The Vendor, Seeing Everything from Another Perspective

Review #88 – Free Video Game

The Vendor, Seeing Everything from Another Perspective

Depending on your taste, you might leap filled with joy or groan at the next sentence, but please, keep reading after it: In The Vendor, you play as the Merchant NPC in an RPG adventure. Still here? Good.

And I really, really like the way the game characterizes working as a merchant. Your goal is to keep the adventuring party alive. How? Well, there are a few steps: you'll scout the location before they get there, find some resources, and combine them with things you find in the overworld or talking to NPCs. Then, you try to get the party to buy the best thing for the dungeon they are in (while turning a profit). If they survive, you can buy their loot when they exit, to exchange or transform into other items.

It's oddly absorbing and faithful to how merchants work on RPGs, while making you work for it and feel like an important part of the world. It's pretty clear that without you, the party would not get anything done. And only by being smart in your purchases and at finding information about rare items you can get the best results.

The game has more than one ending, and is short enough to have your choices have consequences but not be a chore to replay to get the extra endings. So... good luck! I wish you success in your commercial endeavor.

- The Storeman

Disclaimer: I didn’t upload any of the content in the following link. I have downloaded and checked it as I always do. I have even executed it in my own computer and did not experience any kind of problems. But I can’t ensure that it is free of virus and/or malware that my anti-virus programs couldn’t find. That’s the author’s responsibility.

External Download Link: http://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?/topic/28203-the-vendor-v102-available/

Meowgical Tower, A Game About Ducks!

Review #83 – Free Video Game

Meowgical Tower, A Game About Ducks!

That's a joke. I repeat, there are no ducks in this game. So, what is actually part of the game? A cat, of course!

You play as Catte, whom I assume is an adventurer. It's never made clear. But that doesn't matter. Hiding from the rain, Catte stumbles upon a tower, and that's where the adventure begins.

I have to say, this might be the most retro game I've yet reviewed. With a Zelda-like interface, you explore the tower and fight baddies. And here we find what I think is the best idea in the whole game.

You see, Catte doesn't have any weapons, so at first you don't “fight” so much as “run away”. Then, when you find the item that will open the next door, you can carry it and use it to attack. It's pretty clever, really.

Now, I do have a complaint about Meowgical Tower. It's not specifically against it, it's just something more and more games are doing. And it's kind of annoying. But play the game first and then read this week's Babble to find out. It's a pretty cool game that I'd hate to spoil with my criticism.

So check it out! See you this Tuesday!

- The Storeman

Disclaimer: I didn’t upload any of the content in the following link. I have downloaded and checked it as I always do. I have even executed it in my own computer and did not experience any kind of problems. But I can’t ensure that it is free of virus and/or malware that my anti-virus programs couldn’t find. That’s the author’s responsibility.

External Download Link:http://gamejolt.com/games/adventure/meowgical-tower/31988/

Will Save Gold for Gold, wouldn't we all?

Review #76 – Free Webcomic

Will Save Gold for Gold, wouldn't we all?

Please, read beyond this first paragraph. It will seem dull, but do it. Will Save World for Gold is a pixel art webcomic about a party of dysfunctional adventurers in a D&D 4 world. When you start reading, it's kind of formulaic.

Nevertheless, you should not stop. That's the thing. This webcomic uses that setup just to frame the story. As you start reading, you'll meet the real characters, breaking away from the archetypes that spawned them.

Unlike other stories, it doesn't have a clearly defined end goal. Instead, things happen and start to pile up. There is tension building in the background. There's meaningful character interaction. And it's beautifully drawn, I should add.

I'll say it again. Will Save World for Gold uses tropes right. It first gives you the mindset you need to find your way into it's world, and then starts developing itself. A worthy read for anyone.

- The Storeman

Disclaimer: I didn’t upload any of the content in the following link. I have downloaded and checked it as I always do. I have even executed it in my own computer and did not experience any kind of problems. But I can’t ensure that it is free of virus and/or malware that my anti-virus programs couldn’t find. That’s the author’s responsibility.

Read Online: http://willsaveworldforgold.com/ (Current Comic)

Or start from the beginning: http://willsaveworldforgold.com/?p=18

The Crooked Man, that lived in a Crooked House...

Review #62 – Free Game

The Crooked Man, that lived in a Crooked House...

At the end of the review, there is the link to a translation of a game by Uri. I Assume that, if you are reading this blog, you come looking for games in English. In that previous link is the original, if you'd rather play that.

Now, today in Horror October, we have The Crooked Man. It's a Horror RPG game that puts you in the role of David, a new homeowner with a troubled past. As you play, his story is revealed while you fight to survive. I'd say more, but I don't want to spoil anything.

So, you might look at the screenshot above and say: “That's not going to be scary, it looks like a polished Final Fantsy Tactics”. Well, that's not exactly true. The Crooked Man uses al the classic horror movie moves: flickering lights, flashing screens and a great soundtrack to set the atmosphere. Add to all of this that you are actually “behind the wheel” controlling the character, and you'll find yourself in the zone pretty quickly. So, yes, this game is scary, don't take it lightly.

The story is fun and well written, and it's full of puzzles that are hard, but not impossible. My only complain is that some “challenges” take really long to complete. But don't despair, because it's worth it.

- The Storeman

Disclaimer: I didn’t upload any of the content in the following link. I have downloaded and checked it as I always do. I have even executed it in my own computer and did not experience any kind of problems. But I can’t ensure that it is free of virus and/or malware that my anti-virus programs couldn’t find. That’s the author’s responsibility.

External Download Link: http://www.vgperson.com/games/crookedman.htm

Wind and Water, five elements, one heck of a puzzle

Review #61 – Free Video Game

Wind and Water, five elements, one heck of a puzzle

Wind and Water is a puzzle game, and a pretty original one at that. I'll explain the system a bit, but it's a lot better to see it on the screen and actually interact with it.

You'll move some pieces on the board, trying to connect at least four of them to make them dissapear and get your points. The movements are made in a clockwise or anti-clockwise fashion, and there are five different elements (with both a color AND a simbol) to combine. Think like Puzzle Bubble, but without the cannon.

Now, on the whole story department – what? I Haven't told you? Sorry. The game does feature a lot of RPG elements! It has a Story Mode, with a whole meta plot: You play as Amy, working on some errands (a.k.a: capturing the Elements, needed to make the whole game work), while the game designer duo of brothers build the game world around you.

It's a quirky and fun game, full of comedy, while being pretty darn difficult. So, don't let the cutesy sprites fool you, it's an actual puzzle challenge. Enjoy!

- The Storeman

Disclaimer: I didn’t upload any of the content in the following link. I have downloaded and checked it as I always do. I have even executed it in my own computer and did not experience any kind of problems. But I can’t ensure that it is free of virus and/or malware that my anti-virus programs couldn’t find. That’s the author’s responsibility.

External Download Link: http://www.wind-water.net/

StrikeForce Kitty!

StrikeForce Kitty!

Fresh Blood for the Deadly Felines

So, here I am again, presenting this short and fun game about deadly kittens trying to rescue their princess.

StrikeForce Kitty (brought by the Deqaf Studio) is an imaginative game in which you can control your little balls of fur with the WASD keys and dress them up as serial killers, or warrior princesses if you want to.  It’s very important that you don’t forget to give them their fresh fish!

Okay, let’s get into the important info: the princess has been kidnapped by foxes, and we are the most powerful strike force our kingdom has, so we have to go on the quest to rescue her. As we get into the enemy land we have to defeat our foes, which are oddly recognizable, not because they are foxes (duh), but because they are dressed up as Lara Croft, V, and even Gandalf, AND that’s where the game gets super fun. Once the fox is dead you get one of the items of his armor. Those can be the weapon, the hat, or anything else. And one of your four pretty mittens can wear it. Each item improves something like stamina, or damage, and each complete outfit grants you an ability, like:

- Freddy heals 1 point of all the kitties every three seconds.

-Xena, has 30% chance of double shot.

Obviously, every kitty has its bad thing, and these kitties get really tired if they don’t drink milk, or eat their fish to level up. That’s what the stamina bar is for. When the bar reaches zero your kitties are too tired to go on! So you have to rest and try it again next time :(

Like all games that involve the “when you ran out of stamina or whatever you have to start again” you can get tired really fast, and don’t reach the second part of the game. Thankfully, the outfit idea really refreshes the trip because you (or at least I did) get eager to find what character you’re gonna fight next. Plus the Kitties are really cute, and the graphics are adorable.

So, get on the duty! There is a nice kitty princess to save! Meow! ;D

- Emma

Disclaimer: I didn’t upload any of the content in the following link. I have downloaded and checked it as I always do. I have even executed it in my own computer and did not experience any kind of problems. But I can’t ensure that it is free of virus and/or malware that my anti-virus programs couldn’t find. That’s the author’s responsibility.

Play Online: http://deqaf.com/portfolio/strike-force-kitty/

ro9, First Person Dungeon Crawler x9

Review #52 – Free Video Game

ro9, First Person Dungeon Crawler x9

Yeah, as the last video game for July of Adventure I have something on the weird side of the gameplay scale. From the same contest that brought us Dungeons of Fayte comes “ro9”. In this game, you take control of a whole party of adventurers trying to loot and subsequently escape a multi-level dungeon. And you play as the nine of them, at the same time, in first person.

So, you have 9 simultaneous screens with individual characters that move in the same direction when you press an arrow key.

As messed up as that might seem, you can understand what’s going on, and it ends up being easier than you might expect. Movement and combat are “Rogue-like-like”, so you attack by moving against an enemy.

There are few more rules to learn, but it’s more fun if you do while you play. Oh, and after you have played for a while, check out the secret on the title screen. Just press “9” and see.

-The Storeman

Disclaimer: I didn’t upload any of the content in the following link. I have downloaded and checked it as I always do. I have even executed it in my own computer and did not experience any kind of problems. But I can’t ensure that it is free of virus and/or malware that my anti-virus programs couldn’t find. That’s the author’s responsibility.

External Download Link: http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=9614.0

Adventure Quest

Review #51 - Free Video Game

Adventure Quest

Hello everyone, in order to honor July of Adventure I wanted to do something, so I decided to write a review of the most adventurous game ever: Adventure Quest.

Why? Adventure Quest is a Single Player, 2D, turn-based RPG that started in 2002 and was developed and published by Artix Entretainment. You have multiple weapons to choose from, including types like melee, or ranged, or even magic. There are many different classes that you can try out. You can be a werewolf, and a ninja, or even a necromancer. You can be whatever you want, and each thing you decide changes your skills and attacks. Plus, yes, here comes the cute stuff: you can have a pet. And they are badass.

One thing that might not be very important during the game, but that I found fun, and clever, is that AdventureQuest has an alignment system, similar to that of Dungeons and Dragons, which includes selection between Good and Evil as well as Unity and Chaos. Now, actions taken in-game affects the player's alignment, so be careful.

Also, the players can get into different and adventurous quests (see what I did there?), to find strange items, unique classes, or sets. This stuff that you can get through hard work, or by paying for the premium currency, can grant your character many different assets.

Another sweet feature that I always liked about AQ was the humor all the game had, I mean, there are complete quest that are mostly nonsense and weird stuff. The bad thing is that if you’re not that into the fantasy world you maybe not be able to catch all the jokes and references.

The game has several stories going on, and you have tremendous amounts of monsters to kill, basically, you never run out of stuff to do. There is always a random quest in which you can acquire loony things, like the Anchorhand Z, that was an unique weapon that was made for the Talk Like a Pirate Day.

  

Well, finally I have to tell you the bad stuff: The game can get repetitive, but, even if you stop playing, you will get back at some point of your life, that’s guaranteed.

Also, a common criticism of AdventureQuest is that there is little to no player interaction with other people in the game.

But who really cares when you can have THAT as a pet.

- Emma

External Link (Play Online): http://www.battleon.com/

Blog Carnival – April 2014 – The Game Master’s Binder

Babbling at the Counter #38 – Pen and Paper

Blog Carnival – April 2014 – The Game Master’s Binder

It’s been a while since the last Carnival entry on the site, so let’s get to it!

This month, Scot Newbury from of Dice and Dragons, tries to make me talk about my GM binder. Well, no dice, mister Newbury! I wont talk about it!

Joking aside, my GM notes are a real mess. I do realize I should work on that, and I will, but what’s the point of the Carnival if I don’t share something fun?

So, while I don’t have a binder with notes, I always carry around my Catalog. It’s a folder full of RPG material, that I keep in my bag. As a lot of Free RPGs out there are only a few pages long, it doesn’t take up much space, while having a selection of more than 10 different games.

This way, whenever we need a quick, low on preparation game in short notice (because something happened to the current game or GM, or maybe because we weren’t planning on roleplaying), I can just take the Catalog out and see if there’s a new game to test or an old classic to revisit.

It’s a great way to be prepared for the unexpected, and to have a few simple, rules-light games at hand in case we have an RPG virgin that wants to play.

Ok, while not a GM’s binder in the strictest sense, this Catalog idea can work out for a perpetually designated GM, as long as improvising and running a game on the fly doesn’t cramp their style!

Don't forget to check the current and previous Carnivals! Link in the image to the right.

- The Storeman

Badass, The Roleplaying Game That Kicks LOGIC in the FACE!

Review #26 – Free Pen and Paper RPG

Badass, The Roleplaying Game That Kicks LOGIC in the FACE!

I didn’t write that title. That’s 100% from the game. And when a game introduces itself like that, you know you are in for a treat. The only requirements to play Badass are getting rid of logic and fear. Got it? Then let’s begin.

Badass is a simple system, perfectly crafted for the genre. There are no stats or skill, just a blanket badass type (Kickass improves physical rolls, Smartass mental ones and Wiseass social) and a few flavas or abilities. All rolls are 2d6, and can be improved spending Badass Points.

And that’s one of the games best features. You see, by spending Badass Points, either when using abilities or to augment your rolls, you turn them into Awesomeness Points. Get enough of them and you can acquire some new abilities.

Pretty fast our game turned into a race to spend Badass points, even though it was a one shot, so characters weren’t going to spend Awesomeness. Three of the five characters did get enough points though. So right before the end, after they “defeated” the final boss, I asked them what they were buying. Cue an epic soundtrack (One Winged Angel, from Final Fantasy) and the real boss! That way they got to use their shiny new powers.

If you run a one shot with Badass, I seriously recommend finding a moment to buy flavas. It makes the game a completely different (and better) experience.

Another great aspect of Badass is how it handles NPCs. Quick, dirty, most mooks are a mob and bosses have a few special “bad guy-only” flavas. Highly recommended for wild and fun escapades. Leave your serious face home.

- The Storeman

Disclaimer: I didn’t upload any of the content in the following link. I have downloaded and checked it as I always do. I have even executed it in my own computer and did not experience any kind of problems. But I can’t ensure that it is free of virus and/or malware that my anti-virus programs couldn’t find. That’s the author’s responsibility.

External Link: http://www.stargazergames.eu/games/badass/

JourneyQuest & The Gamers

Review #24 – Free Web Series

Zombie Orpheus Entertainment presents: JourneyQuest and the Gamers

Today's review is about two web series and the people that make them possible. ZOE is a group that works with “creator distributed, fan supported” content. Their work is available for free; and even though they use online fundraising right now to finance their series, their goal is to organize a supporter base to work with. You can read more about that and how to participate here.

Now, about the series that caught my eye:

JourneyQuest:

JourneyQuest is about a useless mage, a fighter whose best achievements are madein ignorance, a poor cleric (you’ll see why, I won’t spoil it) and an elven ranger maybe to serious to hang out with this crew. Their story is being chronicled by a bard fresh from bard school (she is the one that comes up with the series’ title) when they stumble upon the plot.

It’s a comedy with characters that are not only actually funny, but really engaging. Most of us have seen the same fantasy “RPG-like” story enough to almost hate it. That’s definitely not what happens here. Check out seasons one and two. I’m eagerly waiting for season 3.

External Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVORGr2fDk8&list=PLB600313D4723E21F

The Gamers:

On the other end of the spectrum, we have The Gamers. Instead of telling a straight fantasy tale, it’s about the RPG players. We start with a pretty frustrated group looking to freshen up their game.

The series focuses on both the “at the table” behavior and “off the table” behavior of the characters; taking us through familiar gaming scenes, good and bad ones, with a funny spin.

Seasons One and Two are about a classic DnD gaming group, while season Three draws upon trading card games and big conventions. It’s like a sitcom, whose main characters are gamers (hence the title).

External Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3buuXcHOBkI&list=SPC94D9A19FF391865&index=1

Don’t forget to check out their main page for more content and more info:

http://zombieorpheus.com/#/directory

- The Storeman

The Power of Words

Babbling at the Counter #23 – Pen and Paper

Consistency in Game Design #1 - The Power of Words

The ideas here may seem pretty basic for experienced designers, but my goal is to actually talk about those things so “simple” that most of the time go without saying. If this post is not for you, it’s not for you.

Think of a great RPG you like. Now think of the “abilities”, or whatever they are called, that you can buy for your character. They may be simple descriptors, like “Strong Build”, “Nimble”, or “Charismatic”. They may be classic one liners, like “So crazy it might work”, “Takes one to know one”, or “Wouldn’t hit a guy with glasses, would you?”. They may be anything really, based on anything.

Right now I’m asking you to find the common denominator between all those names in the game you picked. Got it? Then you have just found the game’s “tone”.

Why? Well, players not only will be mentally assembling their characters while reading those names; they’ll also have them written right in front on them, on the character sheet, the whole game. Funny names will get you a more relaxed atmosphere than serious ones.

You may be saying “This is so obvious”. And you are right, naming your abilities has a pretty direct effect. But what about the game actions?

Let’s take a throw of the dice, for example. Some games call them “dice rolls”, some “tests”. One I had once called them “rolling the bones” every time. Is it the same calling it an “opposed roll” or a “challenge”? No, it’s not.

And it’s not just being gimmicky and funny, it’s about making a statement. In Wacky Love (my game), other players could use your personal Foil against you. Even though the Foil entering play was in their hands, those scenes where called “Facing your Foil”. They made you Face YOUR Foil.
These scenes where about you and your character. You had the spotlight. It didn’t matter who made you Face your Foil, that was irrelevant. The moment was for YOUR personal growth. See what I’m talking about?

During your project, give a little extra thought to the names. After all, it’s better to SHOW how your setting works, rather than TELLING people “do this, do that”. Show, don’t tell.

- The Storeman

Cave Story (Doukutsu Monogatari)

Review #23 – Free Video Game

Cave Story (Doukutsu Monogatari)

This little Shooter/Plataformer/RPG is a real gem. Cave Story is a complete and interesting game, with both challenging levels and a good story full of characters. And to top it all, the controls are simple, the graphics are nice and it’s chock full of secrets to unlock.

One great detail is how, even though you get a lot of different weapons through the game (and can unlock more), you never really “outgrow” them. Not because the game forces you to use each and every one of them, but because each one has its advantages and disadvantages, so, taking into account both the level layout and the enemy’s movement pattern, all the guns you get see some use.

As I may have said before, Cave Story caters both to casual and hardcore players. You may play the story once and that’s all, or you can go at it a few times to unlock all the secrets, make all the possible decisions and get all the endings. Go check it out!

- The Storeman

Disclaimer: I didn’t upload any of the content in the following link. I have downloaded and checked it as I always do. I have even executed it in my own computer and did not experience any kind of problems. But I can’t ensure that it is free of virus and/or malware that my anti-virus programs couldn’t find. That’s the author’s responsibility.

External Links:

Original Developer Page (Japanese): http://studiopixel.sakura.ne.jp/

English Translation Patch: http://agtp.romhack.net/project.php?id=cavestory

Pre-Patched Game and other Languages: http://www.cavestory.org/downloads_game.php

Situations, a new best friend for GMs

Review #22 – Free RPG Material

Situations, a new best friend for GMs

Instead of a game, today I offer you a nice guide for GMs. It's setting-free and easily adapted to your favorite system, so I'm pretty sure anyone can find it useful. If you don't plan on GMing soon, send this link to your GM! Let's help some Masters out there.

“Situations” offers six broad structures to build an adventure around. They are just bare

skeletons, but they make it easier to put your ideas down on paper. Written in a simple and complete way, you'll find yourself creating adventures while you read the guide even for the first time.

The cases are (taken from the index): “Long Knives is used to create situations for intrigue that the characters are tied to. Broken Places builds situations where a villain of some

sort has taken over an organization. The Quest is used to generate adventures that will take the characters out on significant journeys. Transgression is a generator for social movements and the resistance to those movements. Predator Souls is a means for making monster-hunting scenarios for your games. Nine Rooms is a method for setting up dungeons, the classical limited-space perilous situations.”

If you ever GM, you should definitely check it out. Even if you don't use the specific structure proposed, you'll find your ideas more organized in no time.

- The Storeman

Disclaimer: I didn’t upload any of the content in the following link. I have downloaded and checked it as I always do. I have even executed it in my own computer and did not experience any kind of problems. But I can’t ensure that it is free of virus and/or malware that my anti-virus programs couldn’t find. That’s the author’s responsibility.

External Link: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/102507/Situations-For-Tabletop-Roleplaying?src=s_pi

For the Author’s site: https://sites.google.com/site/amagigames/home

More than you bargained for

Babbling at the Counter #20 – Pen and Paper

More than you bargained for

What are you willing to give for power? Or at least, what's your character willing to give? For, you see, power comes at a price. And characters usually work to get very powerful devices or spells. It's such a staple on most fantasy or supernatural stories that you have to find a way to use it in your games. Here are mine:

Less Human: The more power you have, the less human you feel. I use this in games where there is a “charisma” stat, and unless it was pretty good to begin with, it's going to become negative really fast. The idea here is that, as you get further away from humanity, humanity wants less and less to do with you. NPCs get hostile and uncooperative, and only threats or supernatural abilities can make them help the PCs. This makes even the players start to see NPCs more as obstacles than characters, and will play accordingly.

Out of Control: Can you keep it cool? The most common way to deal with this is making every failure on the dice a catastrophic failure. It's not just that the spell didn't work, it misfired and hit something else. But why don't we go the other way? If the target number was 5 and you rolled a 25 (extreme, I know, bear with me for a second) what does it mean? Was it really good, or too good? Rolls that exceed the target for too much could also result in bad consequences. Maybe, instead of charming that cute barista, the whole coffee shop is now in love with you. Do something before the strongest amongst them takes out the rest and comes knocking at your door.

Unintended Consequences: I may be taking this one from a TV series (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) but that's because it's a good one. Each and every spell or superscience device has secondary effects. Using them not only means looking for components and whatever, it's also about cleaning up afterwards. Just don't make them affect the characters directly. If the secondary effect of the phasing spell is disintegrating until death, player should find a way to prevent it so they don't lose the character. Now, if that spell brings and interdimensional menace that attacks friends and family, then you may kill someone. That's a more permanent price to play, but it doesn't stop the game.

Do you have some interesting way to handle great power in your games? Tell us all about it!.

- The Storeman

Pockets Full of Adventure, Dimensional Pants Hopping

Review #18 – Free Pen and Paper RPG

Pockets Full of Adventure, Dimensional Pants Hopping

What’s not to love here? The setting is great and straightforward, but the cool mechanics is where this game really shines.

You take on the role of… someone, tasked by Keeton the Scientist to travel to other dimensions through his pocket-portals and retrieve his stuff.

To crate your character, you grab a book and play a mad limb kind of game. You choose some words from a page at random to complete this sentence: “You can think of your PC as (Adjective) (Noun) with and (Item) who can (Verb)”. The result is crazy and fun, trust me.

And the conflict resolution system has a nice twist in it. You play cards to take actions, and discard them when hurt. Face cards can interrupt another character’s action. It’s simple and fast, making action dynamic and keeping the game moving.

Right now I should say that, on the “counter” thing, we made a house rule as soon as we started playing. Following the written rules, to counter an action you have to play a card of the same suit as the action card. We didn’t do that. NPCs didn’t have normal skills (to much bookkeeping) and if you could only counter with one suit, it limited your defenses. Instead, we forgot that rule. The GM could play any card she wanted as an action, and one could counter with a face of any suit. It worked great for us.

So, final “rating”: solid, fast and exiting game. You should definitely give it a try.

- The Storeman

External Links Ahead!

This game was an entry to the “Harder than Granite” 24 hour game contest. I might talk about some other submitted games. Check the rest out!

Disclaimer: I didn’t upload any of the content in the following link. I have downloaded and checked it as I always do. I have even executed it in my own computer and did not experience any kind of problems. But I can’t ensure that it is free of virus and/or malware that my anti-virus programs couldn’t find. That’s the author’s responsibility.

External Link: http://www.1km1kt.net/rpg/pockets-full-of-adventure

24 hour RPG Challenge - Wacky Love – The End

Babbling at the Counter #17.5 – Pen and Paper

24 hour RPG Challenge - Wacky Love – The End

Well, now I’m wrapping up my little 24 hour project. I’m pleased with the final result (link at the bottom of the post) but we’ll talk about that later.

Today, I want to say how fun the 24 hour RPG Challenge is. If you abide by the rules, having a set time and working on something completely new, it will surprise you what you are capable of.

I really recommend it to everyone who would like to try his hand at RPG game designing. By working on such a short time span, you can actually see what your design strengths and weaknesses are. And by the end, you’ll have something to show for it.

As a personal example, I’ve been working on 3 different RPG ideas for the last few months. What do I have so far? Almost nothing. I’ve written and rewritten things thousands of times, and now it doesn’t amount to much.

And even though I’ve done the same at the Challenge (and the final result is not as vast or complete as I would have wanted), at least now I see how I actually work.

So, yeah, loads of fun. Try it.

And for video game designers, I’ve read about the 7DRL Challenge. It’s pretty similar to this, only a week long and about Rogue Like games. Just saying…

Will leave a link to a nicer version of the game as soon as I have one. For now, here are the plain rules. Tell me what you think!

- The Storeman

24 hour RPG Challenge - Wacky Love - Start

Babbling at the Counter #17 - RPG

24 hour RPG Challenge - Wacky Love - Start

Hello, how are you all? I know it's weird to see a post on Monday, but I wanted to make an announcement: I'm working on a 24 hour RPG Challenge.

It works like this (but please, follow the link to read the full ruleset): I have 24 hours to make a complete RPG game. Simple, yes. Easy, no.

My game will be Wacky Love, a romantic comedy parody. It's kind of a competitive RPG, which is something I didn't expect. This is just the way things went.

Tomorrow there will be a post with my experiences with the challenge and the link to download the game. For today, I'll leave a link to the forum thread of my challenge: Wish me luck!

- The Storeman

Danger Patrol, Laser Blasting, Sci-Fi and Over the Top Space Action!!! (in your Pocket)

Review #15 – Free Pen and Paper RPG

Danger Patrol, Laser Blasting, Sci-Fi and Over the Top Space Action!!! (in your Pocket)

I say welcome, fellow travelers of the interweb, to the Marvelous Warehouse of Trinkets. This way you’ll see the “Amazing Matter-Displacing Thingamagik”, right next to the “Sub-Atomic Survival Suit”. But don’t dwell on those devices right now; come and take a look here. I offer you, Danger Patrol Pocket Edition!

This game provides an authentic “sci-fi show from the 50’s” feel: danger all around the dashing heroes, who must try and execute risky maneuvers to prevent a catastrophe.

Throwing lots of dice (more the more dangerous the action is) and hoping to stop the menaces before the Danger-meter reaches 10 but without getting your hero out of combat makes a very fun, very fast paced experience.

Fair warning though: This version of the game doesn’t have a non-combat resolution system. I roleplayed them and only used dice in combat or high tension situations. It’s not so bad, but can surprise some people.

Still, great material for a wacky one-shot.

-The Storeman

Disclaimer: I didn’t upload any of the content in the following link. I have downloaded and checked it as I always do. I have even executed it in my own computer and did not experience any kind of problems. But I can’t ensure that it is free of virus and/or malware that my anti-virus programs couldn’t find. That’s the author’s responsibility.

External Links: http://www.dangerpatrol.com/

(I’ve only tried the Pocket version; I can’t say anything about the others)

And here are some more fan-made random tables:

http://www.story-games.com/forums/discussion/comment/372507