Observations of the Fox

According to a number of people within the Facebook group Wenman Family Reunion , it appears that I could be related to gypsies. I find this hugely ironic, when a number of people told me not to pursue my ideas for the game Brigaki Djili. My most vocal opponents decried my work as an act of "cultural appropriation", but now it seems I can counter their arguments by saying that I am actually exploring my ancestry and cultural roots through my work on this game. I realise that if anyone traces their family tree far enough, they can justify almost anything, but this gypsy/traveller connection only stretches back a couple of generations, and it seems that there are still a high proportion of travellers who bear the Wenman name. In fact, one of the origins of the surname "Wenman" is said to be "Wain-man" or "Wagon-man". Maybe it's time to start working on that project again.

I've just admitted to writing "Come One Come All" for Little Game Chef. It was a bit of a monster, but it got some ideas out of my system. I thought that I had gotten them out in a coherent fashion, but I guess I was wrong. The game concept is a step toward realising my Brigaki Djili idea, in two ways. Firstly, it is a game of communal storytelling. A single focus drives a story and the players collaborate on uncovering a collective truth. Secondly, it is a game described from the perspective of an anthropologist. A game developed from a ritual described by an outsider. I'm trying to write things in such a way that they are approachable by someone who has no idea about roleplaying games. Perhaps something that might have been developed in the late 19th century as a parlor game; maybe based on Ouija boards and penny-dreadful mysticism. It's probably even connected to my current thought patterns on Art Nouveau style gaming. I guess these two concepts need a bit more...

I've commented on the Power 19. I'm deliberately not going to generate one for Brigaki Djili at this stage. But I will look at the Big Three...three questions that help to focus a game design. The problem is, that I've encountered at least two different versions of "The Big Three". What is your game about? How does your game do this? How does your game encourage / reward this? I'm told that respected game designer John Wick likes to add.. How does you game make this fun? Another version of "The Big Three" uses the first three questions of the Power 19, and often implies that these are the most valuable responses for the 19 questions. What is your game about? What do the characters do? What does the GM do (if there is one)? So that makes six different questions for "The Big Three", each of them reflects something distinctly different about the game without delving to deep into specifics. Probably a good series of points to start. It's al...

The light of truth is revealed in the shadows of gypsy firelight. There are tales that have changed our society; while the repercussions have been felt far and wide, the details of these stories have been deliberately hidden. Those outside our society have a unique perspective of our history; gypsies, vagabonds, nomads. Their insight and communion with arcane forces allows them to penetrate the façade and reveal the truth. The elders of the kampanya, gather after a feast; a solitary visitor has asked them to reveal a hidden story of the past. Thus Brigaki Djili begins…

To maintain a tradition of unpronounceable game names, I'll be working on a project called "Brigaki Djili" for my entry into the Stockade's game design contest. Brigaki Djili is actually a term from a Romani dialect, which is fitting for a game about gypsies. It's direct translation is "sorrow songs", so the game will be about revealing the past. Sort of like gypsy fortune tellers who reveal the hidden past instead of looking into the future. At this stage, the very raw basics of the game follow the notion of a group who commune with one another through dance, ritual and sacred herbs. Each tapping into an all knowing communal conscious to reveal the actions of a single individual in the context of a forgotten story. The role of the GM is that of a lone traveller who has asked the group to reveal a story lost to the mists of time (or deliberately hidden by the "powers that be".) The group weave together their narrative, and the GM asks occasiona...