I got a message on Obsidian Portal today from a user called DissenterKnight. He found my Gotham Nights page and wrote to me. I’ve included his message so you can see what he said. I wrote a pretty lengthy response and I wanted to share it with all of you too. I talk a bit about getting into Smallville (a story I’m sure you’re all very familiar with), a bit about party-conflict in gaming, and the strengths of Smallville. I also do some shameless promotions for good measure. Check it out and let me know what you think in the comments.
Oct
27
Posted by : | On : October 27, 2011
I’ve had a few people ask me about the nuts and bolts of Signal Zero, so that’s what I’m showing this week. This is the basic conflict resolution mechanic. If you don’t want to use a sub-system or are just looking for how the majority of the game is played, this is the mechanic that answers that. It might be a little hard to follow without the full context of the character creation chapter but hopefully it’s still understandable.
I’ve had a couple of people comment that it sounds really complex. While there is a certain level of complexity here I think that it’s purely in the explanation. The execution of the system is fairly simple, it’s just hard to describe how to get there. That said, this system has not been playtested in a full game scenario. We’ve toyed around with individual abstract situations but nothing for an extended game session.
Oct
21
Posted by : | On : October 21, 2011
I look down the barrel of my rifle. There still isn’t anything worth seeing but a Priest must be vigilant. When our guard is down the demons strike. At least, this is what we were taught. I’ve been on this platform for over forty hours straight now and my arms are starting to cramp up. In eight more hours my replacement will be here to release me of my vigil and I can return to Temple.
Then it happens. I see the demon’s head in the window of his steel walled bunker. I squeeze the trigger and watch as the demon’s head is replaced with shattered glass and blood splatter. I sigh and begin to push myself off the ground. Before I can even compete a push-up I drop hard on my right side and roll onto my back. Barely avoiding the knife that lands where my head just was.
Priests are trained in the arts of stealth and ambush. This also makes us extremely apt at noticing when a trap has been sprung on us. We are trained to rely on the perceptions of God in times of peril. It’s this divine connection that warned me of my attacker. Yet, all of this divine intervention couldn’t have prepared me for seeing another Priest standing only feet away from me.
My rifle is too bulky for close combat so I have to rely on my knives and sword. I bare steal and kip-up to my feet. The Priest in front of me slides his right foot backwards and pulls his sword. I lunge in quickly with my sword arm while pulls a small knife with my off-hand. He parrys, as his training instructs him, and moves to counter-attack. He is a traditional Catholic Fencer and never expects when I step inside his range, dropping my sword, to buy my knife into his chest.
I grab his sword arm and twist, forcing him to drop his blade, as I spin free. I leave my knife in his heart and watch as his slumps to his knees. I pick my sword up and with one quick flick cut his throat. Blood spills down his chest and the scars on his forehead begin to glow.
I drop everything in my hands and touch the same sigil on my forehead as his burns open. I grab the sides of his head to steady the transfer and close my eyes. The warmth of his divinity spills from his incision into my own. I feel the glow of the Lord’s Touch spread through my own body as his cheeks grow cold in my hands. Then the moment passes and he is just an empty shell.
I gather up my rifle and clean my blades. I thought I’d have more time but you can keep no secrets from God himself. With a heavy heart I mount my bike and kick the motor into action. The mercenary shanty of Gristle is near-by and I’ll see if I can find protection there. There is always room at the inn for a woman of the cloth. They don’t need to know I just killed the local Deacon.
Oct
19
Posted by : | On : October 19, 2011
I find myself asking why so many table-top role-playing games start you out a first level. Why so many games limit or control your character advancement. It seems like there is an idea that says you need to barely have any unique abilities until you’ve “earned” them. Then you have to spend a few sessions to gain that privilege. How would you feel about a video game that makes you wait multiple hours before you get anything new?
I want to elaborate on why I think this is a terrible idea. After the break, I’m going to talk about how Arkham City made me realize that character advancement in table-top role-playing games is broken.
Oct
13
Posted by : | On : October 13, 2011
It’s October 13th and a month ago I set this as my deadline for Signal Zero. Unfortunately, the game isn’t ready to debut in any fashion. The original goal was to have character creation completed along with the basic mechanic but the nature of the game has required me to focus on different areas to make sure the system is coherent across the board.
There is also the matter of other projects stealing time away from this game design. The weekly role-playing game I run requires prep time, the podcast, and recent developments that lead to my friends and I playtesting a game have eaten away time I’d normally spend on Signal Zero.
Still, it’s the 13th and I want to give you something. All two of you who read this. Instead of presenting the first portion of a project, I’m going to talk about my design goals and what, exactly, Signal Zero is meant to be.
Oct
05
Posted by : | On : October 5, 2011
This week I present the Hacking Mini-Game system. The design goal is to create a side game for Hacker character to play that A) Doesn’t require the GM’s attention B) Removes the Hacker’s attention from anything else going on C) Doesn’t take too long to play D) Is fun.
I’m not sure how I did with it but it held up to some light playtesting. Since this is designed to be a stand-alone element within the game you don’t need any other rules to be able to play the game.
While I don’t have the rules for designing a system yet, the arbitrary method of just assigning numbers works just fine. If you’re interesting in playtesting just assume you have a Dice Pool between 8 and 12. I’d appreciate any and all constructive feedback I can get on the system.
I’m also not 100% sure I’ve fully explained the system here. I need to know if there needs to be any clarifications.
Sep
30
Posted by : | On : September 30, 2011
My crowdsourcing experiment ended this morning. I closed out the poll (you can see the final results to the right) and have drafted up the first stab at the system.
The truth is, I didn’t post the poll to get an answer. I already knew what I was going to call Character Flaws. I knew the minute it was first suggested. I wanted to see if it was an acceptable idea. While I liked all five suggestions, I already had my favorite and I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a terrible choice.
Lets talk about the contestants, shall we? Defects and Glitches are very similar in my mind, I liked both of them but they sound a bit too computer-y for my tastes. You don’t really think of people as Defective or Glitchy. Baggage is solid but I was worried that it went too far the other way from Glitches and Defects. Baggage is a really strong human term but not very cyber. While I liked Issues (It reminded me of the old joke about the Korn album: “What’s your problem man? Do you have issues?”, “Yeah, I love Korn.”) it sounds a bit adolescent for a “mature” game. With Dissonance my concern was that the word itself sounded like Thesaurusitis. It’s a good word, but does it need to be there?
If you’re interested in my choice and seeing the first draft of my Character Flaw system, I’ve posted it after the break. Remember, first draft. It’s likely to change a bit but I think the core is solid… I mean, I borrowed the idea from another game system. (Full credit for the inspiration will be given in the final product.)
Bonus points to anyone who can figure out what game system its inspired from.
Sep
29
Posted by : | On : September 29, 2011
Ok, so I did a little crowdsourcing via Twitter, Facebook, and G+ this morning. Now I’d like to take this crowd-sourcing to the next level with a little poll. I was looking for a term to use for Character Flaws for Signal Zero. In about two hours I received 4 on Facebook, 7 replies on Twitter, and 16 on G+.
And people wonder why I’m switching to G+.
For a more detailed breakdown of what I got and my thoughts on the process, head past the break. If you just want to make your voice heard, the poll is to your right. Without giving away too much, here are a few bullet points to help you make your choice:
- Character Flaws always hurt you, the never help. You do not get to “spin” a flaw into something positive.
- Flaws are used against you, they don’t apply a penalty.
- Having Flaws grants you access to a benefit but in order to get more of that benefit you take more\stronger flaws.
- Flaws are both Human and Machine; they range from Alcoholism to Memory Leaks. From Reality Dissociation to Malware Infections. They can be anything wrong with you or your cyberwear.
If you have questions, leave them in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer without spoiling the surprise of the system.
Sep
28
Posted by : | On : September 28, 2011
Signal One: High Tech. Low Life.
The streets smell of sulfur and rotted meat. All around you there is a constant buzzing and you can’t tell if it’s from the monorail or the neon signs. It’s always dark here. The sky is obscured by buildings, skyways, and smog. The air lingers heavy, literally, and you have to choke just to get oxygen. Everything around you is covered in grime and what isn’t re-enforced steel is crumbling brick. You live here, but you still dream about someplace better.
The halls are pristine and smell faintly of lavender. Your shoes make a soft click on the synth-marble walkway. The windows open to beautiful blue sky, just above the cloud-line. Everything here is soft hues, pastels and whites. Not a glaring white but a soft, easy on the eyes, white. The climate is perfect and even in your suit you are comfortable. You live here, but you still dream about someplace better.
The market is loud, both in sound and style. Riding the glass elevator down you can see a hundred different booths setup, in different languages, with different people hawking different wares. Thousands of people pulse and melt around the stalls. On every intersection sits a steel poll lined with floodlights and security cameras. The elevator stops and the decontamination processes ends, perfectly timed. The doors open and you’re assaulted by a hundred different of odors. The air becomes thin from everyone breathing off one filter. You shop here, and you hate it.
The store pipes in soft music while a sales representative stands behind you. He is not being pushy, just waiting to help you with anything you need. He was assigned to you the minute you walked through the doors. The shelves are pristine, very little product actually sits out because everything is custom tailored. You can look around all day and not see a single security camera but you know they are there. You can not even find where the lights are but the room is perfectly lit. You shop here, and you hate it.
Your apartment is called a ‘Efficiency Sub-Loft Studio’ which just means ‘really damn small’. You have a kitchen in your bedroom and your toilet and shower sit next to the couch. Still, these two rooms seem like a mansion compared to your sleeper-pod you rented for the last three years. The windows are barred but you never risk lifting the security cover. Your best furniture is third-hand and the rest is barely above dumpster quality. This is your home, but you’ll move up to someplace nicer soon.
Your condo is called a ‘Single Inhabitant Luxury Living Space’ which means you would never leave if you did not have to. Your massive bedroom has a top of the line sleep-chamber. It allows synaptic projections of the latest video entertainment to be streamed directly into your subconscious while you sleep. Your kitchen is full of appliances equip with the latest Virtual Intelligence upgrades. Even your patio has state of the art laser enforcement grid to protect you from slipping off the rail-less edge. This is your home, but you’ll move up to someplace nicer soon.
The tram is late, as usual. The whole tube smells of piss and shit, just like it has ever since it was deemed more economically viable to route sewer lines through the sub-stations. Everyone around you wears a mask, some just to block the smell and others so they don’t breath in the fumes from leaking gas lines. Finally the tram pulls up and everyone shuffles inside. The car isn’t much better than the tube, most of the seats are broken and the grab bars are missing. It won’t be a problem though because everyone is crammed in so tight they can’t move. It’s not your ideal way to travel, but it’s the one you have.
You arrive at the station and exit your pod directly onto the carrier. You make your way to a full synth-leather recliner with build in heating/cooling unit. You recline and a small video screen slides out from the ceiling and adjusts itself to your optimum viewing distance. The retinal scanners read your eye movements and notice that you are interested in seeing sports scores. A flight attendant checks on you and tells you that should take just over an hour for your flight from New York to Tokyo. You order a drink and see that the Cubs have lost again. You sigh and decide to just take a nap. Your chair, sensing this decision, slides backwards and forms into a small sleep chamber for the duration of your flight. It’s not your ideal way to travel, but it’s the one you have.
What is Signal Zero?
At the end of the day, Signal Zero is a table-top role-playing game. Hundreds of people have written “What is Role-Playing” sections in thousands of different books. I can’t tell you any better than they can, but I’ll give you my spin. If you already know, feel free to skip the next paragraph.
What I can tell you is what a table-top role-playing game means to me. Table-top role-playing is sitting around a table with a handful of your friends playing a game that tells a story. There isn’t any part of that equation that is optional, in my mind. If you’re not at a table, than its something different. If you’re not with your friends, then you’re missing out. If there isn’t a game than you’re just telling a story and if there isn’t a story you’re just rolling dice.
What about the setting of Signal Zero? It’s a dystopian/utopian future where humanity struggles to find the place of artificial augmentations inside a world gone capitalistic and corporate. The majority of the world is filled with massive urban sprawls stretching both horizontal and vertical. The lower you go the more dystopian everything gets while the higher levels are a utopian paradise. Everyone must decide if they want to graft high-tech machines into their flesh or focus on remaining ‘pure’. Governments collapsed and were reborn as corporations. Economically, everything is cheap up front but then you have to pay more to get everything to its full potential.
The tagline I wrote to keep looking back at while I design and write this game is:
“Make Decisions, Get Augments, and Manage Reputations.”
Hopefully you’ll see those principles reflected in both the flavor of the setting and the mechanics of the system.
Sep
21
Posted by : | On : September 21, 2011
Signal Zero Spotify Playlist
I’ve put together a little playlist for when I’m writing. You can check it out at Music for Signal Zero on Spotify. Currently, despite the game taking its name from a Fear Factory song the ‘theme’ in my mind is “Cruci-fiction In Space” by Marilyn Manson. Both are on the playlist, with the semi-titular Fear Factory track sitting at #1 with my mental theme at #2.
Anyway, check it out. See where my mind is at, musically, while I write. Let me know what you think.