#RPGaDay2015, Day 23

rpg-a-day-2015Today’s RPGaDay Topic is another odd one: Perfect Game For You.

I’m going to keep this one pretty short, because, beyond a general set of conditions, I don’t know exactly how to answer this.

The perfect game for me is one that emphasizes speed of action over complexity, and character and story over number-crunching simulation. That’s pretty much ideal for me. If you can also throw in some random-generation systems (on the player AND gamemaster side) to spark ideas, then that starts moving it into “perfect” territory, for me.

Here’s Dave Chapman’s video entry for the day, with special guest, Norwegian RPG designer and journalist Ole Peder GiƦver:

#RPGaDay2015, Day 22

rpg-a-day-2015An odd topic today (they can’t all be winners, I guess): Perfect Gaming Environment. I’ve never really given much thought to this — I’ve played in living rooms, at dining tables, in meeting rooms at university, in curtained-off spaces under the bleachers of a basketball arena (looking at you, GenCon in the early 90s…). I’ve never really spent time thinking about which of these venues were “perfect.”

Generally speaking, I game-master more than I play. That’s always been the case. And, as far as my personal GMing style goes, I’ve never really been much of a using-miniatures kind of GM, so the big table has never been much of a necessity. I’ve always been a big fan of using background music during play (not so much sound effects, though — mostly just a “soundtrack” to what’s going on) — in fact, I often go out of my way to create specific playlists, tailored to both the genre and to events in the game (chase music, combat music, sneaking-around music, etc.). So some method of controlling that is a must.

Aside from that, though, whatever space we have where the players can all be comfortable is pretty much my only consideration. So, I guess I’m more of a “sitting around the living room” gamer than a “sitting at a big table” gamer.

Here’s Dave Chapman’s video entry for the day, with special guest Shanna Germain of Monte Cook Games:

#RPGaDay2015, Day 21

rpg-a-day-2015Today’s topic is Favorite RPG Setting. It doesn’t really specify whether that setting is unique to RPGs, or a licensed setting, or whatever — so I’m assuming that if there’s an RPG using the setting, it qualifies. I’ll be interested to see people’s responses to this one, which I’m sure will be widely varied.

As I’ve been writing these (in batches — thank god for post-scheduling), I’ve been trying not to get too “shill-y”, and talk about stuff that I’ve worked on, or designed myself. I’d love to be able to continue that policy, but in this case, I can’t do that and be honest in my response.

In truth, my all-time favorite setting is the one that I’ve been (infamously) late in delivering: Far West.

Alt_Cov_2Yes, we’re four years after the kickstarter, and I’m only just now getting to the end of layout process of the core rulebook. I know that frustrates people. It frustrates me even more — I’ve actually been working on Far West since 2007, long before the kickstarter. The setting combination — Chinese wuxia tales filtered through a lens of Italian Spaghetti Westerns, captured my imagination like nothing I’ve worked on before. And here’s the thing: It still does.

That’s how I know it’s my favorite. Despite the stress, despite the negative feelings surrounding the lateness, despite all of that, the setting still excites me, still gets me fired up to work on every day. As I crawl the agonizing last few feet to delivery of the RPG, I’m still having ideas for follow-ups: Adventures, fiction, and more. Still. Every day.

That’s why it’s my favorite setting. I hope it turns out to be one of yours, too. The RPG will be available soon, but in the meantime, you can check out the setting via the Far West website (check out the Vignettes, or the store, where you can pick up the Ennie-nominated short fiction anthology).

Now, let’s check out Dave Chapman’s video entry for the day, with special guest Josh Fox from Black Armada Games: