Flashback -
It all started with my desire to build a structured-freeform miniatures game, something that combined the spatial/visual tactics of miniatures with the fluidity and fiction-first feel of structured freeform. I invited people to join me in co-designing this game, using this blog to progress through each design decision together. We decided that we wanted a game about horror-exploration, maybe with scavenging elements thrown in. Combat wasn’t to be the focus of the game, but we haven’t yet stricken it from the design palette altogether. Last time, we brainstormed ideas for the game’s subject matter.
And now -
Now it’s time to look at our ideas about subject matter, and decide what the game will be about. We’ve got a genre and a design philosophy in place, now we need the story and the setup. To oversimplify, we’re going to determine what would be written on the “back of the box.” One thing I noticed about each idea proposed in the last post was that each idea implied/demanded a number of things about game prep (who owns minis, who designs scenarios, what gets drafted in advance, what gets drafted at the table, what do people bring with them). So, as a result, each “what the game is about” answer is also a “how do players prep for play” answer.
I’ll summarize the ideas below, synthesizing and filling in blanks were necessary. Then a poll will follow, where you get to vote for your favourite idea(s). Then, you’re invited to post a comment and build on the ideas that you voted for, if you see a gap and have a cool idea on how to fill it.
Scouts in a Hostile Alien World
One person plays a team of scouts (scientists, scavengers, military escorts, surveyors, thrill-seeking explorers, etc) and the other plays an alien community (hostile terrain, weird floating-eye scouts, breeder-drones, hive queens, ooze pits, etc). Players create their teams in advance, before getting together to play. When they get together, they appraise their forces and decide upon a mission. Alternately, the alien player designs the mission in advance as part of prep. Missions can be things like: “Since we’ve got this science officer, maybe we want to steal one of your alien eggs. Victory looks like a successful capture with no casualties.” Combat is always possible, but always a terrible idea. Maybe mission creation includes determining why the sides (or at least one side) don’t want to escalate to violence.
The movie Alien serves as a touchstone here. Daniel Solis created the pitch “It’s like Euro Starcraft,” and I think that pitch applies to this idea.
Surreal Monsters of the Id
One person plays a squad of human explorers, trespassing on spooky terrain. The other person plays a team of surreal monsters and phantasms born from the id of the trespassers. Maybe the human explorers have a leader, and the remaining members of the squad each embody different characteristics of that leader. The monsters are all reflections of the hopes, fears, and darkest secrets of the squad.
One player brings the human squad already assembled. The other player crafts the surreal id monsters on the fly, riffing off the squad composition. Maybe the monsters are built of lego or some other mix-and-match material.
The movie Resident Evil serves as a touchstone here. I’d also argue that The Cell and any haunted house movie ever would qualify. Existing minis games we could raid minis from: Dreamblade.
Alien Scavengers and Human Colonizers
There’s an alien race that’s physiologically, technologically, and intellectually superior to humans. But this race has recently experiences some apocalyptic event that’s all but wiped them out. That’s when the humans show up.
The humans start with an assembled force, and the aliens start in disarray. The humans might have a number of objectives (scavenging for abandoned tech, scouting an area, building an outpost, kidnapping a new alien species). Regardless of what else the aliens are trying to do in a given mission, they’re also trying to rebuild, reassert their control, and defend their homeland. Over time, the humans encounter more resistance and the aliens grow stronger. The human squad is dealing with a fixed set of resources, whereas the aliens have open-ended growth opportunities.
In this idea, it seems like the human squad would be assembled before a game session, but the alien force would mostly be assembled during play. Maybe the alien player determines their initial, in-disarray forces.
The Unfurling Television Show
Everyone is responsible for bringing a sampling of miniatures stuff to the table: some good guys, some bad guys, some terrain, some non-tangible ideas to be written on card tents. The game is like a television show, and each scenario is like a new episode. One person “directs” each episode, which means setting up the scenario and determining which minis are in play. The director also serves as referee for any disputes on fictional efficacy (ie, “you think your monsters invade, but I think that I hold them at bay with these flashing lights, so who’s right?”)
Between episodes, people can prep more miniatures stuff to add to the mix. It’s like being a producer, and deciding how budget increases get spent. Each episode should seek to reincorporate old elements while also introducing new ones.
Note that this idea is the least specific on subject matter. If this one emerges triumphant, we’ll have a follow-up poll where we vote on what this “television show” idea is about, in terms of colour and situation. It’s possible to recycle the fictional content of one of the other pitches.
3… 2… 1… Judgement!
You can vote for up to two of these ideas. What grabs your fancy?
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