Dead... and Back is a survival horror Role Playing Game. The Anarchy Zones is its official setting - aliens, reanimates, and the ruins of 2055 America.

Monday, November 8, 2010

A Modest Proposal (that might not involve antrhoprofagia)

I'll admit that this project is proceeding at a rather glacial pace. The problem stems from matters of sequencing (ie chicken and the egg problem) I don't really want to proceed without feedback and encouragement, but I'm not getting too much of either until I produce something...

I started this blog to solicit comments to help my focus my work. Its a bit difficult to maintain concentration on a long project without feedback, or learning something new each day, and I'm prone to go off on tangents without others commenting. (As mentioned in a prior post I knew nano-vac was pink before I commented if it has game effects.)  As TV tropes explains - I seem to have "Attention Deficit Creator Disorder" and this is only one of around 15 projects I've started. (Also, my habit of reading TV tropes probably doesn't help either...)

So far the only comment on this blog is "when will this be finished?".

Secondly, I really haven't had the chance to play test - or roleplay anything really - in some time. I've had a few people try character creation, and tried to run one game - which was a bit of a disaster from a playing if not game standpoint. (I'll rant about that at some point in the near future for those interested.)

Frankly, the changes I need to make are split into four categories:
  1. Clean Up - easy to do things like improve the glossary, add a skill list, add a section on genre for those who don't get it, some more examples, a few NPCs.
  2. Major Changes - a few things seem like they might need some overhauls on a bigger scale, but need some testing first. For example, is the AIM attribute too powerful/all encompassing and should it be split into close and ranged abilities? Would such a change be more necessary if the range becomes 1-7 to acknowledge the presence of dog sized aliens and strength boosting power armor that were not in the original rules?
  3. Sort the Stories - I really enjoy thinking through the logic of the world, and find it an interesting place if not one where I'd actually like to live. However it might be a bit excessive to expect everyone to read my entire collection, so I need to prioritize which setting elements are needed first.
  4. Combine - From my standpoint, this is supposed to be a cohesive book somehow rather than a collection of PDFs entailing a rule set, a short story collection, and a dissertation on future trends for city living.
So I'm going to make an offer. Before the end of the month, I'll have a draft of various rules changes if not the 1.3 version of the main document ready. I also want to make a contract with those who are interested in the project. If you're willing to test and provide feedback, I'm willing to include NPCs or locations you suggest as part of the game. There will be some limitations of course - I have plans for some areas of the world, but most of the others don't even have one of my infamous notebook outlines.

I've tried setting deadlines, I've tried positive reinforcement via gummy worms based on word count, and it hasn't worked all that well. So for now, I can't say how long it will take, but hopefully this will help.

Isaac Asimov has been quoted "If I was told I have five minuets to live, I wouldn't fret, I'd just type a little faster." Lets hope it doesn't come to that.

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