#AprilTTRPGMaker 4: Describe your work


My work mostly consists of free, pay-what-you-want, or nominally charged products. It's often in pdf form, typically available from DrivethruRPG, usually on the lower side of page counts, and lighter in rules than most "mainstream" RPGs (while heavier in rules than many of the popular "indie" games). When I dabbled in comic book artistry a while ago, I was told by some people that my work was too formal for their company, while other people told me my work was too loose...my game design work seems to exist in a similar niche that's hard for people to pigeonhole.


The rule sets I try to produce have enough flexibility that the core system can be minimally adapted (on the fly if necessary) to fit a variety of situations in the story being told, while having enough sturdiness to keep going without major issues if something unexpected does come up (without needing to create ad hoc new rulings). While I believe the overall system does impact the ongoing narrative, I don't believe that you need a completely new set of rules for every specific story that you want to tell.

Visually, I'm trying to push the boundaries of layout... games and rule sets presented in the form of comic books... pocketmods... games with rules printed on playing cards... encumbrance systems that work like the equipment grids in computer RPGs. I don't think there has been enoigh innovation in this area, and I think that can be one of the biggest hurdles to outsiders approaching the hobby.

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