The Siege of Maddenhafen
Renee:
Okay, so this is a (lengthy) preview of my game. I still have things I want to add, lots of stuff to clean up, and certain bits that aren't as inspired as others that with a little more time will pop a lot better. And of course, I have no idea how it plays or if any of the mechanics work like I want them to. It's sizable, but anyone who has the time, feedback is appreciated.
Maddenhafen Preview
Renee:
And the finalized Game Chef version:
Maddenhafen
Fun to mess around with this stuff again...wish I had some graphic design skills though!
Baxil:
This sure seems to be going for the flavor of old-school D&D. Randomized attributes ("roll six times, in order, no takebacks") and all. :) I wonder how the big revelation in the GM section would actually work out in practice? Seems like the target market for the hardcore-gamist veneer might take that sudden twist in mechanics like a shot to the face.
Side note: I like how you've approached the job system - the way you unlock classes seems heavily flavored by Final Fantasy Tactics, which is my favorite video game in the history of ever, so major points for that. I worry that if you get poor attribute rolls, though, you might be stuck either kamikaze-ing the character or else grinding basic Jobs for a few tedious sessions as everyone else grows up to become epic.
And props for the vast amounts of typing that had to go into this. I was looking at a few of the 5-page systems and freaking out over my 31-page monster. I salute your bravery in tackling such a beast as you have here; your turning this in on time probably ranks right up there with slaying one of those ubiquitous 30-foot swamp monsters. ;)
(I'd have offered feedback earlier, but my whole. damn. weekend. was spent working on my own game. I submitted after you did, in the wee hours of the sunrise.)
Renee:
Hey there!
Final Fantasy Tactics is the best game ever! And FFT Advanced was the best game for Gameboy Advanced as well! <3
It's definitely a bit of a bait-and-switch. I wanted the old-school stuff in there because historically speaking, those games have a sort of black-and-white morality (i.e.,some things are just good and some things are just evil), and I wanted to take advantage of that familiarity. But this isn't a commentary on those games or style of plays (I played them and enjoyed them, so turning on them like that would be about as hypocritical as James Cameron making a lavish 3-D movie where the techheads are the bad guys and the peaceful wonder of nature is held aloft...oh wait, nevermind). But seriously, I wanted the game to feel a certain way, to put the players in a certain frame of mind, and also to be legit fun to draw them in and make them want to play; and I don't want it to not be fun anymore after the big reveal...just more emotionally provocative. I'd like to think the game would still be fun even if the players know what's coming.
Did I accomplish any of that? Hard to say until I and a few others actually play it.
As far as early-game character kamikaze-ing and such, I definitely get what you're saying. Anything that makes the game less fun early on will definitely do a disservice to the whole game; it's the fun they're having that's going to make for a compelling emotional crisis once the later stuff kicks in. Hmmm, I should add that to ling to the GM chapter. At any rate, it's essentially a first draft and there are ton of fixes for that...modifying the way Traits or rolled or adding new Careers with lower pre-reqs for entry (or both). I already have some other stuff I want to add, like a rule for Low Morale that should be super-fun, so I'm definitely not done working on this.
And thanks for the props. I lost my job earlier this summer in a corporate restructure, and this proved to be a nice distraction from thinking about things (like the 14% unemployment rate in Michigan). Maybe it's size will pretty much doom its chances of winning...a snappy, tightly focused five-pager has an advantage in this play-to-win environment, I think. But that's okay, I'm looking forward to playing it and maybe I can draw some people in with the promise of some fun character-building. :-)
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