Hi!

You probably don't know me, but I used to moderate <a href="http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?board=22.0">this forum here on the Forge.  I haven't poked my head in here for almost five years.  I found great deal of value in the thoughts shared here, but between sliding into mental illness and the distraction of maintaining a presence on a forum, I had to take a break.

However, development on my game system, <a href="http://universe6.scattershotgames.com/">Scattershot, hasn't been on hiatus.

I have moved forward on my plans to integrate <a href="http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=2043.0">Genre Expectations (<a href="http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=3572.0">here too) and <a href="http://indie-rpgs.com/_articles/glossary.html">Transition (scroll way down) into the system.  For the short term, to more focus my thoughts, I'm starting with a four-color superhero genre.  (A great example of which that I just finished is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soon_I_Will_Be_Invincible">Soon I Will Be Invincible.)

Late last year I decided that the 'as a publisher' approach was going to leave me with nothing.  I set aside the idea of self-publishing, even not-for-profit.  Weirdly, it seems I'm not the only one.  A couple of months ago, it seemed like there was a noticeable shift around the indie game scene.  A number of people have much better and more thought out reasons to drop publishing.  I just wanted to bust my creative block.  So listen to them, not me.

After a <a href="http://rpgheretic.wordpress.com/2008/01/10/play-is-the-point/">few mentions of the <a href="http://www.i-would-knife-fight-a-man.com/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=3296">flood of bad indie games, the reasons NOT to publish were examined. <a href="http://thouandone.wordpress.com/2008/01/30/getting-out-of-the-status-game/">Jonathan Walton, <a href="http://rpgheretic.wordpress.com/2008/02/04/marketing-in-the-land-of-hobbyists/">Clinton R Nixon and <a href="http://drivingblind.livejournal.com/327324.html">Fred Hicks wrote on how publishing is not the way to make friends and influence people.  Jonathan specifically <a href="http://thouandone.wordpress.com/2008/01/30/getting-out-of-the-status-game/">officially gives up the money side of self-publishing.  Then Joshua A C Newman <a href="http://glyphpress.com/talk/index.php/2008/02/08/maybe-you-want-not-to-publish/">shows us what we can avoid doing this.

That said, I wanted to let everyone know that I have begun posting <a href="http://universe6.scattershotgames.com/">Scattershot presents: Universe 6 - The World of the Modern Fantastic on its own website.  (And I'll add a forum as soon as phpWSbb catches up to phpWebsite 1.4.2.)  Feel free to drop by.  Let me know if you would like to help out!  Playtesting the pre-alpha begins immediately.  Feedback is highly welcome (and you can even make corrections yourself!).

Now, for <a href="http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=19146.msg200832#msg200832">'specific inquiries', <a href="http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=2043.0">Genre Expectations are one of the core concepts of Scattershot (and core to <a href="http://indie-rpgs.com/_articles/glossary.html">Transition as well).  Do you think introducing a 'character sheet' that the gamemaster fills out (a Milieu Sheet), with Stats, Ads and Disads would be a clear way of settling the group's expectations?  (I put up one example of a <a href="http://universe6.scattershotgames.com/superpower/index.php?module=wiki&page=MilieuDeathtrap">Milieu Disadvantage on the site so far.)  The system rewards players and the gamemaster for 'playing to' the Milieu Sheet; is this too weird?

Thanks a lot for your time and attention!  Stop by and help if you like.  I enjoy the input!  Feel free to register and add your own tropes to <a href="http://universe6.scattershotgames.com/superpower/index.php?module=wiki&page=DisadvantagesList">my list.

Fang Langford