I'm Going to Make a Game

Sooner or later, every gamer figures that he can make a game of his own. Sometimes they actually succeed.

Well, I'm taking a shot at it. No, not another D&D derivative. Instead, I'm going to make "Wanderer", the fantasy/historical version of the classic science fiction game Traveller. The plan is simple: iterate from start to finish via actual play and feedback thereof. (It worked for Kevin Siembieda, and he's been publishing RPGs for decades.)

My ambitions are small. I want to publish something like Traveller's original three booklets, where the rules are just enough to handle the most common mechanical needs and the rest are guidelines for applying the fundamental principles to situations that come up at the user's table. I may include a supplement for a campaign setting if there is demand for it.

I will begin after the New Year, when the holiday obligations are complete. It'll be just a stripped down Traveller at first, with only low-tech options allowed- no non-humans or supernatural powers for players yet, not until I'm satisfied with the mundane foundation of the game. If I can get a new PC capable of doing so without frying itself, then I'll stream playtest sessions live. (Yes, I would appreciate donations to that end.) Until then, I have manuscripts to get out the door.

And that's it for today.