Hi, I am designing a game, and reading here since few weeks. I've red all the articles and some posts, and I would like to put my concept on the table so I can have some early feedbacks and/or/suggestions and/or critics.

I will use the kill power 19 set of questions to do so, as my game is classic enough to fit in.

In fact, I began the game testing phase, but I still have a lot of work to do. (modifications between each session, completion of the setting details, adding stuff, etc)

1.) What is your game about?
Epic Adventure, martial arts, wizardry, relationships, evil inside good and goo inside evil, cult vs spirituality, space-time travel, and much more.

2.) What do the characters do?
They have a background and a life goal. They can quest for riches, power, saving their village or country, or the entire world, or they can simply want adventure or survival, or even friendship. They crawl dongeons, explore dark forests, exotic cities, fly on magic carpets, pass trough dimensional gates, get laser guns and cybernetic bodyparts in tokyo 2304 and discover multi-universe plots and time conspiracies.

3.) What do the players do?-
They roleplay ther character and throw dices. You know, the classic thing with a game master :)

4.) How does your setting (or lack thereof) reinforce what your game is about?
I don't know, I love high fantasy and sci-fi. I think my game is about having fun and for me this setting is fun.

5.) How does the Character Creation of your game reinforce what your game is about?
This is a classic one too. It have stats, skills and powers.
obviously you have to outline the character first with some personality questions (goal, morality, concept, etc)
After that you have a stats wheel. it is a circle graphic around which are the stats  they are divided in three pie pieces : physical, social and mental (ok this division is probably from vampire ;)
the stats are somewher between 1 and 5 at the beginning (they can improve) some stays at 0 and you can even put negatives and put these points elsewhere. It have no random and you choose where you place your points with some race limitations. After that it have skills, that will work with a stat.
you can have powers or techniques that fit into a skill (skills like magic or martial arts).
All of these things are decided by the player with no dices, but a limit of points to invest. They have to do their best to fit their character concept.
This system is efficient to create a large palette of colorful characters. You can do an Ogre-Mage that will cast berserk and fighting spells, a ninja-sorcerer, a knight-summoner, or even a warlord-geisha. nothing is impossible, but the most you put your points in every stats, the less you have strong ones :)
This fit the setting because I want realistic epic heroes, I don't want to limit my fighters to wield a sword all their life, if they want to do some pickpocket by the way! It is a multi-class system, with no defined classes or levels.

the resolution is 1d10+stat+skill lvl / difficulty number (average 10)

6.) What types of behaviors/styles of play does your game reward (and punish if necessary)?
This is a game that want to be equally Gamist, Simmulationist and Narativist, as I think I pesonnaly play as much for gaming, for the adventure in an exotic world, and for the storytelling side of it as well.
It also allow to play good or evil characters, as long as the team can collaborate toward a same questgoal, or are unified by the need to survive, etc.
shades between good and evil is encouradged. I prefer complex characters that too much steriotipical (the evil lord may want to resurect his wife by pure love and the only way to do so is to kill some people because they posses the rare artifact that would allow him to do so).

7.) How are behaviors and styles of play rewarded or punished in your game?
By logic. If they kill a child they must take care to not have witnesses ;) If I have a powergamer, I tend to put him in social situations, or whatever he neglected to put all his points in combat stats or spells :)

8.) How are the responsibilities of narration and credibility divided in your game?
the story is sacred, but the world must stay coherent. The rules allow a good credibility In order that they simulate, but if you like realist games , like no magic and no miracles, this one is not for you :)

9.) What does your game do to command the players' attention, engagement, and participation? (i.e. What does the game do to make them care?)
the GM have the responsibility to invent a plot that include the goals or interests of the characters. The Players have the responsibility to play actively, interact, fight and resolve riddles and puzzles. If they don't do so, they are free to go back to WoW :P Obviously it depend on the DMs skillfulness and on the player's interest for a large part.

10.) What are the resolution mechanics of your game like?

non-combat:  1d10+stat+skill lvl / difficluty number (average 10) 1 is automatic failure, 10 auto success.

combat:
You throw the numbers of D10s corresponding with your rapidity (and representing how many actions you can do in one round)
    Understand these dices are for initiative, attack power, defense power, damages, everything in the round... you get it? No? It's normal, I think it is a new one ;) Example:

Lets say I am a pretty damn borring hero and i have 3 in every stats.  lets say the Imp is as boring and have 2 in every stats. I have a dagger skill at lvl 1, and my opponent a dagger skill level 1 too!
so I have a 3 in rapidity, I throw 3 dices. my opponent 2. my results are: 8, 5 and 3, and his, 7 and 5, the round goes this way:

By dice results from the higher:

(8) I attack my opponent (dice+stat+skill+weapon) = (8+3+1+1) = attack power: 13
 

11.) How do the resolution mechanics reinforce what your game is about?
See 10.)

12.) Do characters in your game advance? If so, how?
As the game advances the characters get closer to the goals they set at the character creation part or may develop entirely new goals. They can become rich, have a fulfilled relationship, whatever the players want to achieve. On the side of rules and game mechanics characters advance by practicing their skills only, there are no experience points or similar mechanics.
Furthermore I head the idea that achieving their goals lets the players remove hindering or negative effects from their characters (this means for example that a character who wants to become an underworld crime boss, slowly loses his sense for conscience and morals, that prevented him from doing highly criminal things before, the closer he gets to his goal )

13.) How does the character advancement (or lack thereof) reinforce what your game is about?
As in the rest of the game, the players get to see the results of their actions. If their characters practice their stats increase, and the players can freely decide what stats these should be.

14.) What sort of product or effect do you want your game to produce in or for the players?
I want to the players to open their minds and question their characters' beliefs as they pursue their goals in an open ended environment. Additionally I want to give them the chance to reach the goals through a series of efforts and unforeseen events.

15.) What areas of your game receive extra attention and color? Why?
Most important are the game mechanics, as the setting is variable. Important parts of the rules will concern the mental health of a character, their skills and learning. Rules for physical combat will be included but I want to make the combat part less dominant than in the games I played before.

16.) Which part of your game are you most excited about or interested in? Why?
Not worked out yet

17.) Where does your game take the players that other games can’t, don’t, or won’t?
I think there is nothing in my game that has not been done in other games before. While writing this down I read other answers to the Power 19 and stumbled upon a lot of similar ideas and concepts. As well as I am looking forward to playing those games I want to find the best mix for myself and share it with others.

18.) What are your publishing goals for your game?
Sharing the game with a few friends, eventually make it available as a free pdf

19.) Who is your target audience?

Um...its just the Power 19. The kill part is what Luke thinks should be done to this particular set of questions.

OH horror, OH damnation, I sended it before finishing editing and i dont see an edit!!!!!!!!

If some mod can erase the first please this is the complete:

Hi, I am designing a game, and reading here since few weeks. I've red all the articles and some posts, and I would like to put my concept on the table so I can have some early feedbacks and/or/suggestions and/or critics.

I will use the kill power 19 set of questions to do so, as my game is classic enough to fit in.

In fact, I began the game testing phase, but I still have a lot of work to do. (modifications between each session, completion of the setting details, adding stuff, etc)

1.) What is your game about?
Epic Adventure, martial arts, wizardry, relationships, evil inside good and goo inside evil, cult vs spirituality, space-time travel, and much more.

2.) What do the characters do?
They have a background and a life goal. They can quest for riches, power, saving their village or country, or the entire world, or they can simply want adventure or survival, or even friendship. They crawl dongeons, explore dark forests, exotic cities, fly on magic carpets, pass trough dimensional gates, get laser guns and cybernetic bodyparts in tokyo 2304 and discover multi-universe plots and time conspiracies.

3.) What do the players do?-
They roleplay ther character and throw dices. You know, the classic thing with a game master :)

4.) How does your setting (or lack thereof) reinforce what your game is about?
I don't know, I love high fantasy and sci-fi. I think my game is about having fun and for me this setting is fun.

5.) How does the Character Creation of your game reinforce what your game is about?
This is a classic one too. It have stats, skills and powers.
obviously you have to outline the character first with some personality questions (goal, morality, concept, etc)
After that you have a stats wheel. it is a circle graphic around which are the stats  they are divided in three pie pieces : physical, social and mental (ok this division is probably from vampire ;)
the stats are somewher between 1 and 5 at the beginning (they can improve) some stays at 0 and you can even put negatives and put these points elsewhere. It have no random and you choose where you place your points with some race limitations. After that it have skills, that will work with a stat.
you can have powers or techniques that fit into a skill (skills like magic or martial arts).
All of these things are decided by the player with no dices, but a limit of points to invest. They have to do their best to fit their character concept.
This system is efficient to create a large palette of colorful characters. You can do an Ogre-Mage that will cast berserk and fighting spells, a ninja-sorcerer, a knight-summoner, or even a warlord-geisha. nothing is impossible, but the most you put your points in every stats, the less you have strong ones :)
This fit the setting because I want realistic epic heroes, I don't want to limit my fighters to wield a sword all their life, if they want to do some pickpocket by the way! It is a multi-class system, with no defined classes or levels.

the resolution is 1d10+stat+skill lvl / difficulty number (average 10)

6.) What types of behaviors/styles of play does your game reward (and punish if necessary)?
This is a game that want to be equally Gamist, Simmulationist and Narativist, as I think I pesonnaly play as much for gaming, for the adventure in an exotic world, and for the storytelling side of it as well.
It also allow to play good or evil characters, as long as the team can collaborate toward a same questgoal, or are unified by the need to survive, etc.
shades between good and evil is encouradged. I prefer complex characters that too much steriotipical (the evil lord may want to resurect his wife by pure love and the only way to do so is to kill some people because they posses the rare artifact that would allow him to do so).

7.) How are behaviors and styles of play rewarded or punished in your game?
By logic. If they kill a child they must take care to not have witnesses ;) If I have a powergamer, I tend to put him in social situations, or whatever he neglected to put all his points in combat stats or spells :)

8.) How are the responsibilities of narration and credibility divided in your game?
the story is sacred, but the world must stay coherent. The rules allow a good credibility In order that they simulate, but if you like realist games , like no magic and no miracles, this one is not for you :)

9.) What does your game do to command the players' attention, engagement, and participation? (i.e. What does the game do to make them care?)
the GM have the responsibility to invent a plot that include the goals or interests of the characters. The Players have the responsibility to play actively, interact, fight and resolve riddles and puzzles. If they don't do so, they are free to go back to WoW :P Obviously it depend on the DMs skillfulness and on the player's interest for a large part.

10.) What are the resolution mechanics of your game like?

non-combat:  1d10+stat+skill lvl / difficluty number (average 10) 1 is automatic failure, 10 auto success.

combat:
You throw the numbers of D10s corresponding with your rapidity (and representing how many actions you can do in one round)
   Understand these dices are for initiative, attack power, defense power, damages, everything in the round... you get it? No? It's normal, I think it is a new one ;) Example:

Lets say I am a pretty damn borring hero and i have 3 in every stats.  lets say the Imp is as boring and have 2 in every stats. I have a dagger skill at lvl 1, and my opponent a dagger skill level 1 too!
so I have a 3 in rapidity, I throw 3 dices. my opponent 2. my results are: 8, 5 and 3, and his, 7 and 5, the round goes this way:

By dice results from the higher:

---(8) I attack my opponent (dice+stat+skill+weapon) = (8+3+1+1) = attack power: 13

----------(7) He defend (7+2+1+1) = defense power (whith his dagger) : 11   ; --->(my att power - his deffense power = damages) 13 -11= 2: I inflict 2 dmgs.

---(5)---(5) Simultaneous: we both attack each other: me: (5+3+1+1)=10 VS him:(5+2+1+1)=9; the higher number deliver damages: 10-9=1dmg

---(3) I attack: He have no actions left to deffend. I deliver my blow :(3+3+1+1)= 8 direct damages

So you can see that in this round i got no damages and i inflicted 11 to my opponent. It is clear that my hero is stronger than the imp anyway ;)

11.) How do the resolution mechanics reinforce what your game is about?
Well, it is medieval fantastic right... i also wanted something more martial arts than dongeons and dragons, and the fact that you know your results before to decide which action it will be used for, you have some strategy here ;)

12.) Do characters in your game advance?
Yes they do. no levels. Experiences are few (between 3 and 6 per games at the beginning) and serve to lvl up skills and to increase stats.
They can also discover more spells and powers.

13.) How does the character advancement (or lack thereof) reinforce what your game is about?
It is letting you free about the way you advance. you can change your vocation totally if you don't follow your base lines.

14.) What sort of product or effect do you want your game to produce in or for the players?
Having fun with friends, exploring a world rich in adventure and magic
inspiring wonderfulness and creativity
reinforce persistent visualization skill (very important in real magick ;)
Give them a trip in a colorful setting.
I want them to say: wow, its like the game i wanted to play all these years and never found (Why do you think i did it)

15.) What areas of your game receive extra attention and color? Why?
Mechanics and setting I did not tell you about yet but I am working hard to provide a more realistic magic system (not in the effects but in the process) and a mysterious atmosphere.

16.) Which part of your game are you most excited about or interested in? Why?
Every. I want it to be complete ;)

17.) Where does your game take the players that other games can’t, don’t, or won’t?
Beyond their imagination, In a world of wonder(ok it IS classic, but mine is hottest! lol)
I want them to think about how magic is their own world, even if they didn't noticed yet :)

18.) What are your publishing goals for your game?
both a cheap pdf, and a printed book (I love the feeling) at a decent price (black and white art by me, layout by me)

19.) Who is your target audience?
-people who loves medieval fantastic but are tired from AD&D or the usual heartbreakers;
-people who already play games but want to try a new, original system;
-people who love my setting or the adaptation they could do of it.
-people who look for a organic and free character creation and advancement system
-people who want more tactic in combats
-people who loves magic and mystery
-people who begins: Introductory text and simplified variant of rules with 3 stats: social, mental physic, and playable with 6 sided dices :)

Feedback, commentaries, critics, plaints, encouragements, hostilities? write it here!

Noclue: right, but still, it gives you a nice outline i guess

ok sorry i just understood: the system of questions is named simply power 19 and killpower 19 is only Luke's subject... sorry i was comfused ;)

Hi folks,

Please treat the second (correct) list as the one to respond to.

Best, Ron

Okay, to make with the trying to be helpful...

1. My reading of this is your game is about Epic Adventure where good and evil are not black and white, with various fantasy/sci-fi color thrown in. What makes an adventure epic in your eyes? How does your game foster epicness? What does your game do to encourage moral ambiguity?

2. This seems to boil down to "They adventure." This life goal sounds interesting. How does that function in the game? Does your game really focus on all these things? Can I really play a guy who just wants friendship, do no epic adventuring, and not ruin your fun?

3. That's not a very helpful answer. The question is about the kind of play experience I'm going to have playing your game. Its trying to get at what behaviors I will be engaged in while having massive fun. What emotions are you trying to evoke in me? What do you want me to do and feel?

4. Actually, I sorta like this answer. Why is it fun for you?

5. Outlining the character personality and goals is not "obvious." Not all games do it and not all do it the same way. How do you do it?
"Realistic epic heroes" is an oxymoron. Epic heroes are not realistic they are epic.

6. I wouldn't invite a discussion of GNS at this point, and especially not this way. Can we just say you want to reward tactics; you want a story and you want there to be a world to explore. You slip in the fact that you want a party with a unified quest down here. I'd move this up to #2. Its an important design goal and won't design itself. I'd like more about what you want me as a player to be doing while I'm playing. Am I sitting around during combat waiting for my turn? Can I have any effect on the fiction other than through my character? Do I know the other PC's goals so that I be part of their story, or do I only know what they divulge to me?

7. Be careful. If I'm putting points in awesome warrior dude, its probably cuz I want to be in some awesome fights. It may not be fun for me if you keep throwing me into social situations where I suck (unless I want to be in social situations where I suck, of course. Does your game have any way to identify if I want to be a fish out of water?).

8. Who controls the story? Who decides what is, and is not, coherent?

9. Seems to answer #8 a bit. The DM controls the story?
No, it's not obvious that player buy-in is a result of a good DM and good Players. If WoW is better, they will play that (and should). Its your job as designer to make a game that is fun for your target players. It's not their job to care, regardless of your ability to make it fun.

10. Your resolution mechanics are tactical. Based on skills and stats.

11. Your answer in 10 does not show how your game reinforces what your game is about in #1, i.e. epic adventure and PCs driven by morally ambiguous goals. These mechanics don't seem to lend anything to the story and exploration design goals in #6.

12. Sounds interesting.

13. Flexible chargen, got it. Can I improve my social stat by practicing with my sword?

14. I'm not seeing anything in the system about opening minds and questioning beliefs. Where is that stuff?

15. And yet you chose combat as your example for the game resolution mechanics...
Why is mental health important in this game? How does a sanity stat reinforce epic adventure?

16. waiting.

17. I agree. Is that enough for you?

I cross posted and referred to the first list...ooops!

Noclue wrote:
14. I'm not seeing anything in the system about opening minds and questioning beliefs. Where is that stuff?

15. And yet you chose combat as your example for the game resolution mechanics...
Why is mental health important in this game? How does a sanity stat reinforce epic adventure?

you are right, Markhaselb, i used yours as a template and the answers from 12 in the non-finished first post are yours.

To answer to you, Noclue,

First thank you for helping me to understand better what all these concepts of game desing are really about ;)

I will try to answer my best as you did:

1. My reading of this is your game is about Epic Adventure where good and evil are not black and white, with various fantasy/sci-fi color thrown in. What makes an adventure epic in your eyes? How does your game foster epicness? What does your game do to encourage moral ambiguity?

-What makes an adventure epic is the legendary, mythic aspect. The heroes if they play a while will have a role to play in worlds, times and planes, think about the old final fantasys, how much it was epic to grow strong and determined enough to change the destiny of the world(s)?
-My game include epicness by encouraging the players to be adventurers and heroes (the quests will ask them to be at least) and to make them face tragic destinies and doomed times, but allow them to gather enought power to eventually change the course of history. (this is my rebel side maybe)
-I encourage some shades and colors. I would just not accept someone who kill to kill because he is evil. It must have a reason for all this killing. was he an abused beaten child? his he vengeful from this past lack of power and traumatism? his he in fact a very sad and desparate being? how could he react if a glimse of an happy childhood memory cam to pierce trough the shadows of sufferings?. (but this part is a little bit the masters job too... )

2. This seems to boil down to "They adventure." This life goal sounds interesting. How does that function in the game? Does your game really focus on all these things? Can I really play a guy who just wants friendship, do no epic adventuring, and not ruin your fun?

Yes it would be like a bardic style guy in the stats probably, and even if he follows the others in crazy adventures(well the game IS about a team of hero going for adventures of glory and wonders, if the character stays at the pub  ans flirt all the way through, i will ask the player to invent another character, or to make this one less lazy. If he goes to adventure, he will have his chance to use his social skills plenty of times, but i admit i gave my exemple with a classical dagger combat ;)

3. That's not a very helpful answer. The question is about the kind of play experience I'm going to have playing your game. Its trying to get at what behaviors I will be engaged in while having massive fun. What emotions are you trying to evoke in me? What do you want me to do and feel?

This is an hard one. I suppose it is about quests, riddles, puzzles, plots,... Usual plots you know, that can include romance or wathever emotions or behaviors, but the system remember is arount these 3 aspects: social, mental, physic. Im not sure to know how to answer it hahahah. The quests as i do them is i prepare events for places and the players wander in the map, and enconter these things in arbitral order, but slowly see the large picture and how all these things are related. Im not sure how to answer else than that...

4. Actually, I sorta like this answer. Why is it fun for you?

Because it let my imagination go far and wild ;) I also like the color of it, and the particuliar color of my setting, but this is another story.

5. Outlining the character personality and goals is not "obvious." Not all games do it and not all do it the same way. How do you do it?
"Realistic epic heroes" is an oxymoron. Epic heroes are not realistic they are epic.

-It have a section for that on the character sheet. I talk with my players and ask them questions. I will include this help in the masters section. I try to know who is this character they try to cast and help them to give him life. I also explain them the setting to inspire them. finally if they are not able to answer I give them suggestions following what i think they try to do. But really this is still to work on. Ideally the player have a character in mind and we just have to "cast" it on the sheet and fill the lines
-realistic in the way they are coherent living beings with realistic feelings (or attempt to), not some demigod of war, epic in the way it is possible for them to achieve miracles anyway. But as you define it, it is probably more epic than realistic :)

6. I wouldn't invite a discussion of GNS at this point, and especially not this way. Can we just say you want to reward tactics; you want a story and you want there to be a world to explore. You slip in the fact that you want a party with a unified quest down here. I'd move this up to #2. Its an important design goal and won't design itself. I'd like more about what you want me as a player to be doing while I'm playing. Am I sitting around during combat waiting for my turn? Can I have any effect on the fiction other than through my character? Do I know the other PC's goals so that I be part of their story, or do I only know what they divulge to me?

  in the combat you can do whatever you like, but following your action dices. The story is the storyteller's fiction, and you can modify it with your character only... d&d like... you know only what your character knows etc. but your character can know something you ignore (often a knowledge test)

7. Be careful. If I'm putting points in awesome warrior dude, its probably cuz I want to be in some awesome fights. It may not be fun for me if you keep throwing me into social situations where I suck (unless I want to be in social situations where I suck, of course. Does your game have any way to identify if I want to be a fish out of water?).

I just try to equilibrate the 3 aspects social/mental/physical to please everybody, and so that every character have a moment of glory and a moment of weakness.

8. Who controls the story? Who decides what is, and is not, coherent?

The all mighty Storyteller ;) and the mechanics of course. (that was invented by the only storyteller of this game :P )

9. Seems to answer #8 a bit. The DM controls the story?
No, it's not obvious that player buy-in is a result of a good DM and good Players. If WoW is better, they will play that (and should). Its your job as designer to make a game that is fun for your target players. It's not their job to care, regardless of your ability to make it fun.

I know that, but no game is fun if the people is not wanting to have fun. that said, Of course I want to give material that provide a fun mechanic, a deep and colorful setting and a game master section with reflections on storytelling and how to bring some atmosphere, and a very fun list of treasures, places, traps, encounters, and even adjectives and sample descriptions classified by environments (as a narative help) and everything that i will think to include and judge good enough :) 

10. Your resolution mechanics are tactical. Based on skills and stats.

Yes, Sir!

11. Your answer in 10 does not show how your game reinforces what your game is about in #1, i.e. epic adventure and PCs driven by morally ambiguous goals. These mechanics don't seem to lend anything to the story and exploration design goals in #6.

This was a combat example. it does have mechanics for social and mental aspects as well and finally some things are not obvious in the mechanic but are told as roleplay suggestions in the book

12. Sounds interesting.

It seem interesting for me as well :) more playtest will confirm.

13. Flexible chargen, got it. Can I improve my social stat by practicing with my sword?

well now that you say it it would be nice to checkmark a stat when you use it (or a skill) in order to be able to improve it.

14. I'm not seeing anything in the system about opening minds and questioning beliefs. Where is that stuff?

In the Storyteller's section, in the setting and inside the quests, so they where invisible to you as i did not go deep in these aspects ;)

15. And yet you chose combat as your example for the game resolution mechanics...
Why is mental health important in this game? How does a sanity stat reinforce epic adventure?

yes, combat is a nice example, no?  It is the mechanic for action scenes, where the speed is important. for a social conflict, it is even easyer, as you act when you like usualy (or it could be resolved by a  presence comparative check if everybody want to speak in the same time)
mental health is useful because it include the cthulhu mythos(and every human mythos as the world have the same astral plane as the earth) and some black magic or horrible places can be very harmful for your character's sanity. It is a mental stat. It is not reinforcing the epicness but i like it, and a mad epic character can be fun, and well, its for fun :D (I'm a Lovecraft's fan) Ah! forgot to told, my land is somehow very dark and gothy by places ;)

16. waiting.

You shall not be deceived ;)

17. I agree. Is that enough for you?

About how magic is our world? I see you have eyes to see and a heart to feel, bro!

;)

I forgot to ask: would you like to play such a game? why? (to anybody reading it)

Hi,

Welcome to the Forge.  I'm worried that for what you're trying to do, this forum is not going to be very useful.

Firstly, you don't have any specific questions.  We need to know what you're having trouble with before we can help you.

Second, the focus of this forum tends to be towards very focused games.  Games which reinforce what they are about through mechanics.  So, for example, a game that is about "Epicness" would have mechanics for reinforcing that feel, and very little else.  I recommend this thread: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=28331.0 for someone who is going through exactly the same issue.

If you want to make a freewheeling, kitchen sink style of game, with everything you like thrown in there to make the perfect game for you, I completely applaud your effort.  You should understand though that it's going to be very hard for anyone else to critique your ideas.  We can't decide if a mechanic is going to be fun for you.  Only you can do that.

On the other hand, if you want to make a game that successfully conveys a certain feel, that is "about" something (and I would argue that all successfull published games do so), you have a lot of work ahead of you.  We can help with that, but it's going to be long and probably hard.

Let us know which you want.

Thank you you Simon C :)
I see what you mean. I totally understand what it look like lol.

Just that i began this game i was a teen and i am 28 now, and I want to finish my game whatever difficulties it can represent.
It is a nice game. plyers likes it already. what I have to do is structure my stuff into a book and i am doing it... I was just hunting some tips in fact, and im served well :) when you said: 

"On the other hand, if you want to make a game that successfully conveys a certain feel, that is "about" something (and I would argue that all successfull published games do so), you have a lot of work ahead of you.  We can help with that, but it's going to be long and probably hard."

Now that is what I want. Im not afraid about work or time....
I will think about it and I shall come back with a clear: my game is about______ ...

but for now, i will gather your nice tips and work harder to explain it better next time :D

Thank you !

Well, hold on here - there is no "Forge game" to hold up as the way it's done here, and no reason to throw cold water on a game which isn't like most others. If it's a kitchen-sink, teen-written game, and if the author wants to develop it for its virtues, we need to respect that and help make it into that kind of game.

Granted, we can point out principles or examples the author may not have encountered, or suggest a way to do things he or she may not have thought of, or point out problematic issues ...

... but this forum better help people with this sort of game, in addition to whatever mechanicsy-focused designs come along, or I'll shut the damned thing down.

If you want to help with this kind of game, then do it, and if you don't, you don't ... but don't claim the forum itself mandates the types of RPGs that do and don't get help here.

Best, Ron

what is a kitchen-sink game?

Well It WAS teen-written, but 20 after genreations of rules or so, and constant evolution of the world arournd make it more like written on a 10 years span :)

what do you think about this combat mechanic by the way?
I've never seen before such a concept, namely that you know your results before to use them at something....and at the end of a turn, it is less a big deal to have no more actions to defend, as the blows are weaker... And only one throw for initiative, hits and damages...
I think it is new, doesn't it? 
If some of you are willing to test it and give me a little feed-back, i would be grateful too!

Some implements for physical conflicts:
Number of actions (dices) = Agility

attack = D+ Precision
parry = D+ Precision
avoid = D+ Agility
move = D+ (agility) foots by action (compared for chasing)

I will try to give a more compelling example soon with a social conflict as well...

Second, i think I would replace the 10 sided dices by playing cards. It is nice to have a "13 sided" dice with less possibilities of simultaneous actions (only 4 times each number) and probably special effect for jokers ;)

It is also cheaper to buy... and easyer to carry... ah yer and with this system, you need them to be stable and readable for one round, and a dice is so fast rolled ;) I only think it is more intuitive with the mechanic (having already known random circomstances and trying to use them at the best)

Thank you Mr Edwards for going to the front for defending my wet papers from the kitchens sink, full of peanut butter and tea ;)

Ron,

Fair points.  I guess what I'm trying to get across is that the adivce you're likely to get in this forum is going to drive you towards a certain direction (that is, mechanics that achieve a unified goal). That's not emblematic of "Forge Games" (which you rightly point out, is not an identifiable set), I think that's present in all succesfully published games since the mid eighties.  If your goal is different to that, I think you're going to get more frustration than help here.

I guess what I'm saying is that there's only some kinds of design that can benefit from the help of others.  When you've got a highly personalised, idiosyncratic goal, it makes it very hard for people to help you.  That's not a judgement of those games.  Probably most really successful art started as something idiosyncratic and highly personal.

I agree that it's a laudable goal to help any designer, without regard for fashion or cliquishness.  I think you're right that we can help these designers, but I think there's going to be a lot of frustration and difficulty associated with that.

Possibly I should speak for myself more?

Librabys,

"Kitchen-sink" means something like "everything but the kitchen sink", in the case of games, that means lots of different elements thrown together, creating jarring juxtapositions and sometimes a gonzo, "over the top" atmosphere.  "Rifts" is an iconic example of that kind of game (and it's also very popular).  I think some games are "kitchen sink" in terms of rules too, in terms of having "a rule for everything".  This often ends up in pages and pages of extra tables, supplements, exceptions to rules, and subsystems.  "Rifts" falls into this category also.

In my experience, the first kind of kitchen sink - setting, can be very enjoyable, but the second kind, with rules, almost never is. 

I think there's been a recent thread on cards vs. dice.  There are reasons to use either, but thinking of cards as "13 sided dice" is, I think, ignoring their potential.  First, be aware that each draw from a deck of cards changes the odds of what the next card will be, unless you reshuffle after every card, or have an infinitely large deck.  This can work to your favour, since it evens out luck over time, or it can work against you, for the same reason.  Second, cards contain more information than dice.  They have suit as well as number.  You might want to use that to your advantage. 

Ok so i would say it is kitchn-sink for the setting probably :) but it have its own feeling too.
The rules are now very singuliar, with classic elements but they are solid i think and it does not look like a patchwork. (the setting is a patchwork only for recycling elements that i love, but it have a unique flavor and is open ended too...)

About the cards, I did say I love it in part because you cannot have more that 4 times the same card in a round, but at this time I was thinking about an each round shuffle, but after i posted i thought It would be nice if each player had his own deck and use it totally so he meet every card...

and later i thought(because i have mental, physic,and social stats, and in each sphere it have a fire stat, an earth stat, an air stat and a water stat, making 12 stats in all) each heart card by exemple would give a bonus IF use for doing a Water task ( intuition, perception or agility) and each spade,  IF used for an Air task ( precision, intel, speach) etc

Extensively, court cart could give a bonus on a physic task for the Jack, Social for Queen and Mental for King by exemple.

And joker is a critical success for the color one and a fumble for the grey one maybe.... 
Or i let it for kings and Aces and i take the color joker as a value 14 for init (better than king) and a value of 2 for task and the inverse for the grey joker lol

It have a lot to play with, and even more with tarot decks, but I dont want it too heavy and i like the idea of a commun, affordable and easy to find deck of playing cards :)

So after few IN VITRO tests with cards I think D10s was more appropriate... ill see with my group...

I will open a tread about playtesting sessions of my game, but it still have a lot of things that are undefined and need further firt thoughts :)

for design issues, and the way they could fit in the feeling of the game,

I think I should begin by saying that 10 years ago, this game was merly an Oriental D&Dlike with a D100 system.
It was inspired by Manga, martial arts and stuff, but also by fantasy movies like 'A Chinese ghost story'
As I grew in age I made a Map and realized it had plenty of place in this world for more exotism than the original Sino-nihon.
So I came up with a coutry like Vedic India, another like ancient egypt and babylonia, another like the 1001 nights, another medival/goth, all this mixed up with racial cultures and more local tribes.
I also decided this world is the last refuge of dragons and legendary heroes and that it is the world in which our etheric plane is physicaly manifested. So I called it Aethera.
As related with earth, In this high fantasy setting you CAN go on earth, or in any other world, but the proposal included in the game is a cyberpunk trip in Tokyo 2300 or so. (This choice come from the fact I had the impression a multi-setting adventure RPG would be more compelling with rules for technology)
The Setting is also rich in sect and organizations that plot against or with each other, of jalous gods that strive to get more worship and sacrifices and of space-time spiritual conspiracies.
But it is not intended to be a chrono trigger simulator. It is its own world with POSSIBILITY of foreing travel :)

Now that you know better the crazy setting, there are my desing goals:

-A nice martial art system, with a true tactical feeling, a combat resolution that flow, and more actions by round for speedy characters. the combat are dangerous and fast. A big wound can be fatal If you are not rescued.

-A 'realistic' magic system, divided into summoning, arcanum, and mystic, with an explanation of the sources of power, and a more mysterious feeling than : ''i cast a fireball for a cost of 8 mana'' including rules for mental health, control(or not) over summuned spirits, ritual magic, accumulation of charges, etc.

-An hommage to hack and slash: door/monster/chest CAN be fun if your dungeon is dark and moldy, if the door is closed by a riddle by a mad arch-lich, if the monster is in fact a crazy man having a weird speach and ending up to be a possessed guy and the monster is a deamonlord, and finally in the chest (locked by a puzzle) it have... a map for a treasure that is in fact in the basement of the inn the characters come from, 2 weeks of walk back.
I love dongeons, i want to give them another chance :)

a social mechanic with attractiveness, intensity, enpathy and speach as separated attributes

a mental mechanic with perception, smartness, wisdom and will, in which you can cast spells, create potions or invent machines... (with corresaponding skills)

an organic, and free character creation, that allow the player to do exactly the kind of hero he was thinking about, and a advancement system that follows it.

a Final Fantasy feeling (from 1 to 6). not because you can deliver 9999 hitpoints blows, but because you team up, you become stronger, do some little caves, discover a plot, discover more plots, dicover the link between them and slowly being implied in a giant conspiracy and having your part to play in the destiny of the worlds (this is the epic part)

a call of Cthulhu feeling. The Old Ones are real, and the Necronomicon too. When you open gates or summon you could attract a powerful alien deamon in your reality. Deal with it. Now how mental health help an Epic setting?
It is a Dark Epic setting, try to remember how Frodo lose his nerves and hopes when he got possessed by the ring and got mad at his best friend (befor the spiders i think). No need to say an epic character is usualy more solid than the average investigator, and that you can call upon some shoggoths as the black mage you are, and be fine with it for a while, but seeing directly Cthulhu could have a different issue...

the mad, vampirized, werewolfied, possessed, alienized, or re-wired character is still playable, with new race bonus and malus.

I think it is ok for now, and I think It is more about what kind of game experience I Intend to simulate.

Now a simple question: Does it interesting or promising for you?
Would you be interested in further readings?
Would you playtest it?
Would you play it even if it is not THAT MUCH inovative
boiling down to the same question:
With what you know about this game now, do you think it Have a future in gamers life?

(notice i dont wanna know if i can get rich, i wanna know if people would play ;)

Hi, Lib.

You're actually playtesting this right now? Could I bug you to post a summary of playtest (the basics of what happened in the game's fiction, and also what the players did) in the Playtesting forum? That's probably a more appropriate place than First Thoughts.

Well I was thinking the same and as it was the 3rd game tonight, it is a good time to begin!
At this point i guess you are totally right :)
I shall do this post as soon i get a little more time, either in few hours or tomorow;)