Games for Goblins

My apologies if you've been on Storygames, or The Forge, or any of the other places I frequent, and you've seen this one or more times before...

I'm just trying to get some decent coverage to maximise the chances that some designers I respect might participate.

I've been inspired by a couple of things lately.

1. A storygames thread about games you'd like other people to design.

2. The gaming anthology "Norwegian Style"

3. Old style games compendiums.

4. Another storygames thread about artists looking for game designers.

5. The idea of how games and roleplaying might have developed in a
very different paradigm to our current understanding.

Combining these concepts, I'm thinking of developing a boxed set
through "The Game Crafter".

The box will contain 2 booklets. One purely an art book, the other an
assortment of games inspired by that art. In addition the game box
will provide everything needed to play the games on offer...a few
dice, an assortment of tokens, some pawns or movement markers, a
custom deck of cards and a board marked with some kind of abstraction
(possibly concentric circles divided into sectors) which could be used
as an abstract distance chart for combat, or anything else of that
could be imagined by a game designer.

A variety of game designers would offer a game of no more than 10
pages using some subset of these components, and inspired by the
artwork. Some would be roleplaying games from the perspective of an
exotic culture, others would be games specifically designed for
telling stories from that cultures perspective, some might hopefully
push the envelope to levels I haven't considered. The entire booklet
would contain a dozen or so of these games (maybe more if we get more
people interested).

I'll be running the project as a contest, with a specific set of
components declared once I get a few interested takers. Depending on
how many people offer their game ideas, everyone who contributes a
game will be able to purchase a copy of the set at cost price.

Everyone whose game makes it into the compendium will be able to
purchase as many copies of the set as they wish at cost price. I'll be
sending free copies of the final compendium to the contributor who
provides the most interesting game within the context of the artwork,
and the contributor who make the most innovative game using the
specified components.

I'll be looking to start the contest on the next equinox (22nd March,
2010), declaring all the components and providing the booklet of
inspiration artwork. The contest will run until the following solstice
(22nd June 2010). 3 months should give people enough time to write
something up, develop and refine their ideas, then submit something
that can be laid out by me. The final product is tentatively scheduled
for release on the next equinox (22nd September 2010), coincidentally
timing with Gencon Oz.

If anyone has thoughts at this stage, immediate game ideas,
suggestions for specific components in the compendium, feel free to
comment.

For some hints as to the images involved...see the last post.

Comments

Nojh said…
This contest sounds like an interesting idea. I would like to be apart of it if possible.
Vulpinoid said…
Awesome, that'd be good...the more the merrier. I'll be providing more details on the various forums and blogs where I've posted the initial ideas as the start date approaches.
Nojh said…
Then I will keep my eye here then. :)

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