Pocketmod Games

I have a couple of minor games (Nobles and other ideas in the works) that might never make it to full publication. They seem like the right size for Pocketmod publication, however.

Until now I've not really considered the format, despite Michael Wenman's enthusiasm for them. However, for small idea games they might be precisely what I need.

They don't need loads of competence in layout, they just need succinct rules. The real skill is in the writing, not in reducing the font size.

Watch out for a couple of them to become available for download in the coming months. I'll put them on my games page.

Gencon Oz 2009 registrations are open

Just like the heading says, registrations are open for Gencon Oz. This time last year, they were about to close and there was a little panic around the place that events wouldn't fill. Still, the indie games explosion filled, and so did Michael Wenman's Eighth Sea. One of the workers at the registration booth made a comment to me on the Thursday that there were no RPG spaces left anywhere.

For 2009, I expect that the hall will be a little smaller and will have a feeling of being more densely packed. Even if the same number of attendees are there, the smaller space will increase the atmosphere. That's a good thing, for sure. The high ceilings, even though they carry away the odour of thousands of sweaty gamers, make the whole thing seem under-attended. But that's a trick of the eye. Thousands of people made their way to the con.

And dozens of them came to play indie games. I'm excited about it again this year. And this year the indie gamers will be much easier to find.

And no, I'm not going to tell you why I say that. You'll just have to register for gencon and see for yourself.

An Agon Story

So I made it down to Sydney and back, and in between the hours working for my corporate overlords, I ran a game of Agon for Michael & Co (as previously discussed).

Had a great time!  As GM, I find that I get to set the tone for the game right from the beginning.  The kinds of details that I draw from the players (and then reward in some way or other) are the kinds that they often return to because of that reward.  So I adopted the model that seems to fit nicely with my current gaming interests:

1. Frame the scene

2. Roleplay until we reach a decision point in the plot

3. Set the stakes with the players

4. Use the rules to make the plot decision

5. Roleplay some more, working towards the decision made in step 4.

6. End the scene.

7.  Wash.  Rinse.  Repeat.  Wipe hands on pants.

Perhaps step 7 isn't required...

Nevertheless, doing this created some interesting outcomes in the game itself, and my favourite is that the rules became the base for the roleplaying superstructure, rather than the other way around, and that because of this, it felt like a story was being made and told.  Complete with narration, description and dialogue, a story was made together and told together.

Thanks to Michael, Leah, Bill and Freya for a great night of gaming.  Special thanks for the great meal - Greek style goodies to kick off the theme!  

Wish Fulfilment

Courtesy of Michael Wenman, I get to have one of my 2009 Wishlist Items fulfilled. I'll be visiting his part of the world this week and he's organised a game group so I can run a one-shot of Agon.

Hot damn! I'm excited about this. Agon's a great game, full of the themes of deific command, heroic competitiveness and overdone posturing by the players. And the GM is meant to make it tough, since in this game the GM is the Antagonist.

Oh, the evil laughing is already reverberating in my dark, dark soul.

The Eighth Sea is Available

Michael Wenman has now published his game, The Eighth Sea. Buy it now from Lulu.

I played the final session of this at Gencon Oz and enjoyed it immensely. It felt like he'd made it the Convention Special Edition because of all the props (a whiteboard! a wine bottle! a human skull!). It uses a great system of making failures easier next time, and successes more difficult. All in all, the result is a game with plenty of opportunity for gonzo and large story telling.


Note: skull may or may not have been an actual human. If it was, the human was about the size of a child.

An indie summary of Gencon Oz

The first Gencon Oz was, for indie games, a good experience. We had games from Australian designers being launched, we had seminars on indie game play and design, and we had full registrations for all tables of the Indie Games Explosion. Best of all, the organisers are enthusiastic about our contribution and are keen to give us more space for larger events in 2009.

And now for some details.

Seminars
There were two seminars for indie games across the four days. The first was on Thursday night, with a panel of Nathan Russell, Michael Wenman and Robin Laws (and I got to be MC for this illustrious group) and the topic was "Steal This Trick - The indie games you should play at least once". For an hour the panelists spoke on the topic and took questions from the audience.

The second one was in the last day of the con, and wasn't actually advertised in the programme, but we still managed to get people to come. It was intended to be a session on indie game design, primarily with the guys who were launching games, but we turned it into a Game Design Roundtable as was done at Dreamation. Two games were thrown on the table and dissected by the assembled group. Both of the designers set themselves goals to have ashcans ready in six months, in time for Melbourne's Arcanacon.

Indie Games Launched
Michael Wenman came up from Sydney to launch The Eighth Sea, his game about time-travelling pirates with a penchant for making money from temporal disturbances. He ran two or three sessions every day, and was fully booked (and over booked!) for each one. The pre-orders list grew quite well, I hear.

Nathan Russell decided to only run his game - Space Rat - through the IGE, and was handsomely rewarded. I sat in on an hour of one session and enjoyed it immensely. Due to a delay in printing from Lulu he didn't have any product to sell, but he handed out stacks of postcards and flyers. He generously left me with one of his few pre-release copies to add to my library. Thanks, Nathan!

Indie Games Explosion
According to the registration table, all sessions were fully booked and even though about 10-20% didn't turn up, we had gamer after gamer approaching us and ask about empty spaces at the table. We estimate that about half of them had never heard of any of the games, and were still keen to play. We also estimate that about two-thirds finished the games and asked, "Where can I buy this game?" Unfortunately, the only thing we could do was point them to the IPR online store. We hadn't really expected people to try and buy these games from us, but they were keen. I would have loved to point them towards one of the retailers, but none of them were carrying indie stock either.

In short, the indie gamer crowd had more demand than supply and the organisers noticed. I suspect that we left our mark partially through the registration database and partially through the periodic visits from Robin Laws, Peter Adkison and the Gencon staff. I need to give a big thank you to Scott Vandervalk, Nathan Russell and Michael Wenman for bringing content to the con. I also need to point out the great support from Peter Ball and the rest of the con organisers for squeezing a non-standard event into the programme.

And now... go plan the next one.

Editorial Addition
In my original post, I forgot to thank the folks who came to the round table. Thanks to Scott V, Louise, Lon, Michael (and his wife), Craig and Danica. We'll do it again next year.