Scattershot presents: Universe 6

On the Move!

2008-05-02T15:20:00.001-07:00

Well, I've finally taken the plunge. I've been spreading myself far too thinly for a long time, so I'm bringing all my points of access into one location.

If you want to read the kinda blogs you read here, then you'll have to turn your RSS feeds and bookmarks to: this link.

If you want it all, aim at my blog.

You will find all parts of my efforts combined into a big mixed blog. The categories will separate it into the old familiar content streams, so take your pick.

This is one of my first php-based web design efforts, so expect a little rough on the edges. I've integrated a blog, a forum and a wiki (as well as I could) to allow a better place for feedback rather than blog comments and to have a place where explanations can grow and evolve as my understandings of the world do.

I hope you like it and humbly invite you to join in the fun!

Fang

Hiatus

2007-11-19T14:31:00.000-08:00

I'm going to take a little time off to write the first draft of Scattershot. If you want to follow my progress, check here regularly.

Fang

Slow Progress

2007-10-09T08:56:00.000-07:00

Only a little to offer this fortnight.

I'm halfway done categorizing over 2,000 spells culled from a couple of the biggest role-playing games on the market. This is building a replacement for the 35 aspects I had over-designed for the Scattershot Universe. It will also create a set of categories to put powers under as well (important for tagging the new database).

I've switched Universe6.ScattershotGames.com from Wordpress to PHPWebsite because it's wiki, forum and blog features are much more streamlined together. (It's a content management package, rather than blog software.) I'm looking forward to populating it with all the raw material you'll need to run an effective Universe 6 game!

Fang

An Update for the Update

2007-09-11T09:56:00.000-07:00

Well, things are proceeding, if slowly. Here's what's been happening:

I've settled on a WordPress (WP) site for a couple of reasons. My ISP supports Fantastico which installs WP right and fast. Reading up on WP plug-ins I believe I can add wiki and forum capability (but I'm not sure if that those are up to date). WP is very fast and unlike The Unseen, nothing should need passwords to see.

I've had a little luck with the wiki-links part, but I can't seem to work out how to use the roll-back feature in cases of vandalism. Anyone having advice, I would greatly appreciate hearing from!

In case you're wondering why this goes so slowly, check it out! I'm posting on all ten of my blogs.

Scattershot presents: Universe 6 - This weblog
Scattershot presents: The Unseen - An ARG LARP for Scattershot
The Scattershot Design Continuum - News about the evolution of the basic game system
Fish or Sofa Magazine - For all things Scattershot
Costumentality - A Webcomik I aspire to do based in Universe 6
Impswitch Development Thinking - An isometric turn-based strategy MMORPG I tinker with
Azeroth Gazette - I do have other hobbies (World of Warcraft: email me for the server)
Cerebrum Abusive Ideas - Just ideas to hurt your brain, that's all

And I have a short article on Role-Play Gateway.

You might also check out the TWO POWERS I've already posted on Fish or Sofa!

See you in 14

Fang

Are We There Yet?

2007-08-27T08:29:00.000-07:00

Where are We and Where are We Going?

I started this blog because I was out of ideas for Scattershot presents: The Unseen. I was also a bit intimidated by the concept of starting my very first LARP with no experience, no knowledge and an untried game concept. (On a side note, I think changing The Unseen to and ARG LARP will finally get that project going.)

The reason I chose this project was because I've done so much work on superpowers already. And I have; there is a very detailed and flexible superpowers system stored on my hard drives (one must have backups after all). I had also had my epiphany regarding the pseudo‑Freudian construction¹ of four color comic books through their storied history. I'm going to continue working towards concepts like the Fruitful Void and Complication Management, but I'm also married to the idea that Universe 6 isn't about precisely modeling extant comic books, but about escapist power fantasies. As far as metaphors and symbolism (mentioned in the first post), I'm planning to put strong guiding principals for these into the Experience Dice guidelines, simple enough!

Because of both the pseudo‑Freudian focus and the escapist fantasy, I'm positive that this game will need to tiptoe carefully around issues of dominance and personality. Play will, unknown to the players, get very close to their sense of identity. I'm going to have to deal with 'safe word' technology when speaking to the fringes of game play. I'm also going to need to carefully consider both how the game shapes the activities of each 'identity' as well as how the personal investment of escapism might cause hurtful clashes 'outside of game'.

One feature I'm proud to include is forcing players to address how out-of-place or impractical their ideals would be in the real world. This comes from addressing 'justice', 'fairness' and 'being human'. Hopefully, I can get people to 'feel out' their own personal 'weaknesses' by exploring the analogue in chara design and play. These are the various foci of the Fruitful Void.

I'm sorry to report, the selection process for wiki software has gotten bogged down. As a replacement, here are some of the parts I'll be putting in:

Individual Universe 6 Chara Write-Ups
Separate Given Powers with Detailed Explanations
The Chapters of the Book in Printable Format
A 'How-To' for Creating Super Powers
A Chara Design Engine that 'Does the Maths' and Prints Out Adobe Files
And...Ultimately, This Blog.

Thanks for reading! See you in 14.

F

¹ As it says below.

I'm Back!

2007-07-13T15:00:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

I know it's been a while, but I'm finally organizing my life. (Thanks to GTD and RtM.) I now seem to have enough time to keep up with this blog and the others. So, here we go!

News: Rather than create another blog-which-is-a-game-book, I'm going to give superheroes the justice they deserve; I will start a Universe 6 Wiki!

In this wiki I can slowly build up all the information you could want to play the game. Every power will receive a well-written explanation (that you, my dear readers are welcome to clarify). The 'How to Create a New Power' section can be re-edited many times over to make sure that it makes sense to everyone interested. I can also post the members of the Universe 6...universe. (Who are consequently the members of the Costumentality universe as well.) Someday I hope for a lively forum of would-be-super-heroes, -heroines, -villains and -villainesses. But there's plenty of time for that.

Now on to Universe 6 business....

Remember when I was going to rearrange Scattershot around stakes and complications? Well, someone nice showed me how terribly chauvinistic that was. It makes the play sound like a constant war with the other participants at the 'table.' So I'm reconsidering the whole way the game is pitched.

Sure we'll still be addressing complications, but not between each other. The process will be based on how we can set them up to be dealt with together.

Unlike your average comic book, Universe 6 is something where all the chara (and therefore their players) share the spotlight most of the time. This goes beyond teamwork for the chara; the players must also work together. This is why I like the idea of one player holding up a conflict and inviting the others to elaborate on it. Somehow Experience Dice will change hands for a 'really neat' elaboration of the complication; it has players work 'towards' each other.

One thing we need to keep 'on the radar' is the underlying structure or essence of the game. It hinges on the pseudo-Freudian idea that it is a story about the chara's secret identity. The powers-action will build upon what happens there, but in the theatre of ideals: the superego. On that same stage enter the villains, representing the hero's darker side: the id. Now to support this, the game will need to 'get into the head' of the players' chara. I don't think this would be served well by personality mechanics or anything that might distract from 'getting into chara.'

What this suggests is that people will be playing on the edges of their 'safe zones.' The game will have to take that into account and instruct how to do that. This is ultimately the danger of 'playing deep' in a game heavy on the indulgent escapism as I plan superhero games. That's where I'll be looking to create a fruitful void.

But that's enough for today; see you in eleven.

Fang

Preliminary Notes

2007-03-03T20:31:00.000-08:00

Here's the product plan from my notes:

Title: Universe 6
Subtitle: The World of the Modern Fantastic
Handout: Base Powers List
Feature: Powers rules
Augmentary feature: Weird Science
Card Game Notes: Powers
Card Game Notes: NPC catalog
Card Game Notes: Membership Card Motif
Universe: U6 - Minneapolis
Dynamic background: Super-Heroes vs. Super-Villains
Notes: Interleaved with my Costumentality Webcomic

In play, the game can address 'might makes right,' or 'be careful what you wish for.'
The Metaphor is superficially Freudian: Secret ID = Ego, Villain = Id, Hero = Superego.
The message can delve into justice or fairness.

Starting Over

2007-03-03T18:49:00.000-08:00

Here we are again. Starting another game book.

I guess, ultimately, I couldn't do The Unseen without making it a LARP. And unfortunately, I don't have the resources to playtest a huge monster like that right now.

Since I don't have the huge amounts of time it takes to cook up 'feature mechanix' for a lesser-worked-on core book, it looks like we're doin' superheroes!

Let's lay down some base rules

Much as I'd like to host this on my site, again, I haven't the time.
I liked the way The Unseen blog was set up in chapters, but it looked goofy moving parts around, so I'll just expand as I go.
Each section will evolve however it wants to.
I'm re-architecting the core assumptions of the mechanix: fruitful void and complication focus.

Next, I'll try to vaguely lay out a complication-based, fruitful-void structure. Soon, I'll go into what the metaphors and symbolisms.