Writing

Oct

Lacuna Part I. PDF

Posted by Jared Sorensen at 12:02 am

After many, many requests, I decided to make Lacuna Part I. (second attempt) available at RPGnow.com.

And as an aside to those that would like this particular information to “be free” —

I’d like to remind you that I made this thing and I rely on sales to, you know, pay rent and eat. For reals. This is my job. So if you happen across a pirated copy or opt to torrent the game for a little look-see, please PayPal me (jared at memento-mori.com) a donation and I’ll dedicate my next cup of coffee to you. I appreciate it.

Aug

@Gen_Con events with @Burning_Luke

Posted by Jared Sorensen at 12:00 am

Dirty Secrets of Game Design – SEM1120296
Learn five dirty secrets that the game industry doesn’t want you to know. Use them to make your games better. Designers Luke and Jared share their jaded, sometimes humorous view, of the world of game design. Jared will do this entire seminar in a character voice!
Thu 4pm – 1 Hr – Marriott Indiana C

Game Design Is Mind Control – SEM1120297
Games compel people to make irrational decisions that they would not otherwise undertake. Come and watch Luke and Jared make fools of themselves as they try to prove this point. We promise; we will control your minds!
Fri 2pm – 1 Hr – Marriott Indiana B

Action Castle – SEM1120298
Relive the days of yore when the command line was king! GO WEST and LIGHT LAMP in a live-action text adventure with a few hundred of your closest friends.
Fri 3pm – 1 Hr – Marriott Indiana E

InSpectres The Movie: Behind the Scenes – FLM1127763
We will be talking about the process of making InSpectres and showing a short sneak peak from the film. Yes, it’s real.
Fri 6pm – 1 Hr – Westin Capitol III

Return to Action Castle – SEM1120299
Return to a land of action, a land of castles, RETURN TO…ACTION CASTLE! Many years have passed since a new king was crowned…find out what happens next in this massively multiplayer live action text adventure game!
Sat 2PM – 1 Hr – Marriott Indiana E

Jul

The Map

Posted by Jared Sorensen at 2:04 pm

The map is a 10×10 grid. Place the start location and 1d10 additional rooms.

To place a location, roll 1d10 to find X (horizontal) and 1d10 to find Y (vertical).

Roll 3 FUDGE dice to generate the height and width. + moves one grid square down, – moves one grid square up. If rooms intersect, they become one larger room.

Corridors, stairs and features are generated during play via player exploration rolls.

Jul

Conditions & Conditions

Posted by Jared Sorensen at 12:22 pm

Jul

The Questions Three

Posted by Jared Sorensen at 3:18 pm

What is this game about?

Spiritually draining work, an existential threat to one’s psyche, often glamor- and glory-free—but, nonetheless, a social necessity. Investigations hampered by the protocols, egos and machinations of higher powers.

How does it go about it?

Players portray investigators working out of a small office. They work within a maze of bureaucracy, rules and customs that hinder their efforts. Rewards are small or non-existent and threats to oneself are ever-present. Success closes cases but only through challenge and failure can one grow as a person.

What behavior does it reward or encourage?

Working together, spending “downtime” on non job-related activities; risky behavior to quickly finish difficult cases or non-risky behavior to slowly build a solid case; going with or against the flow of destiny — do you let it control you or do you fight the inevitable and try to effect change?

Dec

I fought for the Law…

Posted by Jared Sorensen at 1:39 pm

…and I lost.

Last month, while doing Google searches for FreeMarket (to check reviews, chatter, actual play reports, etc.) I came across a copy of the FreeMarket boxed set for sale on eBay. It was selling for a Buy It Now price of $9.99, which seemed odd. I told Luke. He thought it was weird too. I joked we should buy it and re-sell it for the real value.

Checked the eBay store again and noticed, no, not one game. Two. Same price, same seller. Weird.

(more…)

Nov

Game Design is Mind Control

Posted by Jared Sorensen at 1:39 pm

Some of my seminar attendees wanted a copy of this slide after my presentation. So here it is!

Nov

What does the protagonist want?

Posted by Jared Sorensen at 5:40 pm

Snow Crash / Lady Gaga / JG Ballard / Douglas Copeland / Cory Doctorow / Chuck Palahniuk / Videodrome / Underground / FreeMarket / Borat / Mark Leyner / Warren Ellis / Grant Morrison

What if everything that was happening all the time everywhere happened to happen all at once?

Nov

Vindication, yay.

Posted by Jared Sorensen at 11:16 am

Video games keep tricking us into doing things we loathe

When asked why we play video games, “fun” is what we answer; we read reviews to find out if games are “fun”, developers playtest extensively until they discover the “fun” in their design. But when you look at the ways we play, often fun has little to do with it – gaming is actually often rigorous, and we gamers demonstrate a fascinating willingness to apply ourselves tirelessly to any number of tedious tasks.

I didn’t get the job but at least I was right.

Oct

Fun

Posted by Jared Sorensen at 7:22 pm

|fən|

noun

enjoyment, amusement, or lighthearted pleasure : the children were having fun in the play area | anyone who turns up can join in the fun.

• a source of this : people-watching is great fun.
• playful behavior or good humor : she’s full of fun.
• behavior or an activity that is intended purely for amusement and should not be interpreted as having serious or malicious purposes : it was nothing serious; they just enjoyed having some harmless fun.
• [ attrib. ] (of a place or event) providing entertainment or leisure activities for children : a 33-acre movie-themed fun park.

Therefore games are lighthearted amusements, neither serious nor malicious, and most likely intended as leisure activities for children.

Enjoy your fun.