Materials for developing a system of mechanics

Nov 10, 2015 3:44 pm
Hello,

So, aside from system reference documents, can anyone suggest some books, guides, manuals, or what have you that discuss developing mechanics for gaming?

I have some ideas for a game, but I would like to some information on how to create a system. Mostly I would like to test myself to see what I can come up with so I don't end up copying/pasting from an OGL product.

Any suggestions?
Nov 10, 2015 5:54 pm
As far as I know, most people just start from the question "How do I want the game to play?" and build the system from the answers.

When considering how to play, there are a bunch of different areas that have been the focus of different game systems, though you may come up with new areas to build:
- character granularity (how detailed are the characters, and how do they change over the course of a game)
With some systems, generating the character is actually a big part of the game, such as with Traveller, or the original The Taint. Those systems have the player building his/her character solo, but there are also games like Fiasco, where character generation is actually a full third of the game play, and done at the table in collaboration with everyone else. By contrast, games like I Roll To See If I Have Shoes On have no character generation at all; characters are developed entirely on the fly through gameplay.

- character balance: Do you want everyone at the table to be approximately the same level of ability, or at least start there?
Games like Champions are built around the idea that everybody starts with the same potential, and they build their characters with a set number of "points," which they use to buy abilities/skills/etc, and which can be augmented by taking disadvantages that limit the character but grant additional points that can be spent of further abilities. This is in contrast to something like Dungeons & Dragons, where the character is generated randomly, and in the same group you can end up with superhuman and subhuman characters (note, though, that later editions of "D&D" add point-based options for generating characters which eliminate this difference), and classes which have wildly variable levels of power (again, later editions largely eliminate the power differences between classes). That said, Dungeons & Dragons has levels to measure relative character strength: a 10th level character will be much more capable than a 1st level character of the same class and stats. Games like All Outta Bubblegum do not limit a character’s power at all; the extent of the character’s abilities come entirely from the player’s imagination, so in the same turn you can have one character struggle to knit a sweater quickly, while simultaneously another character destroys a planet with eye lasers.

- how random do you want the game to be?
Many RPGs use dice to add randomness to a game, from percentile dice (as in Call of Cthulhu or Universe), d6 (GURPS or PLUS, for example), d8s (Ex Machina or Post Mortem), d10s (the World of Darkness games), d12 (d12 System or Dominion Rules), d20s (Paranoia or any of the licensed-from-Wizards-of-the-Coast "d20 system" games) to games with custom dice like Hollow Earth Expeditions or the Star Wars games from Fantasy Flight Games. Some games augment the use of dice with cards (TORG or Deadlands, for example). Some games eschew dice but still hold onto randomness with decks of cards used to resolve actions, as with Deliria, Castle Falkenstein, or Primetime Adventures. Some games dispense with randomness altogether, choosing instead to provide characters resources to spend (as in Theatrix or Nobilis), or character stats that limit what can and can’t be done (as in Amber and Everway). There are games where player skill determines the outcomes, as in Dread or Dungeon Fighter (although some purists think of these as board games, rather than RPGs). Finally, there are diceless games where the outcomes are determined solely by the people at the table, either the other players (Fiasco, sort of) or the GM (original Space Seekers).

Some people find randomness disturbing and want no part of it in their games, others can’t imagine an RPG without the gambling element of cards or dice.

- what sort of game are you going to run?
Horror and Comic Romance are wildly different genres, and they play very differently. They don’t have to, but games are often designed to support a particular genre or set of genres. Will Sanity be a stat in your game, or Pulchritude? Maybe you won’t have stats at all, and will have skills only. Are you going to delve into dungeons, or manage the administration of a mining colony? Will you have a large list of specific skills, or a small list of broad abilities?

- Is combat going to be important in your game?
Coming from wargames and often played by teenagers, RPGs tend to involve a lot of combat. Will the combat be detailed, with a lot of mechanics to support tactical play, or will it be more free-form with light mechanics? How will damage be simulated: will you use stamina or hit points to abstract damage, or will you use hit locations to determine the extent of a wound? How deadly will combat be: are the PCs going to be superheroes who can soak a lot of damage, cartoons who can be blown up but still get a second wind, or will one hit with deadly intent likely kill anyone?

- what will character goals be?
Do characters develop through relationships that are built, or do they gain abilities and skills with experience? Are they trying to discover and catalog new species, trying to prepare a country for a famine, or are they going to slay an evil overlord in single combat? How will the mechanics support the characters’ progression toward those goals?
Nov 10, 2015 7:51 pm
Thank you! That is a fantastic answer, and gives a good plan to gauge some different aspects of what I had in mind.

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