the two-out-of-four thing, I started coming up with combinations. I made up about eight or ten in a very short span of time. So the various sets are set in stone for Ronnies awards, for some time to come, based on that one flash of whatever-it-was.

I can describe the logic or sensations that went with choosing the words at the time, and in retrospect, I can also provide some analysis.

What really mattered at the time is that I could free-associate the four into the set, but not based on existing role-playing designs or familiar pop-culture genres. I also chose words which seemed under-used, or in some cases, over-used in a very limited way, in role-playing to date. Or in some cases, words which were used a lot, but not in combination with any of the others.

For the September combination, hatred seems to me to be under-utilized, practically ignored in role-playing, in favor of comparatively pale or straightforward urges like revenge, greed, or insanity. Tons of role-playing is carried out in cities or in wilderness, but not in suburbs - I live in a suburb (up until a few years ago, a fate I considered quite like eternal damnation), so that interests me.

Obviously, all of them were words that interested me. I teach a course about rats and enjoy them as critters; a rat can be a despised vermin, a beloved pet, or a valuable resource. I really like the unique way that rat-imagery and rat-characters are utilized in fiction. "Girlfriend" reeks of problematic conflicts, and also has lots of idiomatic meanings, far more so than "boyfriend," for instance.

I'll discuss the current terms after the contest is over, to avoid prejudicing the designs.

Best,
Ron

I like the 4 word combos, kinda reminds me of the magic system from Donjon.

Does this new competetion signal the death knell of feedback from the first Ronnies?

Some individual feedback on my first foray into GM-less roleplaying would be nice.

I also have a website now woo!

Peas owt
Joe

Hi,

I'm still steadily posting about the first round. Every legitimate entry does get its own Indie Design thread by me, and as you know, I fully support many of the entries, not just the winners, in being developed further.

Best,
Ron

Alright, allow me to just write out how this works, so I can figure out if I've got this.

We begin working on this and don't necessarily have to post anything anyhwere.  No one is keeping tabs on us but us.  When we are done, we mail Ron and post up a pdf at the 24 Hour RPG site.

We can take some notes and such but once we put fingers to keyboard about this, it has begun and 24 hours later, the game should be vomitted forth.

Yes?

Hi Judd,

Pretty much, yes. However, the moment that begins the 24 hours isn't defined by keyboard/no-keyboard, but rather doing-it/not-doing-it. For me, for instance, that's a notebook process first. For you, it might be a keyboard thing.

Best,
Ron

First entrant!

Jason Morningstar does the unpronounceable again with Xochitlcozamalotl..

Best,
Ron

Ron wrote:
First entrant!

Jason Morningstar does the unpronounceable again with Xochitlcozamalotl..

Best,
Ron

It means "Flower Rainbow", if that's easier.  Out of context that sounds like a PBS children's show, so I prefer the badass Nahuatl myself.

Ah, bug off. Unpronounceable, I said. When I need help in these matters, I'll ask.

Second entrant's here: "Today," by Eric Boyd.

(pronounced "tooo - dayyy")

Best,
Ron

Hello,

Current roster, with four entries so far:

fight & pain
Today by Eric Boyd
Last Breath by John Laviolette
The Drifter's Escape by Ben Lehman

interesting that "fight" seems to equate with "hope" - that can work, but think of alternative approaches ...

cosmos & sphere
Xochitlcozamalotl by Jason Morningstar

interpreting sphere as "sphere of influence" is one way to go, especially if you also use "cosmos" regarding godly characters - but there are others ...

It remains to be seen whether any of the other terms combinations get used. There are a couple that really interest me.

Best,
Ron

Well, a nice weekend jump has occurred - eight total, now. Getting up into the range of the expected number of entries, for a given Ronnies round after the first.

fight pain
Today, by Eric J. Boyd
Last Breath, by John Laviolette
Drifter's Escape, by Ben Lehman
Dirty Fucking Freaks, by Graham Walmsley (holy goth chicks, Batman, it's a LARP!!)

fight cosmos
Cosmic Combat, by Jasper Polane

pain cosmos
Adrift, by Cyrus Marriner

pain sphere
Escape From Hell, by Clint Black

cosmos sphere
Xochitlcozamalotl, by Jason Morningstar

No "fight sphere" yet, but we still have four more full days.

Best,
Ron

I think it's telling (in some way that I don't yet understand) that MOST of these entries and those from the last competition sound more like individual RPG "adventures" than roleplaying game titles. That's just based on the games' names. Not that there's anything wrong with that (several games I'm aware of that I admire are essentially "entire game = one system for one multi-session adventure."

Hi Jared,

That's a really good point.

I'm thinking that we have seen about 15 years of RPG publishing dedicated specifically to setting and the big picture, especially long-term, published metaplot. Sure, hundreds of adventures were published, but you and I know that they are all the same damn adventure, over and over - built on the chassis of WEG Star Wars, mediated through Shadowrun, Vampire, and AD&D2.

So most people are used to elaborate settings and some kind of authoritative vision for long-term play, but utterly unaccustomed to plain old punchy "what we're doing right now" prep and play. It's not surprising to me that they are developing that set of skills and material when given the chance, especially since a lot of recent games (yours and mine among them) often emphasize that scale, providing pretty good models or jumping-off points.

Best,
Ron

But where's my game? Was it accepted for the competition, or did I make a mistake in submitting it?

Hello,

I have all 11 entries now, including yours, Eero. I'm waiting another day or so before updating the list. No need to keep posting one by one.

I will admit that I am embarassed to read Dirty Fucking Freaks, with its great big title font, on the train.

Best,
Ron

I had that problem too. You can fold the title page over. And that works for a while, until you get to the page entitled "Fucking" in big letters.

Hello,

Fourteen games! And still almost three full days to go. Remember, the deadline is Friday's midnight, my time.

1. I like the way the terms are shaking out.

fight pain - alienation R us; I'm not sure whether "fight" is as flexible a term to me as it seems across the games
fight cosmos - mortal kombaaaaat! [music]
fight sphere - nothing? (sniffle - come on, guys!!)
pain cosmos - excellent diversity of interpreting "cosmos," this is the category that personally interests me most (like "rat girlfriend" last time)
pain sphere - clearly Dante's category
cosmos sphere - with only one game to go by, I'm not sure, but it's not surprising that this combination would be Color Central

2. I'm happy to see both new contributors and returning ones. I hope this ends up being the general pattern as the rounds go by. And yes, I'm all set with the terms-combinations for quite a few rounds to come.

3. A dozen or so games is just right. At fourteen at the moment, I'm anticipating just a few more, which is beefy. Apparently it's working!

4. I am really happy to see people posting threads before my comments get going, as well as the excellent effort that some folks are making toward one another's games. That indicates pride and interest beyond simply participating in the awards contest. However, nothing beats actual play; I'm looking forward to more of those for Ronnies entries and their continued development.

5. Finally - anyone who's not involved in the contest - I formally request that you nominate yourself as an informal judge. Pick a game you like, regardless of whether I've posted about it yet, regardless of how I rate it. Provide comments in threads about it, or talk about how you'd like to see it published, physically, or best yet, play the thing and post about it.

Best,
Ron

I will say this for the 1km1kt guys...They're fast!  I uploaded my October submission not 45 minutes ago and it's already up on thier site!  Amazing.

Kudos to those guys :)

Peace,

-Troy

A q

Pardon the last bit of gibberish, no delete here.

A short question though, if a game unintentionally incorporates a third term, does that disqualify it?  If one were to do a Cosmic/Sphere game that featured fighting or pain in some capacity does that create a problem?  If so it makes the "use two terms" interesting in that it would also create terms to avoid.

The games so far look fantastic from what I have seen.

Mark wrote:
A short question though, if a game unintentionally incorporates a third term, does that disqualify it?  If one were to do a Cosmic/Sphere game that featured fighting or pain in some capacity does that create a problem?  If so it makes the "use two terms" interesting in that it would also create terms to avoid.

Ron wrote:
3. The central concepts of the game must rely on two and only two of the four terms I provide. Do recognize that the two you don't pick must be, by definition, excluded from a central role.

I did see that.  Does that mean that any kind of fighting (bare nuckles combat, sparring with weapons, emotional brawling, mental dueling or any type of conflict based contest) would disqualify a Pain/Cosmos Pain/Sphere or Cosmos/Sphere game?  Is it an appeal to create a pacifist game or is it simply discouraging specific fighting/combat mechanics. 

Hello,

The key issue is centrality. A game based on "fight cosmos" might have pain in it, or perhaps narrated during play for some reason or another, but that pain cannot be playing a thematic, content, or mechanics type role that's comparable to the two central ones. How much is comparable, i.e., too much? That's for me to decide.

That said, however, I do strongly recommend thinking in terms of avoidance. A game's focus is immeasurably improved by saying to oneself, "it does not concern elephants," arguably more so than by saying "this one's gotta have monkeys." That's why I included both inclusion and exclusion into the contest rules.

So avoiding, even deliberately excluding the two "not used" terms is both safer in terms of the contest (a minor concern) and more constructive in terms of powerful game design (a major one).

Best,
Ron

I can't find any of these games on either site listed. The only one linked in this thread is Xochitlcozamalotl.

How do I get to them? Did I miss something?

Hi Matt,

See the 2005 submissions page at the 1KM1KT website. I have received a few more since their last update, but they keep up pretty well, so should be current within a few hours.

My current list of 23 entries, with 15 hours of this round remaining, is as follows.

FIGHT PAIN 6
Today, by Eric J. Boyd
Last Breath, by John Laviolette
The Drifter's Escape, by Ben Lehman
Dirty Fucking Freaks, by Graham Walmsley
Contenders, by Joe J. Prince
Whitecollar Punks, by Eero Tuovinen

FIGHT COSMOS 8
Cosmic Combat, by Jasper Polane
Cycle, by Mischa D. Krilov
Hierarchy, by Troy Costisick
Left Coast, by Steve Hickey
In the Beginning, by Tim Alexander
3-16, by Gregor Hutton
Starblade Echoes, by Chris Chinn
Space Rangers, by C.S. Bone

FIGHT SPHERE 2
Material World, by Joe Zeutenhorst
Fight Sphere, by Jesse Burneko

PAIN COSMOS 3
Adrift, by Cyrus Marriner
Cosmos, by Owen Anderson
Monotheism, by Tony Pace

PAIN SPHERE 3
Escape From Hell, by Clint Black
The Dark Wood, by Marc Machjer –
Reality Cops, by James Brown

COSMOS SPHERE 1
Xochitlcozamalotl, by Jason Morningstar

Best,
Ron

I submitted my project entitle "Celestial Sphere: The Fight for the Cosmos in the Age of Pain"  So yeah, I basically rearranged the Challenge words until I got all of them to fit into a title. In the game you play a constellation sent to the mortal sphere to try and stop the chaos that is engulfing the Spheres of Reality.

I didn't manage to get everything I wanted into it. The editing was poor, there is not credits/ explanation page, no obligatory what is role-playing, and few pictures.

After coming up with the title I was surprised at how easy the game came along.  The setting was pretty much described in the title. I needed to involve the archaic notion of the Celestial sphere in their some where. Originally I started with the concepts of astrologers summoning the powers of the constellations to wage a war to control reality, but eventually dropped that when I realized that it would be to hard mechanically to finish in twenty four hours, and I didn't want it to become a knock off of Witchcraft or Mage. (of course when the project was actually finished i realized that it came off as a bad white wolf rip off anyways, but I wasn't thinking that far ahead.) I decided to make the players the constellationss them selves, this meant I didn't have to define each constellation, and therefore the mechanics would be easier. Since Constellations were based on legends I decided that they were actually heroes from the Mortal sphere that were granted immortality so that they could provide guidance and hope for the earth.

Then came the back story. I knew I needed to include some sort of war, and an Age of Pain thanks to my title. The age of pain was pretty simple when I started thinking about the Celestial Sphere, and it's history. Early scientist believed that the heavens revolved around the earth in a celestial sphere until someone discovered that the Earth was not the center of the universe. Presto! I had my age of pain. In the beginning the Celestial Sphere DID revolve around the universe until it started to warp and become more chaotic. The war could be over the few remaining areas of normalcy, I thought at first, but then rejected the idea because it might lead the characters backstabbing each other. I decided that a horde of demons had some how broken thru to the celestial sphere, ala black holes.

I decided that the Constellations (I later dubbed them Celestials, because it sounded better) would be able to enter our Sphere of reality thru some means, and that the majority of the plot would have to revolve around the Mortal Sphere. This decision was made because I didn't have enough time to fully detail the Celestial Sphere as a setting (I think I ended up spending an entire paragraph on it) and most people know what the world around them is like.

Since most Constellations are aligned to a specific element I decided to make elemental based powers, but in the last seconds I changed the names of them to a planetary theme. I did this because I realized that I would not have enough time to explain why the classical elements held any sway over the Celestials, and gave me an excuse to add two more powers that I felt the game needed. This also opened the possibilities to hidden powers. I also made the decision that a player should be able to define one power for themselves. Personally I love it when the game allows me to input something unique into a setting, so I decided this was how my game would include this idea. Because I hate the "you can use this power X times per day" rules many games have I decided I would need a variable stat to limit the powers. I used manna mainly because everyone knows the term.

I used the standard eight stats (Physical, Mental, Social, Perception, Attack, Defense, Health, and Initiative) mainly because I could not think of anything more cleaver, and it was a system every ne could understand. I went with free-form skills because it saved me time and once again added some level of player interaction.

When deciding on a system to use I wanted to think of something that would feel heroic, and monumental, this is probably what stalled the creation process the longest. I could not think of anything that felt sufficiently Cosmic for along time. I nearly gave in and had the system be based on massive numbers of dice, but this idea gave me a better one. I realized that massive dice would be intimidating not only because of quantity but because of the sound they might make. This is when I got my idea for including a plastic cup to make the sound louder (I used the lame excuse that it made it easier to roll) and eventually decided to use coins because they were easier to get a hold of, and louder.

Once my mechanics were done, and my setting was vaguely outlined I went to work on the advancement system. I finished this rather quickly when I realized I already defined a variable stat that had was increased when the character did something Heroic. So manna became my games experience points, and cool power limiter. I'm not sure if that will make the game easier or more difficult, but it saved me time, and I was running out.

After putting the whole thing together I decided to check the competition out before I submitted it to make sure I wasn't copying anyone's idea. When I read 'Cosmic Combat' I almost tossed my finished product out, but decided that they were different enough that I should submit it anyways. After reviewing the other submissions I realized two things: one I had fifteen minutes before my deadline was up, so I didn't have anytime to do all the proper fluff and editing, and two there were some really good entries already. So I submitted as was and wrote a little hype for the other entries on the description. I hope people enjoy it.

PS: I got to say 'Today', 'Escape From Hell' (I love Dante's Inferno) and 'Reality Cop' are my favorite submissions so far. I hope one of them is declared the winner.

BIU,

What about Rule 3? 

3. The central concepts of the game must rely on two and only two of the four terms I provide. Do recognize that the two you don't pick must be, by definition, excluded from a central role.

Otherwise, your description looks good, but that will disqualify your game from the competition and Ron's critique.  Still it is interesting to see how you weave those elements together.

Hello,

Currently, I have not received an email containing "Celestial Sphere: The Fight for the Cosmos in the Age of Pain" as a PDF attachment. Therefore it is not eligible.

Also, since as described, it does not exclude two of the four terms, then it would not be eligible anyway.

"Celestial Sphere: The Fight for the Cosmos in the Age of Pain" might be a fine addition to the 24-Hour site, but it cannot get a Ronny. The first condition is correctable, but the second is not.

Best,
Ron

Ron wrote:

"Celestial Sphere: The Fight for the Cosmos in the Age of Pain" might be a fine addition to the 24-Hour site, but it cannot get a Ronny. The first condition is correctable, but the second is not.

Oh well, like I said in the description of the game itself I went the whore route rather then trying to write a good game, and there are much better games written. I did put a good run on it, but I didn't expect / particularly want to win, it was just kind of a neat diversion. I do feel kind of silly forgetting the second rule however, I guess that's what I get for starting a game a little after midnight.

The project was not received? I submitted it at around 11:45 pm (central time) to the 24 hour RPG site.

Marc wrote:
What if he changes it to a game about constellations in the Cosmic Spheres who are engaged in a painful fight against rats who hate their suburban girlfriends?

Whew...I just squeaked my rough submission in five minutes to the deadline. You should have seen the flurry of activity: swapping music discs, timing air breaks, typing madly, jumping from the Forge to my web mail to the 24 hour game site, and popping on the air to make quick, pithy comments about the weather and such WHILE doing all the above.

And sniffling like mad...damn cold. I'm going to bed, man.

Oh crap...I just realized I didn't put my name inside the actual PDF...I hope that is not going to be a problem, Ron?

All over, as of the previous midnight. Raven's entry was the last in, much to Jared's disappointment, I'm sure. He wanted to be first-in in the first contest, and last-in for the second, for whatever aesthetic goals Jared may or may not maintain ...

Anyway, 27 entries total, this time. Let's see. In the September round, I received 33 eligible games in 20 days. That's 1.65 games per day. This time, I shortened the round length in hopes of getting a little less work involved and correspondingly to do a better job of critiquing each game, and gumming up less forum space.

You fuckers submitted 27 games in 10 days. Increasing the per-day game quantity to 2.7.

Well, all right then. You can expect Indie Design to be Ronnies, Ronnies, Ronnies, all the live-long, ding-dong day.

Best,
Ron

Heya,

Anyway, 27 entries total, this time. Let's see. In the September round, I received 33 eligible games in 20 days. That's 1.65 games per day. This time, I shortened the round length in hopes of getting a little less work involved and correspondingly to do a better job of critiquing each game, and gumming up less forum space.

You fuckers submitted 27 games in 10 days. Increasing the per-day game quantity to 2.7.

It also says to me that, as with most things, the two hardest parts are starting and finishing.  Folks, we've got the first part down in spades.  Ron's given some great motivation (the feedback, not the $$, obviously) to starting, the next part is on us as designers and spectators to

a: provide useful feedback to keep designers motivated, and
b: finish our damn games.

James
...off to start reading games to keep up my end.

Blankshield wrote:
Ron's given some great motivation (the feedback, not the $$, obviously) to starting, the next part is on us as designers and spectators to

a: provide useful feedback to keep designers motivated, and
b: finish our damn games.

Hiya,

I can't wipe nose through the entire process, guys. If you win a Ronny, you have my personal commitment to the development of your game in the long term. Can't offer more than that.

Best,
Ron