1KM1KT Free RPG Community

Looking back on last week, I think I learned a couple of things - the hard way - from entering Game Chef.

Firstly, resolution mechanics aren't the be-all and end-all of a game. I have a bad habit of moving too quickly from initial concept, to trying to model that concept with dice and abilities. With The Dinner Party, although I had some early ideas along this line, it was a lot less important than trying to work out how the characters would interact with each other. And I think the game is stronger for it.

Secondly, this is the first time I've designed a game without trying real hard to enforce "game balance" between the characters, and it's liberating. It makes me realise that good competitive play doesn't require everyone to start on an equal footing.

I don't think that either of these things are startlingly original concepts, but I think that I undestand them better as a result of this week's design efforts.

How about you?

I learned that

- Restraints and limitations are great fun to design around, and can give you ideas you'd never have come up with otherwise.

- There's a lot more to be explored about competitive storytelling/role-playing.

- Input from others is absolutely crucial. Some very important parts of my game came from others' comments. (Thanks, Emily, for the map idea!)

- I work best at things I can choose not to take seriously. I can work pretty hard as long as it's just for fun.

Along the lines of Ben Lehman's blog entry about the , I learned that if I focus on a manageable problem set I can get a project to some kind of completed state. It hasn't gone through playtest and revision yet of course, but nevertheless this level of completeness is a nice milestone.

I'll tell you what every single person who entered this competition should have learned...

That every single one of you absolutely CAN design cool games and COULD get paid for them. If you can create designs as cool as these in a week, imagine what you could do without a time constraint.

If you're really not interested in commercial publication, that's totally cool...but there shouldn't be anyone of you thinking that its beyond you. There were some truly mind blowing games coming out of every one of these game chef competitions, which means every single contestant could (if they desired) complete a design and have it for sale right along side of any of the rest of us whose only advantage is that we've already done it. That's one lesson I hope EVERY participant learns and takes to heart.

Like the "Great American Novel" I think too many people think that their first published game has to be some kind of magnum opus. Fuck no. Just design. If you can do Game Chef you can publish commercially alongside anyone.

Just do it.