Sketches
I’ve got a D&D game going at work, which is a novelty for me. We’re playing with the 4E rules, hacked slightly to include things like significant wounds that need lots of time or magical healing to deal with. So some of my gaming-based thought processes have become tied up with that.
Yesterday, I turned in the first drafts of Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition, demonstrating to myself that I can indeed churn out 55k in 40 days without going bugfuck insane. That, in turn, frees up some space in my mind.
And so I get to thinking about some of the game sketches that live in my head. I don’t know why—these are cognitive cycles that should probably go towards planning the D&D game, or designing Through, but the former is a surprisingly easy game for me to run, and the latter is too intense for me to work in large chunks. I’m sure that will change, but right now I’m after some mental sugar and candyfloss. Given that’s how BLACK SEVEN came about, I don’t think I can complain too much.
I mentioned a short while back1 that I have some ideas percolating in my brain. I’m going to kick the tyres on each one and post them up here, in part to give them the attention that each one deserves, but also to help straighten each one in my head. That might be enough for my brain, giving each idea a spotlight here. On the other hand, my innate sense of perversity2 might take one of those sketches and demand that I make it into a real game right this minute.
One of the reasons for kicking them up is to get a record of where my ideas stand. Another is to run these ideas past people in a structured setting, so don’t be shy about commenting—even if it is just to say “that’s a crap idea”. All input is welcome.
Two months is a short while, as these things go. Which makes me wonder what the hell I’m doing on twitter, where a “short while” is no longer than ten minutes.↩
I’m of the firm belief that one shouldn’t be a writer without a sense of perversity. Perhaps one should call it a contrarian streak, were one in polite society. But that would be going along with the ideals of polite society, frankly, so fuck’em.↩