Homebrew Game Design

[Onix]

I wrote up an article on homebrewing RPGs for Stuffershack. I figure some of it may be useful ideas for the monkeys to chew on. Rob has his guide to writing free RPG which is great for producing a logical and hopefully professional looking document. I concentrated more on if you're just making it for you and your buddies to play and how to think about mechanics.

Let me know if I missed any important ideas.

[kylesgames]

I mean, it's not a comprehensive guide but it has a good follow-up checklist; what I'd do is write the homebrew system first and then consult it and prune it down in terms of how I'd work. On the other hand, there's some stuff I'd do beforehand, like coming up with how computer hacking and healing and such works.

I like all the content, but I'd almost put it into a multi-step format combined with the actual process of writing the game itself.

[Onix]

Yeah it's not intended as a complete guide like Robs, I was aiming for the main concepts that would keep a homebrew game playable.

[Rob Lang]

It's a superb guide. The size of my guide makes is somewhat unwieldy, whereas this is much more accessible. Nice work!

[Onix]

[Rubbermancer]

That's a nice checklist! This is exactly the kind of organizational focus I find myself lacking once a game project gets to a certain point. I'll definitely be referring back to this, probably several times.

[Onix]

You get off my lawn kid! Nice work on picking a name though if it wasn't for the 10 at the end, your username would almost blend in.

[catty_big]

This has to be one of the weirdest spambot messages. Did the Three Blind Mice have braille Louis Vuitton watches I wonder? Rob, please shift this feller to Mock da Bot so we can all get, er, mocking...

[CptPhoenix]

Great article! I found it quite helpful as a way of evaluating what I've already designed.

Can anyone recommend something more specifically related to combat or does anyone have some good tips for me? I'm trying to rework my rules so that they'll remain rules light yet still provide a good framework for telling a story. In my own play testing I realized that, while the players had a lot of fun, there were many gaps and rules prone to misinterpretation.

If you can refer me to any great books or sites on game design that would be great too, there's so much to learn.

[Onix]

Thanks! As far as specifically combat, it really follows the same principles. Combat is different for how you want it to feel. Is it the focus or just a story element to add some excitement? Is the idea to emphasize tactics or to make it as simple as possible? You can make combat very simple and very boring if you are planning to do a lot of it.

CA and I have discussed this in the past, we never really got to any universal suggestions. We're pretty sure each mechanic has a specific effect on the mood of a game but defining and cataloging them has proven difficult.