[Craft] 12 word RPGs
First batch of 4.5 entries for the 12 word RPG Jam, right off the oven! Stick around while I'm sharing the recipe, and don't forget to let me know how it tastes.
Jam Flavors of the Month
Jams are constraints that feel like opportunities. You need to be interested in the topic, and the deadline has to fit your schedule. Although, if that’s the case, and you jump in, you have a clearer objective with more incentive than a self-imposed one. We’re all more or less procrastinators looking for concrete goals. Some people are proposing one on a regular basis over itch.io. I’m going to try to give a curated list focused on TTRPG at the top of this newsletter.
12-word RPG Jam (Ongoing until March 15th)
This whole entry is about that one, so I won’t expand much here.
TTRPG Tech Jam (Ongoing until March 15th)
Interesting concept, you have to make a standalone system and the organizer will make a compilation at the end. I need a generic oracle and that could be the opportunity to finally write it down!
One Page Derelict Jam 2023 (Ongoing until March 21st)
Make a self contain one-page adventure in space. Great format and if you’re quick you can still jump onboard. I probably won’t have the time for it myself, but it seems to be a recurring one, so I’m looking forward to the next date.
Firelights Jam (Ongoing until May 1st)
You have more time to work on this last one, although, it’s a bit more specific because it uses the organizer ruleset (Firelights). I’d rather make system neutral adventure in general, but the SRD is really well-made, so have a look to see if it sparks your imagination.
In the previous post, I teased that I was currently working on entries for the 12 word RPG Jam. I think most of them ended up as narrative generators: rulesets that explicit storytelling patterns, so participants can play around them. That may well be a contemporary definition of what is an RPG in a way, since I don’t think many people would exclude a game because there is no “role” in it.
Following with not 1, not 2, not 4 but 4.5 entries… and hopefully I’ll finish four more in time. The design process has been exponentially exciting and efficient. I was lagging to get a first draft of a first idea, and ended up with several that came together nicely directly from my mind to the diagram editor.
What turned out to be a pretty deep rabbit hole, however, is the graphic design side of this exercise. I was picturing something simple, close to the initial diagram itself. Although, there are so many directions that could be explored, with so many dead ends (understand atrocious results). It really felt like I discovered a new world. A world beautiful and full of opportunities, but also labyrinthine and intimidating by its scope.
Nuance
The truth lies somewhere in between.
Let’s start with the first one I manage to make work. It is based on this reality I’m constantly rediscovering when finishing an argument: “The truth lies somewhere in between.” You have an opinion, somebody else disagrees, you discuss and often still hold your stance by the end of the conversation. What’s interesting, however, is when you find out that it has changed the next time you dive into the same topic. Some people reject that, because it can make you look weak or not trustworthy.
Truth is, we should embrace doubt.
Most views on the world come from cues we can cross-reference with others. An opinion can be completely false, heavily bias, it will still hold something worth thinking about. That being said, it is difficult to discuss a topic that could shake the foundations of our own mental structure. That’s why we play games, to have a safe space to try stressful things.
Story
A simple loop of conflict and resolution.
For this next one, I’m coming back once more to this idea that causality is a key feature of any narrative. We tend to think of stories through the lens of the 3 act structures, or the hero’s journey. I think this simple chain of “But” and “Therefore” that are commonly referred to as “conflict” and “resolution” is a more elegant representation. You add unequal variation of intensity to those two components and end up with an infinite number of tales to tell. As an example, try to conclude on a conflict and on a resolution to get how different it feels.
It’s also with that second entry that the rules of the Jam start to shine. I initially had a version with timers to put pressure on players. It probably makes it more like a game, but the 12-word constraint forced me to distill it further down. All those layers of friction and win condition can be factored in later… or not. That’s why we jam, to get a sharable result, a chance to stop there, or a new starting point to make something deeper.
Epic/Tragedy
Opposite in nature yet indistinguishable until the end.
Let’s dig into another aspect of narrative design, this time with die roll (finally). I wanted to recreate a hero’s journey type game guided by probabilities. What ended up emerging from it, however, is how thin the line is between epic and tragedy. Both works with biased odds (toward victory or failure). They also need to maintain uncertainties, because you shouldn't release the tension too early (setting Antigone apart… for a future nano Rpg maybe). So, it should be possible for it to shift to the other side of the spectrum until the last minute.
The process of the previous two entries was a refinement, from a clear intent toward the most synthetic version. This one, however, was more a series of discoveries, eureka moments, instead of the internalization of somebody else finding. That’s why we make games, it’s a compelling form of learning that gives a goal to a thinking process.
Chaos
Everything impact everything.
The fun of positive feedback loops is to perceive its growth, from where it comes, to where it’ll eventually lead. The more you unfold the story, the more vertigo you get when you look back.
This entry also revealed another aspect of this Jam constraint. With fewer words, each of them has more impact on the whole. Here, “most impactful” changes the dynamic completely. Something that could be a flat causality, becomes an exponential toward infinity.
While I was writing about that game, I noticed I was going from micro to macro, and the reverse might also work. That’s a common creativity enhancer, when you iterate on your design, try to invert some components of it to see what you get. I was curious… so I did another quick version and like it even more. It speaks of the infinite chain of causality that links all events together.
After working on those 4.5 nano RPGs, it’s clear that there is a tone more options of 12 words games to be discovered. I also barely start reading other entries from the contest but already found very different concept. I’ll share a selection at some point in the future. If you participated, don’t hesitate to post your creation in comments.