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View Full Version : System Design Contest - Won By Gaurd Juris! Congratulations!



Totally Guy
2011-07-13, 05:12 PM
I just heard about this system design contest (http://gamechef.wordpress.com/2011-contest-rules/) and I'm intrigued. I don't think I'll be entering or anything but I'll be interested in following its progress.

Is anyone here taking part or familiar with any other such contests?

How much can you say in just 3000 words?

Knaight
2011-07-13, 05:17 PM
I'm planning to participate in this, assuming that I don't entirely forget it.

3000 words is around 6 pages in dense, paragraph from text. Wushu and Risus, both respected games, fit into that easily if written in a condensed form, and I've seen Fudge done in 4 pages where it normally takes around 100, and it is fairly crunchy. A complete game in 6 pages is reasonable, if difficult.

Doc Roc
2011-07-13, 08:50 PM
It (https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AXSejsvFzTdyZGhwN256aHZfMTFna242NnhkOA&hl=en_US) can absolutely be done. Heck, feel free to adapt and use Dharma 10, if you give credit. I won't be upkeeping it at all, as evidenced by the thick growth of unresolved comments.

Flickerdart
2011-07-13, 08:59 PM
Shakespearean RPG? I imagine there will be at least five different stats for "dirty innuendo"...

Doc Roc
2011-07-13, 09:00 PM
There's a reason I posted DH10... You might see characters with DIFFERENT dirty innuendo stats!

Totally Guy
2011-07-13, 11:02 PM
Bonus dice awarded for iambic pentameter!

I know it can definitely be done. Lacuna can be described in very few words and I've had a great time with it. But I don't that that this forum considers it to be the norm.

Ravens_cry
2011-07-14, 03:17 PM
Shakespeares plays had pretty diverse settings. From a rock with an exiled wizard, to Ancient Rome, to Scotland.
Maybe a role playing game that instead revolves around the intrigue and problems of running an Elizabethan theatre would be better then simply trying to put together something that feels more like a parody of Shakespeare than anything actually Shakespearian.
Yes, the former approach would take much more research then the latter, but as a player I think it would hold my interest more, at least in theory.

Doc Roc
2011-07-14, 03:24 PM
Shakespeares plays had pretty diverse settings. From a rock with an exiled wizard, to Ancient Rome, to Scotland.
Maybe a role playing game that instead revolves around the intrigue and problems of running an Elizabethan theatre would be better then simply trying to put together something that feels more like a parody of Shakespeare than anything actually Shakespearian.
Yes, the former approach would take much more research then the latter, but as a player I think it would hold my interest more, at least in theory.

Oh man, that would be lovely. If you'll write the fluff, I can do the mechanics.

Ravens_cry
2011-07-14, 03:48 PM
Oh man, that would be lovely. If you'll write the fluff, I can do the mechanics.
Unfortunatly, I know fairly little about said theatres of that time.
Let's see, I know the people on the ground seats were called groundlings, girls couldn't play parts, at least in England, the playhouses could be closed because of the dangers of plague, it wasn't exactly high class entertainment, playwrights seldom published because it basically meant giving up income from the play, and. . . and a bit more here and there, but that's about it. There are people who know enough that they recreated the Globe, most of what I know I got from 'Shakespeare in Love'.
I think it's a better idea. Unfortunately I do not know enough to do it justice.

valadil
2011-07-14, 09:35 PM
I might be able to write up my system in 3k words, especially if I ditch the optional bits. No ideas for applying Shakespeare to it though.

Human Paragon 3
2011-07-19, 10:28 AM
I have a system designed for this that I have started writing up. It's called Forsooth!, and it's a lot of fun (I playetested it last night). You make a whole cast of characters with your playgroup (instead of each player playing one) and have them enter and exit scenes as you see fit. There is no GM, and the goal is to win applause from your playgroup. The game ends when all the Exiles (each player has one exile) are married or dead.

Bonus:

You get to yell "I am killed!"
There is a mechanic called Aside
There is a mechanic called Soliloquy
Dead characters can return as ghosts and earn more applause from beyond the grave.

CarpeGuitarrem
2011-07-19, 10:54 AM
Very, very interesting...I think I may give this a solid shot. There's some coolness that can be wrought here. Indeed, I already have a little inspiration, and there's plenty of cool game mechanics floating around in my mind.

Comet
2011-07-19, 10:59 AM
I have a system designed for this that I have started writing up. It's called Forsooth!, and it's a lot of fun (I playetested it last night). You make a whole cast of characters with your playgroup (instead of each player playing one) and have them enter and exit scenes as you see fit. There is no GM, and the goal is to win applause from your playgroup. The game ends when all the Exiles (each player has one exile) are married or dead.

Bonus:

You get to yell "I am killed!"
There is a mechanic called Aside
There is a mechanic called Soliloquy
Dead characters can return as ghosts and earn more applause from beyond the grave.

That sounds like awesome amounts of fun. Especially the part about the ghosts. And the yelling.

Human Paragon 3
2011-07-19, 01:29 PM
Forsooth! excerpt:


Any player can foreshadow the death of any character during a soliloquy (this uses up that characters Sol. for the game). Thereafter, in a later scene, any character can kill the marked-for-death character at any time by saying "I kill him," or in the case of suicide, "I kill myself," and then describing how. Characters can also kill themselves off stage in between scenes, as long as it's been foreshadowed. Characters who die get the chance to have a "death scene" in which they can gain applauds from the other players for the dead character, who still qualifies for winning the game.

If death has not been foreshadowed:

Any player can at any time say "I kill [character name]" as long as they are in a scene together, even if it hasn’t been foreshadowed. However, this opens up options for the character who you are killing.

1) The players says "You have killed me!" He then gets to enact his death scene, and possibly win applauds.

2) The player says "I fight back and escape wounded." He immediately exits, and cannot bring on a sub character from his roster.

3) The player says "And I kill you." He dies, but kills the attacker in the process, and they share a death scene. Players applaud whoever they thought was better, and you can applaud your killer if you wish.

Human Paragon 3
2011-07-25, 02:49 PM
I submitted my game! The link is here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=E1M94XQG

Human Paragon 3
2011-08-07, 10:24 PM
Thought you guys might like to know that our game, Forsooth!, won Game Chef 2011. We'll be making some updates to the text and releasing it as a PDF and real purchasable book soon.

Xefas
2011-08-07, 11:12 PM
Big congrats Gaurd! Your game looks awesome, and I wish you luck on selling it. :smallsmile:

wuwuwu
2011-08-07, 11:58 PM
Awesome, dude! I was gonna enter in this, but decided I wasn't clever enough :o(

I'm gonna see if my group will play Forsooth! It reminds me a little bit of The Shab-al-Hiri Roach, which is an awesome game, so I'm sure they will. I'll let you know how it goes if we get it rolling! (May take a month or more, though, sad to say :smallfrown: )

Totally Guy
2011-08-08, 04:01 AM
That's really awesome.

I'm sorry I didn't read it. I had just got a copy of In a Wicked Age when you put it up. So I just kind of prioritised and overlooked it...

I'll definitely read it now.

Fri
2011-08-08, 04:13 AM
That's really awesome. And your system sounds absolutely amazing. I'll definitely check it out and show it to my friends.

Human Paragon 3
2011-08-08, 09:24 AM
Thanks guys!

Fri
2011-08-09, 01:46 PM
This is obviously better to be played life because you definitely want to say "I am killed!" dramatically in front of the other players as you clutch your chest.

And obviously...

"Exit, pursued by a bear"

Knaight
2011-08-09, 02:18 PM
Forsooth! looks very impressive. Congratulations on your win, and on making a great game.

Human Paragon 3
2011-08-09, 03:07 PM
This is obviously better to be played life because you definitely want to say "I am killed!" dramatically in front of the other players as you clutch your chest.

And obviously...

"Exit, pursued by a bear"

Yes, this is a very fun live game, but so ill-suited to forum play. The fast-paced entrances and exits and blathering Shakespearean improv attempts are what make it tick.

turkishproverb
2011-08-09, 03:53 PM
Awesome win. Congrats. I'll have to check that game out.