In my last post I said I was giving a fair bit of thought to my not-really-finished game, Verge. The setting is pretty strong and evocative, but I have never been completely happy with the game rules. In the lead-up to NaGa DeMon I like to do a little preparation. This has the effects of both getting me in the right frame of mind, and letting me hit the ground running on November 1st. I guess it’s a bit like those motor car races (don’t ask me which one, I really am not a car racing person) where they do a couple of laps before actually starting the race proper.
So what do I do to prepare? So far I have read a fair bit, and run though a lot of “scenarios” with dice mechanisms. I said in my last post that I was struggling with the raw game mechanics, but I actually think reading lots of other rule books has just confused me more! Oops. Live and learn, I suppose! I have also gone back to the original game and read what I have written, in an attempt to get “back to basics” – my rules need to reflect the awesomeness of the setting without getting in the way! Finally, I have created an inspiration or “mood” board of pictures over on Pinterest. I am finding it a great tool for collecting images for projects or ideas I have, and as I am a pretty visual person it is really good to just go back and browse through the collected images to help keep me on track.
My next step is to form a plan for November. I am thinking of writing a “contents page” for the game, so that i can tick off chapters / topics as I write them. This way I will hopefully not miss anything important!
Some people like to write or create by the seat of their pants, while others like to plan meticulously. What do you do?
