Neat video. Sounds interesting! I've been pondering on a game or solo engine based on a wheel or slide chart like that since I made the "Wheel of Fate" Mythic variant.
I think what you're doing with your mythic chart is interesting and I understand the mythic system reasonably well.
What these solo games do however is set up their own scenario the player should be trying to accomplish. In other words there are victory conditions.
A games master effectively is the scenario creator from the point of multiple player RPGs. A games master has to be clear about the objectives of the gaming session as he "replaces the board". He has to be replaced in a solo rpg by your mythic chart.
However what is worth considering is how clear can a scenario be in a solo role-playing session? There can be predesigned information such as a maps and encounters. However there seems normally much less predesigned detail in a scenario in the way it is used by the mythic system.
A predetermined path can be done through a choose your own adventure type system of planning for solo. Perhaps what is interesting to see what pre-planned choose Your Own Adventure style material could be combined with a resolution mechanic be used by mythic do the mythic results feed back into the game and affect its course of play and final victory result.
I see what you're getting at there, and that could be quite interesting indeed. Perhaps rather than a predetermined "mission" outlined in a slide chart, you could "spin the wheel", so to speak, and consult some tables for objectives, encounters, and the like.
I've looked at quite a lot of wheel charts, some incredibly complex and multi-faceted, but my ideas were more along the lines of using imagery (a la tarot or story dice) and alternative means of randomizing and influencing outcomes. Just abstract musings at this point, however.
Spencer Salyer thank you for the reply. I have an interest in what you are doing, with this wheel chart idea, and I (think) I understand some of the mechanics for designing slide charts. "Spinning the wheel" sounds like a good way to kind of describe this kind of process.
I like your mechanical adaptation of mythic with the "wheel".
What may be interesting is an adaptation of the wheel idea or something like it to generate conditions for a game at different points. Something like an adaptive system. In other words, if you are in position A conditions X will apply and if you are position B conditions Y will apply. The wheel would determine what X or Y would be.
The data that would have to be put on the wheel would be preset by the scenario designer and this would not be a random generation but determined as a choose your own adventure system.
Paul Drury I hadn't read all your comments here. Now, your idea is clearer. I have read good things about Tales of the Arabian Nights, clearly more in the Choose Your Own Adventure line than formal wargame with victory conditions.
evandro novel Spencer Salyer I have put together a "template" for a high-level solo campaign structure. I would like you to have a look at it and comment and indeed if anyone else wants to pitch in. It is a little bit of a read, I am afraid. I was inspired by your recent posts.
The idea came from a number of places. As you know I was inspired by the games Ambush and B-17 described above as they are pure solo games. From a wargamers point of view, there has to be some sense of winning. Role players are not necessarily looking at a game in the same way, but the idea of winning a scenario is also not totally unheard of.
Merging the ideas of winning with the enjoyment of strong narrative is clearly influencing the design of these solo wargames.
Interactive fiction is also an influence because there could be some kind of scenario or "scene" that breathes further life into the game. A solo player could look to some kind of story-driven experience that choose your own adventure (CYOA) provides.
The player starts at the top node and moves down to the node below after completing the activity at that node. The content of each node (or scenario if you will) can be determined through other rules.
Entering a node requires having a prerequisite level of Experience Points or Victory Points or a Magical Key or something like that.
The entry requirement has to be set at some standard level. The standard required has to be higher the nearer the end of the campaign. This is to prevent further player progress where there has been a poor performance at earlier nodes.
In the example I have used there is a generic fantasy theme but it could be used for any narrative, from World War Two through to the Stone Age and SciFi. It is just the template I am wanting to look at.
The adventure starts at the "Homeland" at the top. It ends at the "Ultimate Doom" node. A player can potentially pass between the start and end points by a number of routes: for example Homeland to Low Hills to Forgotten Forest to Barson Peak to Lost Lands to Cracked Tree and then finish at Ultimat Doom.
The player can only progress down from horizontal level to the one below. If they don't have the prerequisite to enter the next node the campaign ends without being successful. Success requires reaching the node at the end and dealing with that in order to complete it.
evandro novel I have a copy of Tales of the Arabian Nights and I like it a lot. The game is a quite playable game solo and even more fun for a few like-minded players. It is an exercise in managing chaos in an entertaining way.
I like what you've got here, Paul. Is the interest or intent still to apply this via wheel/slide chart? Even without that involved, I can see the value in a hierarchical structure that could easily be cloned or randomized for any number of adventures, missions, scenarios, or campaigns.
I've favorably considered a game or solo framework using a "node-based" design similar to your hierarchy here. I'm interested to see where it goes!
Spencer Salyer thanks for the feedback. The wheel/slide chart could be used to generate the scenario details for each node. The mechanics for scenario design are needing some thought. So long as they could be easily created and with a minimum of fuss. If you have any luck on developing this aspect I would be happy to cooperate in taking this forward.
Paul Drury Sorry for the late reply, but I had to be offline for a while (and will be again in the next days). The idea of a generic solo campaign system is certainly interesting! I would find particularly useful something that is heavily randomized, so that I don't see a large campaign-graph in advance, but I navigate step-by-step an even larger (implicit) graph. Sorry for the hand-waving, but I am not completely sure of how this could be in concrete terms. Thank you for sharing your work, and keep us updated on the developments!
Neat video. Sounds interesting! I've been pondering on a game or solo engine based on a wheel or slide chart like that since I made the "Wheel of Fate" Mythic variant.
ReplyDeleteThanks. There is some room for a discussion here about what you are doing. It may be more similar to B-17 Queen of the Skies : youtube.com - B-17: Queen of the Skies Review - with Joe Steadman
ReplyDeleteI think what you're doing with your mythic chart is interesting and I understand the mythic system reasonably well.
ReplyDeleteWhat these solo games do however is set up their own scenario the player should be trying to accomplish. In other words there are victory conditions.
A games master effectively is the scenario creator from the point of multiple player RPGs. A games master has to be clear about the objectives of the gaming session as he "replaces the board". He has to be replaced in a solo rpg by your mythic chart.
However what is worth considering is how clear can a scenario be in a solo role-playing session? There can be predesigned information such as a maps and encounters. However there seems normally much less predesigned detail in a scenario in the way it is used by the mythic system.
A predetermined path can be done through a choose your own adventure type system of planning for solo. Perhaps what is interesting to see what pre-planned choose Your Own Adventure style material could be combined with a resolution mechanic be used by mythic do the mythic results feed back into the game and affect its course of play and final victory result.
This is an open topic for discussion.
I see what you're getting at there, and that could be quite interesting indeed. Perhaps rather than a predetermined "mission" outlined in a slide chart, you could "spin the wheel", so to speak, and consult some tables for objectives, encounters, and the like.
ReplyDeleteI've looked at quite a lot of wheel charts, some incredibly complex and multi-faceted, but my ideas were more along the lines of using imagery (a la tarot or story dice) and alternative means of randomizing and influencing outcomes. Just abstract musings at this point, however.
Spencer Salyer thank you for the reply. I have an interest in what you are doing, with this wheel chart idea, and I (think) I understand some of the mechanics for designing slide charts. "Spinning the wheel" sounds like a good way to kind of describe this kind of process.
ReplyDeleteI like your mechanical adaptation of mythic with the "wheel".
What may be interesting is an adaptation of the wheel idea or something like it to generate conditions for a game at different points. Something like an adaptive system. In other words, if you are in position A conditions X will apply and if you are position B conditions Y will apply. The wheel would determine what X or Y would be.
The data that would have to be put on the wheel would be preset by the scenario designer and this would not be a random generation but determined as a choose your own adventure system.
Does this make sense? I wonder.
Paul Drury I hadn't read all your comments here. Now, your idea is clearer. I have read good things about Tales of the Arabian Nights, clearly more in the Choose Your Own Adventure line than formal wargame with victory conditions.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking about this and will.post some ideas.
ReplyDeleteevandro novel Spencer Salyer I have put together a "template" for a high-level solo campaign structure. I would like you to have a look at it and comment and indeed if anyone else wants to pitch in. It is a little bit of a read, I am afraid. I was inspired by your recent posts.
ReplyDeleteThe idea came from a number of places. As you know I was inspired by the games Ambush and B-17 described above as they are pure solo games. From a wargamers point of view, there has to be some sense of winning. Role players are not necessarily looking at a game in the same way, but the idea of winning a scenario is also not totally unheard of.
Merging the ideas of winning with the enjoyment of strong narrative is clearly influencing the design of these solo wargames.
Interactive fiction is also an influence because there could be some kind of scenario or "scene" that breathes further life into the game. A solo player could look to some kind of story-driven experience that choose your own adventure (CYOA) provides.
Here it is.
A solo campaign template
https://plus.google.com/photos/...
The player starts at the top node and moves down to the node below after completing the activity at that node. The content of each node (or scenario if you will) can be determined through other rules.
ReplyDeleteEntering a node requires having a prerequisite level of Experience Points or Victory Points or a Magical Key or something like that.
The entry requirement has to be set at some standard level. The standard required has to be higher the nearer the end of the campaign. This is to prevent further player progress where there has been a poor performance at earlier nodes.
In the example I have used there is a generic fantasy theme but it could be used for any narrative, from World War Two through to the Stone Age and SciFi. It is just the template I am wanting to look at.
ReplyDeleteThe adventure starts at the "Homeland" at the top. It ends at the "Ultimate Doom" node. A player can potentially pass between the start and end points by a number of routes: for example Homeland to Low Hills to Forgotten Forest to Barson Peak to Lost Lands to Cracked Tree and then finish at Ultimat Doom.
The player can only progress down from horizontal level to the one below. If they don't have the prerequisite to enter the next node the campaign ends without being successful. Success requires reaching the node at the end and dealing with that in order to complete it.
evandro novel I have a copy of Tales of the Arabian Nights and I like it a lot. The game is a quite playable game solo and even more fun for a few like-minded players. It is an exercise in managing chaos in an entertaining way.
ReplyDeleteI like what you've got here, Paul. Is the interest or intent still to apply this via wheel/slide chart? Even without that involved, I can see the value in a hierarchical structure that could easily be cloned or randomized for any number of adventures, missions, scenarios, or campaigns.
ReplyDeleteI've favorably considered a game or solo framework using a "node-based" design similar to your hierarchy here. I'm interested to see where it goes!
Spencer Salyer thanks for the feedback. The wheel/slide chart could be used to generate the scenario details for each node. The mechanics for scenario design are needing some thought. So long as they could be easily created and with a minimum of fuss. If you have any luck on developing this aspect I would be happy to cooperate in taking this forward.
ReplyDeletePaul Drury Sorry for the late reply, but I had to be offline for a while (and will be again in the next days). The idea of a generic solo campaign system is certainly interesting! I would find particularly useful something that is heavily randomized, so that I don't see a large campaign-graph in advance, but I navigate step-by-step an even larger (implicit) graph. Sorry for the hand-waving, but I am not completely sure of how this could be in concrete terms. Thank you for sharing your work, and keep us updated on the developments!
ReplyDelete