Hello World!

Hey! The prototype's been out for a whole day already. Thanks to everyone who took a moment to check it out.

I have gotten some mixed feedback on the .TXT format. It's ironic because one of the reasons I choose the format was because I wanted myself and potential readers to focus on the content instead of the presentation. "Layouting" is a whole different skill set, and I'm certainly not at that point, so bear with me for a moment. Another argument for .TXT was accessibility; I just assumed it would be readable on more screens. Finally, I felt it captured a certain aesthetic, without needing to commission artists and such.

Anyway, I've added "publish in another format" to my to-do list, but it's not a priority. I don't think I should invest time in formatting until we're past the prototype stage.

Speaking of the prototype stage, what does that mean, at least to me? First, some history.

I've been working on this game since around 2014. It began with me getting obsessed over game mechanics and click-clack math rocks. At the time I had tried out different games, mainly D&D 3.5 and Savage Worlds, and somewhere in 2012, I decided to dump my somewhat toxic gaming group and start GM-ing. Savage Worlds Explorer's Edition was my go-to system. I homebrewed some Final Fantasy-themed stuff, ran some surveys, and carefully selected a group. The campaign lasted three years and it was some of the best time I've ever had.

But I grew tired of some of the game mechanics. Don't get me wrong, it's a great game, I still recommend it, It was just not a perfect fit for my game.

I started fiddling with dice mechanics on serious-looking spreadsheets at work, and in late 2018 I ran my first playtest with members of the local gaming community. Back then the game was still mostly a Savage Worlds hack, and it suffered from a game-breaking bug. I went back to the drawing board and re-thought everything from scratch.

In late 2019 I ran another playtest with the revised mechanics, and it went better, but I hadn't balanced it out well and it lead to me some player frustration. I started working on addressing those issues. right away. I think it's taken care of now.

So, back to the question, what does it mean to be in a prototype stage? It means the game is playable and has been tested and tweaked a few times, and all major issues have been taken care of at least in theory.

What is the next step, then?

Well, I hope a handful of people show interest and give it a genuine read-through, and share their thoughts on the text as it is. I still worry that it's a jumbled mess that only makes sense in my head. I'm not worried about playtests just yet.

The next step for me is to prepare a playtest module, basically the same amount of prep that a GM does before a session, and share it here to facilitate playtests. Then I take that module and ambush my friends. Hopefully, others do the same and share their findings.

Once the game mechanics are solid, we move on to making the game pretty. For now, AI-generated images and ASCII art will suffice.

By downloading the game and adding it to your collection, you become an "owner" in this platform, so you receive dev-logs like this, updates, and other news right away. That's the best way to support this game right now. The prototype is free to download, of course, and any donations will be set aside to invest in the game at least until it's ready to be sold as a completed product.