- Document, don`t create, said Gary V.
- My response to that: Let`s go!

Bruno Lauris
Aug 29, 2017 · 4 min read

In a month or so I have written a few articles on Medium to test the platform out. Now the time has come to start realizing the idea that made me come and write on this platform in the first place.

My plan is simple. I am going to document the shit out of me creating my own tabletop horror role-playing game. I am going to share my process of getting there and the journey as I work towards it.

To do this I have already done my homework. I have researched the tabletop RPG industry, I have read books on game design, analyzed “competitor” products etc.

Now I have to take all that stuff I have learned by “book reading” and apply it practically by cooking up an actual game.

Photo by Myles Tan on Unsplash

Before that can be done I need to get my ingredients and tools at the ready.

This is how I am going to make this series of articles beneficial to you as well.

Rather than only saying “Today I cooked this up and now my game is going to have that,” I am going to actually go in-depth in explaining the game design process itself. The ingredients and the tools used in making my game. So that you could also take that process and use it to make your own game.

The plan now is to create (at the least) weekly game design progress reports.

Now to cook a meal there are recipes that need to be followed. The ingredients need to be prepared in-order and added to the mix. Game design also has recipes and like food recipes, the chef is allowed to break some of the rules.

The recipe that I am going to be following to add some structure to the weekly reports is the one recommended by Nathan D. Paoletta and Will Hindmarch from the Design Games podcast.

That means that the following are going to be the general weekly topics.

*I am going to come up with better titles eventually. Don`t worry about it.

LEVEL 0: How to start designing your first tabletop role-playing game?

LEVEL 0.5: progress report, first quest and level up!

LEVEL 1: Why are there so many dice? Do I even need dice for my game?

LEVEL 1.5: Progress report. “To dice or not to dice, that is the question.”

LEVEL 2: “I Have no Health, and I Must Respawn.” First obstacle report.

LEVEL 2.5: “I’m on the Death Drive to hell.” Progress report.

LEVEL 3: “Can I see your CV… *Coughs* I mean your Experience Points.”

LEVEL 3.5: “Be safe, friend. Don’t you dare go Hollow!” Progress report.

LEVEL 4: Reward Systems
LEVEL 5: Other Systems
LEVEL 6: Resolution
LEVEL 7: Game Master
LEVEL 8: Antagonism
LEVEL 9: Setting
LEVEL 10: Situation
LEVEL 11: Time
LEVEL 12: Space
LEVEL 13: Emergence
LEVEL 14: Player Alignment
LEVEL 15: Risk and Challenge

For each topic, there is going to be one report. The report is not only going to track the progress in making my game, but is also going to explain each component of a game and how to go about designing it. If you wish, then you will be able to use that process yourself.

Ok. Now that I have set up the groundwork it is time to take the first step, make my feet wet and start working on my game design and eventually the first progress report. Get ready for highlights, takeaways… Let`s go!

Photo by Jonathan Pendleton on Unsplash

Thanks for taking the time to read this article! :) If you enjoyed it, hit that clap button 👏 and share the article on social media. It would mean a lot to me and it helps to get this article in front of other people who might like it as well.

A Taste of Madness

A personal blog about Fighting Depression and the Horror Game Genre. Right now the blog prioritizes publishing articles on Game Design and progress reports for an upcoming TRPG game project about Social Stigmas and Taboo Desires, based on the Freudian concept of Death Drive.

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Bruno Lauris

Written by

Archenemy of Depression. A Grasshopper of Game Design. Self-proclaimed Try-Hard. Has his own company in the future. Right now studying business administration.

A Taste of Madness

A personal blog about Fighting Depression and the Horror Game Genre. Right now the blog prioritizes publishing articles on Game Design and progress reports for an upcoming TRPG game project about Social Stigmas and Taboo Desires, based on the Freudian concept of Death Drive.

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