Tomorrow night, 9PM EDT, I continue my experiment of designing a #ttrpg live, on-air, at https://www.twitch.tv/epidiah
I'm calling the endeavor The Night Writer. Folks are welcome to join me in the chat, ask questions, make comments and suggestions, all that good stuff.
The game I'm designing is based on a toy line from the late 70s that never existed & includes material from the subsequent imaginary comic book and cartoon series and reboots.
Twitch is not so great for keeping a back catalog. Fortunately, after every show, I upload it to: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHndx1T3bows2A99Dt8t6yC_GinGEZH4Q
So if you feel like getting caught up, we're only 3 episodes in!
That said, this is an unscripted, unedited look at designing from the very earliest stages, so it's not going to be action-packed, and you can probably get caught up by the recap at the beginning of the next episode.
(I say "recap," I mean "Eppy rambling.")
So far, I haven't found the hook that's going to drag me towards the design on this project, which is pretty typical. I'll go through a bunch of fairly divergent designs before landing on the one that I feel is best suited for any single project.
That's an over simplification, since everything, from rules to setting to presentation, is a moving target until the moment of publication. But the above works if you take a setting-centric point-of-view.
In the next 20 minutes or so!
Designing games, live, on-stream, by the literal seat of my pants (because I will be sitting in pants).
In case you missed it, the latest episode of The Night Writer is up on YouTube: https://youtu.be/skC18ft6bvY
I've made myself some homework in this episode, where I now have to design an imaginary toy line.
Sometimes I still manage to surprise myself by the weird contortions I go through to justify playing pretend.
Ah, it changed the .gif to a .png...
@kpetker Oh, but I knew what it was right away!
@epidiah Did your mind fill in the sound?
@epidiah And in case you need some tunes to get you in the mood:
@Epidiah I'll have it in the background as I do work today.
@Epidiah Have you heard of the Glyos toy system? It is designed with a simple peg system that makes all of the parts interchangeable. They are really neat. Your broadcast reminded me of it.
Here is a wiki page: https://glyos.fandom.com/wiki/Glyos_System_Series_(Toyline)
Here is a great video showcasing how they work (also a great intro to my favorite Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek6u76qqPCk
@GreatBigTable I've not heard of this! Worth checking out!
@Epidiah Definitely watch SteadyCraftin's video as you see the Glyos system in action. SteadyCraftin is maker channel that is hosted by a puppet who puts off a lot of Mr. Rogers vibes.
@epidiah it’s fascinating to watch you think. I have to bite my tongue in chat a bit, though, to avoid trying to shoehorn myself in as a co-designer!
@Keith No tongue biting necessary! Horn that shoe!
@epidiah I am absolutely the target audience for a video stream that combines game design and text editor geekery.
@dbisdorf Zeroing in on that sliver in the middle of that tiny Venn diagram!
Tomorrow has become today!
Tonight at 9 PM EDT, I shall once again don the mantle of the The Night Writer.
https://www.twitch.tv/epidiah