Design Thoughts

Getting one of those, "A-ha!" moments is a fantastic motivator when designing anything. It's a very satisfying feeling to progress in a fashion that allows for these moments to occur.

I've been on and off with this game of mine for 7 years now. What draws me back most often is two things: a fundamental dissatisfaction with tabletop RPGs as they are, and those "A-ha!" moments.

I've made it a routine of mine to at least take a look at something different every week, despite not making much headway lately. Maybe I was hoping for a breakthrough, but maybe I was just making a habit out of doing nothing with it. Either way, I have at least temporarily alleviated the lack-of-progress condition I've had.

Every now and then I like to play-test the design in progress with a group I trust to give honest feedback. Each time it's been different people, and each time I've made big strides in how the game itself functions at the table. I look at everything at this time. What they react to, how they react, what I'm doing, how I feel about the flow of the game, after-session feedback, are all things I think about after each session. This is interactive entertainment, and the more engaged they are, the more interactive it becomes.

One of these days I'd like whoever is reading this blog to play my finished game, or even play as a tester when the opportunity shows itself.