And by games, I’m talking about pen-and-paper, or tabletop roleplaying. Collaborative storytelling, as it were. I have a ridiculous amount of ideas for these things, and never enough time to implement them.
Starcraft One-shot (Star Wars Saga Edition)
I’m actually planning on running a playtest once or twice before unleashing it at GameStorm 2012. The gaming materials I make might even serve as something of a portfolio piece for both game design and print/packaging design. See exhibit A. This is the most likely game to hit the ground next. Ya know, being that I actually have a schedule to stick to.
Starcraft Campaign (Star Wars Saga Edition)
In all the preparation for the one-shot, I’m really getting kinda stoked to run a campaign behind the scenes of the Wings of Liberty game. You might run into the Raiders now and then, but you’re doing your own thing.
Hotel California (Mage the Ascension, or Awakening based on player input)
Listening to this song one day, all I could think of was Cthulhu. Then I thought about all the weird acid rock from the same period and decided that a Call of Cthulhu game could totally be played in the late 70s/early 80s. Definitely a game that would call for a soundtrack.
Legend of the Triforce (DnD 4e, FourthCore style)
Basically? A Zelda game. But with a party rather than a single hero. Most likely to follow ALttP storyline, but with OoT/TP world map and races. And having recently learned about the FourthCore playstyle, I think that would fit the feel perfectly.
Mystic Kai (Arcana Evolved Saga Edition)
Again, I’m stealing from pleasant childhood memories. The Lone Wolf series, except not so very “lone”. I have, in point of fact, started this game twice already. I know it’s a general rule not to rerun a failed game, but I’d like to get past the first session. Tried it with ADnD 2e and GURPS 3e, but I think that AESE is a perfect fit for the narrative style.
Welcome to Whately (Mutants & Masterminds 3e)
It’s mutants in high school. What more really needs to be said? I think I’d rather play than run this.
Avatar (M&M3e)
I’ve been watching Nickelodeon’s Last Airbender with my son recently, and lo and behold, it’s pretty awesome. I think I’d run a game predating Legend of Korra, probably with one the players running a young Tenzin.
Playing
I’d love to play in a SWSE game, but finding anyone to run might be a stretch. What I really want to play, actually, is any game that my friend Kurt H has started and then dropped. He is an incredibly fun, imaginative, and brilliant GM. In fact, he’s probably at this point topped my previous favorite GM, David F.
Introspection
It’s a little crazy. I remember participating in quite a lot of gaming. Ya know, before having multiple pets, owning a house, and raising a child. A weekly Wednesday game, a weekly Sunday game, weekly Friday night cards, random pickups, and three conventions a year.
Now, my friends and family look at me like I’m totally obsessed if I so much as mention gaming. In the last two years, I’ve played or run a grand total of 17 4-hour sessions of mostly DnD4e and some SWSE. That’s an average of 40 minutes a week, down from an average of about ten hours a week in 2004. My one real hobby is basically dead.
The fix
I have two years at UCSC and a year at Cabrillo, but nothing at all to show for it. Nothing. At some point in the near future, I’d like to go back to school. Get my degree. But do I have the time for it? I don’t even seem to have the time for gaming, a hobby I’m pretty passionate about.
So what I’m going to do… is assign myself gaming as a project. I’m horrible at finishing things. If I can get this Starcraft game off the ground, then I’ll have the confidence for school. I’m going to start writing more. I used to write a lot in LJ; now I’ll see what I can do with this Tumblr thing. I’m not going to expect myself to go from nothing to every day all at once, but that’s where I want to be soon.
So we’ll see where that goes. TTFN.