King of Slimes - What I learned

Hello World,

This past week I decided to give myself a quick reprise from working on Trials of the Magi, in hopes that a change of scenery would revitalize my work ethic towards the game. This break took the form of King of Slimes, a quick party game that has players contesting over a bowl of candy; trying to get as much of the hoard to themselves.

The motivation for this game first came from reading the rules for another game called “A Week in the Life of a Lv. 1 Slime”. This game had a unique sense of humor, and centered around pulling candy out of a bowl. At it’s core the concept was brilliant but reading through the game fully I found that it’s execution fell flat of my expectations, as the game was a solitaire RPG.

Intrigued by having a bowl of candy as the core component of a game, I wanted to explore other ways in which it could be used, and thus King of Slimes was born. This was a really fun project to work on as it allowed me to create a hectic party game as well as push my skills as a developer. But that’s enough backstory on the game, let’s get to the meat of today’s post, what did I learn while making the game.

Well for starters, I learned how large of an impact the ability to win has on a player’s mood on the game. One of the major facets of King of Slimes is that when a slime is defeated by an adventurer, it explodes, and reanimates as the largest remaining piece. This means that a player has the potential to be sent back to square one on each of their turns. And in early versions of the game we found that players who exploded late into the game were very miserable until the game ended. They felt as though they had absolutely no chance of winning anymore. Two major changes were made to overcome this, the first was to allow players to keep all of their Vibrancy Candies on defeat. The other was to shorten the length of the game by reducing the number of candies in the bowl. This shortening of game length kept each round fast paced and fun, while not ruining the night of the last place person. Losing isn’t as bad if you can hop right back in and try again.

Another thing I found very interesting was that any time the potential existed to help another player, it would lead to the formation of alliances. Alliances that were not enforced by in game mechanics, but by verbal contracts.

“If you help me out now, I will help you out next time you are in trouble”

Or even agreeing to team up and take down the first place person. These agreements added a lot the strategy and flow of each game.

This then leads to the final major lesson I learned developing this game. Having mechanics that allow players to sabotage or help each other, leads to a very competitive game. What started out as a simple lighthearted party game, quickly felt like a grand strategy game, when playing with the right players. This isn’t nearly the type of emotional response I thought I would get, but it lead to a fun gaming experience none the less.

Overall I am very happy with how King of Slimes turned out and It acted as the perfect break from Trials of the Magi.

If you are interested you can find the game at the following locations:

Drivethru RPG

Thanks for reading!

-Patrick Lapienis

Why Should an RPG Have an Encumbrance System?

Hello World,

One of the major joys unique to tabletop roleplaying games is the act of getting into character and losing oneself in an imagined world. This is such a major aspect of the hobby that simulation has become one of the 3 main pinnacles of RPG design. The innate purpose for an RPG system in terms of simulation is to add structure and consistency to the game that is being played. That being said, rules constructed innately for promoting simulation are often the most tedious and annoying.  In most games, the purely simulationist rules are dropped and ignored by players. Things like counting rations, encumbrances, and travel fatigue are all simulation rules that rarely add anything meaningful the Gamist or Narrativist aspects of a game. This got me thinking, if these rules are so commonly dropped and disliked by players, why are they even in the game to start with?

After doing a lot of research into simulation games like HarnMaster I think I have good idea of why these seemingly extraneous rules are so important. They firstly act to add a sense of grit and weight to the world being played in. Before reading through some gameplay scripts for HarnMaster, I had never seen players so scared of a wound getting infected, or running out of rations.  So immersed in feeling the weight of every choice and action they make. These are all down to earth feelings not normally seen in other games.

These simulation rules secondarily act as an anchor for new players and Game Masters, giving them a mechanical way to understand the world their characters are in them. If a player jumps down a 30 ft drop with the mentality that they are a game character and fall damage shouldn’t hurt them, they will be in for a rude awakening. Same goes for a player trying to loot everything in sight so they can sell them when they return to town. There are clear in game rules that state how many finally crafted chairs and statuettes the player can carry without being weighed down. And as players begin to understand that real world physics and laws of nature apply to the game world, they are more readily able to connect to the game world. It is much easier to imagine a world when we can use the knowledge of our own world to paint it in. When it comes to being a GM anchor, these rules apply a spelled out, mechanical way to translate commonly understood laws of nature into the game space. Removing the extra work of the game master determining consequences on their own.

Most veteran players drop these rules because they no longer need that sort of anchor to understand the world around them. They are able to get a good enough picture of how much their barbarian can lift and won’t try to lift more than that. The other major reason is that the game they are interested in playing isn’t as rooted in simulation, instead focusing more on Gamist or Narativist play. In this case, these extraneous simulationist rules just seem like pointless tedium.

However it all depends on what type of game you are playing and the people you are enjoying it with.

-Patrick Lapeinis

What I Learned Running a Convention Table

Hello World,

This past weekend I got to try my hand at running a convention table for this year’s Anime North and while the preparation of the event was tiring, it was all worth it in the end. That being said, things for the Sproutli Games table didn’t start out the greatest and only through quick modifications and reworks was the table able to run as spectacularly as it did. Allowing us to meet so many great fans of our games!

Since the outlook of the table pulled such a dramatic improvement this year, I would like to share some of what I learned so that others can try to run the best con table possible.

1.  Make Your Table Worthwhile

I have this one up right in the first spot because I believe it is the most important and honestly the most under-utilized point on this list. Convention attendees are busy people, who have a lot to see and do over the span of a weekend. Why should they spend time at your table when there are literally tens if not hundreds more for them to check out.

This is why it is so crucially important to run a form of event, raffle or hook to get attendees interested. Once they have a reason to stop, they are much more interested in what you have to say. The more you are able to give to convention attendees the more traction you will be able to get in the long run.

2.  Investigate Prior to Organizing Your Table

This one is a little tricky to explain as it can vary widely from convention to convention. At the convention we attended there were 2 areas we looked into that ended up paying off substantially.

The first was inquiring about discounts or bonuses for running events or panels at the convention. This was a massive one for us, due to the fact that we were running playtests for Trials of the Magi for the majority of the weekend. With all the events we planned on running, we were given five additional free tables! In addition to that I was able to get my ticket for free, because I was going to be running a panel at the convention. Depending on the convention the amount of panels needed to get a free ticket can vary, but almost every con I have been to has offered some kind of similar deal.

The second thing to really look into is whether or not, the convention you are attending allows you to pay by trade. All this means is that the con allows you to pay for your table by giving away free stuff to the convention and it’s attendees. This can be a great way to merge the cost of table promotion and the base table cost into one much cheaper value. Some of the best ways to do this is to give out free samples, or give out some sort of prize via raffle or event. Another good go to is to give out free candy to anyone who passes by your table [generally a great way to draw in people].

3.  Convention Staff Are There to Help, Use Them!

When we arrived at the convention for setup on the Friday we found that our table was placed right behind a massive trailer truck located in the furthest corner of the hall, which was literally one of the worst possible locations in the convention. With our table so reliant on getting attendees to join playtests, this location would have ruined us. Luckily when we talked to the convention staff, they understood the predicament we were in and did their best to remedy the situation.

This resulted in a relocation to a much better location, and an awesome amount of support over the weekend. In short, the staff are great people and are just trying to run the best con possible for everyone. But it is important to keep in mind how you treat the staff, the nicer the better. It makes it much more likely that both parties get what they want, and you can makes some awesome friends and get insider tips about the convention.

4. Establish Contingency Plans

Running a convention table can be a very chaotic experience, and organizing events can only extenuate that. As such it is important to make plans for all manner of outcomes. What if no one wants to sign up for your event? What if your events are overflowing? What if you are so busy that you are unable to leave the table?

These are all questions you should be asking yourself prior to the convention. I hate to bust out a cheesy line like this but… Failure to plan, means you’re planning to fail.

5.  Get More Help Than You Think You Need

Conventions are hectic and crazy events that will have a constant stream of attendees passing by your tables. The quantity of people alone will often be too much for a single person to handle. Not to mention having to set aside time to eat and see the con for yourself. This means that in most cases you will need to have other friends or employees helping you out with your table.

 

Luckily enough conventions will almost always have a cost effective method for table owners to purchase more tickets for helpers.

6. Have Fun With it

Having a table is a great way to meet fans of your product and can be such a rewarding experience to run. It may be challenging, it may be exhausting, but ultimately it is a time for you to give back to your fans and encounter new ones. So enjoy it!

- Patrick Lapienis

Rebranding Narrative

Hello World,

I was talking with a fellow game master a while back and we got to talking about how we went about prepping for our games. During our conversation I mentioned a practice I like to utilize that he hadn’t yet heard of. This was the act of altering the previously created world around the characters, to create a more entertaining game that is easier to run.

The key to this mindset is to understand that anything yet unknown to your players, is volatile and liable to change. If you players missed a key clue in their investigation, or a fun encounter, feel free to shift things around. This allows the game not to get bogged down with uninteresting clutter.

However, where this methodology really shines is in how it can make Game master prep easier. By preparing a minimal amount of notes and repurposing it depending on the player actions. The game master is able to get the most gameplay out of their prep time. [Because there is nothing worse than coming up with something awesome and your players completely bypassing it]

One method I use when I am running a session I will have a few in depth NPC personalities drawn up, with goals and faults, but not containing any specifics. Then when planning a session, generate NPCs that are just given basic details like a name and occupation. If while playing the session the players go to have a full conversation with an NPC, I pair the basic information with a detailed personality, creating a fully fleshed out character. This is done to cut down on prep time. If I created an in depth personality for each and every NPC that the players could potentially talk to, then it would take me months to plan a session.

A game theory that this relates closely too is the illusion of choice. Which is where a person makes a choice that leads to the same outcome no matter what is chosen. While this can greatly reduce the amount of work on the Game Master side, it has one big flaw. If the players find out that their choice didn’t matter, they will feel cheated and upset. That is why it is so important to use this tool carefully.

There is an old saying that “All roads lead to Rome” and part of that relates to this theory. Only create one city, but allow you players to choose how and why they reach it.

Thanks for reading,

-Patrick Lapienis

Developmental Update [April 2015]

Hello World,

It is with great excitement that I announce that on April 19^th, Trials of the Magi was successfully Kickstarted with $4006, allowing us to even reach one of our stretch goals. Thank you to everone who backed and supported the project, it is with your help that this dream can be made a reality.

While the past few weeks have been slow on the development front due primarily to the overlap of the Kickstarter campaign and my engineering exams. We will be moving ahead at full speed over the following months. School is out, allowing us to dedicate a greater amount of our time to the project, ensuring that we can meet all of this summer’s deadlines.

The first of these deadlines will be hosting a table at Anime North in Toronto Canada on May 22^nd – 25^th. Within this convention we will be running a number open playtests for Trials of the Magi, as well as handing out sample versions of the game. In addition, I will also be hosting a panel about the basics of game design and getting started in the industry. Supporting me with this presentation will be a close friend of mine and video game developer, Jord Farrell. Between the two of us we should be able to provide a good view of the industry.

From here we will be supporting our good friends at Third Eye Games with their table at Gen Con in Indianapolis on the July 31^st weekend. During the convention however I will also be looking to run a few more playtests for Trials of the Magi. This will most likely be down the conventions games on demand service, allowing new players to easily pick up and play the game.

With so much on the horizon, you can look forward to plenty of updates and progress over the upcoming months,

Thanks for reading,

-Patrick Lapienis

Narrative Consistency

Hello World,

With the Trials of the Magi Kickstarter still running strong, I have decided to do something a bit different on the blog. Rather than doing a developmental update or discussing game design theory, I have decided to center this post on a bit of GM advice. More specifically, about keeping narrative consistency within your game.

Narrative consistency is how well the actions and events within the fiction of the game gel together. This consistency is damaged when outcomes contradict the norm of the fiction. An example of this could be when a very powerful character gets a string of bad rolls and has a lot of difficulty when facing an opponent that should be no hassle.

“I have sealed away the evil necromancer and saved the kingdom, but why can I not kill this one goblin!”

At the best of times this narrative variability is comedic and creates an enjoyable situation for the group. There are even games like All Outta Bubblegum or my own Planet Crashers which aims to use this ridiculousness to its full advantage. At the same time however, situations that aim to be somber or story driven can be completely destroyed by these inconsistencies. In order to maintain the fiction in these types of situations the Game Master my try to modify the fiction to fit the actions.

“As you fight the you notice a faint glow can be seen  coming from the goblin's eyes, as it appears to be possessed by someone or something..."

This fixes the problem, but there will always be situations where it is difficult to justify the outcomes, and characters can only get lucky so many times before it becomes silly. One method I found very helpful, especially with critical successes is to give the player what they want, but in a method they weren’t expecting. The player will be satisfied with achieving their desired outcome, but you can change its delivery so that narrative consistency can be maintained.

The best example of this I have ever seen was in an In-Nomine campaign I was playing in a number of years ago. In this game of angels and demon’s my character needed to get information out of a succubus. Not having the funds to play for it, my character tried to use the best tool in his arsenal, Charisma. To add a small layer of comedic effect to the scene, I worded it as he was trying to seduce the succubus, as seemingly impossible feet [As I wasn’t expecting victory either way]. I roll  the dice to reveal a critical success, meaning that I would automatically overcome the obstacle. The Game Master’s response to this was perfect. The succubus laughed, she thought that my attempt at romance was adorable, and because she hadn’t had a laugh like that in ages, she decided give me a little bit of info on the house and encouraged me to come back again.

This worked out so well because I got what I wanted, which was her information, but at the same time consistency was maintained by altering the method of delivery. If I were to succeed in wooing the succubus it would ruin her character. diminishing her from the powerful information broker she is meant to be to a weak and insignificant one-off character.

Hopefully this helps you run more immersive games in the future, and as always thanks for reading.

-Patrick Lapienis

Trials of the Magi: Now on Kickstarter

Hello World,

After over half a year of work, Trials of the Magi has officially launched on Kickstarter! With all that has been accomplished so far, with the game, moving and starting up school, these past months have gone by so fast. It feel as though it was just last week I was frantically submitting Trials of the Magi as an entry for National Game Design Month. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to check out are Kickstarter at the following link and support it if you are able.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/376200266/trials-of-the-magi-role-playing-game

If this is the first time you are hearing about this game however, let me give you a brief rundown of the project. Trials of the Magi is a tabletop role-playing game created to make introducing the hobby of story games to newcomers as easy as possible. This is done in two major ways. The first is by having the characters in the game be direct representations of the players. Allowing players to ease into their first RPG session by being able to act like themselves. Allowing them to get antiquated with all of the subtleties of how an RPG plays. The second major method this game uses to ease in new players is the game’s mechanics, which are easy to learn and play while still creating a large depth of options for players to explore. Trials of the Magi achieves this by having a stat-less system that relies on suited cards which the players make for themselves. These cards create a visual and hands on experience that lets everything that’s going on be clearly displayed with minimal confusion.

Arcana Cards Used in the Game

Never will a player say something like “I rolled a 17, what does that mean?” Outcomes are clearly understood the moment they are played, and for the most part, players have complete control over whether they pass or fail an action.

If this Interests you at all you can read more about the game from the following two posts, HERE and HERE. You can also head to the Kickstarter page for even more info about the game.

Thanks for reading,

-Patrick Lapienis