The Indie Jones

No, not that Indy Jones.

Just about everyone has heard of indie films, movies made on small budgets by unknown companies that manage to be a little more daring and avant-garde in their stories. But not many people know about the indie RPG scene. Like those indie filmmakers, indie RPG publishers push the boundaries of what makes a game.

While opinions differ (significantly in some cases, so be careful out there!), my understanding is that "traditional" games focus on representing the world, providing "reality models", much like the physics engine in a video game. They vary widely in how much resolution the system provides. Some of try to stay very close to reality, like GURPS, while most feature some level of "cinematic" or action movie-style realism, like the HERO system or Fuzion. The main advantage of a system like this is that it can be applied to a wide variety of worlds because the rules are generally applicable.

Indie games have rules that emphasize story and character over the world.

FATE and Burning Wheel are both excellent games that focus on characters. Both reward players for making decisions that are "in-character" even if it isn't the most practical or effective decision. While White Wolf is one of the major players in the RPG industry, it was one of the pioneers of this methodology, as characters in their game Vampire: The Masquerade had a Humanity score that would rise and fall based on the things that the character was forced to do to maintain their vampiric existence.

The games that focus on story tend toward telling a certain story with near-endless variation. My Life With Master gives players the roles of minions to a cruel and wicked Master (Suddenly, I'm thinking of running this game with the players being Winged Monkeys and the Master is the Wicked Witch of the West). The players then direct their characters through the process of discovering that not everyone is cruel and eventually overthrowing and escaping from the Master.

Adventures in Oz fits my definition of an indie game. For one, it is very much a one man show (me) with a minimal budget. For another, the game is designed from the ground up to tell Ozzy stories. If I had to define the archetypal Oz story in a sentence, it would be "Exploring Oz with your friends." The exploration aspect is covered in the extensive section on the Land of Oz, along with tips on making your own Ozzy locations to explore. The friendship angle is covered with the Oz Point/Friends List mechanic. Making new friends or helping friends that you already have earn Oz Points, which can then be used to get a favor from a friend on your list.

What's your definition of "indie"? What's you're favorite indie game?

Happy Birthday, Ozma!

Tomorrow, August 21st, is generally considered to be Princess Ozma's birthday. In a manner of speaking, it might even be considered her 100th birthday. Even though the character was introduced in 1904's The Marvelous Land of Oz, we don't see her birthday celebrated until 1909's The Road to Oz. Since Road is celebrating it's 100th year, that would make 2009 the 100 anniversary of Ozma's birthday. It's circuitous and momentous at the same time.

While I did mention doing some kind of video, getting the finishing touches on the game has taken a good bit of energy on my part. Only within the last few days could I really consider myself done with the project. And even then, the project is not done. While I have concluded my writing duties, it still needs to go past my editor, then my layout person. If my layout person is doing their job right, they will spot locations where I need illustrations. Which means I will have to commission new pieces, which will take more time before the book can be released.

It is also time to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the premiere of the MGM film "The Wizard of Oz." On August 23, 1939, this classic film premiered in theaters across the country. While the movie does get props from me for introducing a lot of people to Oz over the years, it presents a very limited version of Oz. What's worse is that people tend to think that the movie is all that there really is of Oz. And the majority of adaptations and "sequels" tend to support this idea.

In slightly related news, Loraine Sammy has both of pieces of cover art that I commissioned posted on her site. One is for my game and the other is for my edition of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." Seeing both of them together makes it fairly easy to see what I did there.

One of the big challenges I'm facing in making this game successful is that there are really two audiences that I'm trying to reach out to: The Oz audience and the non-Oz audience. The game cover art is really an attempt to reach out to both. Each character in the illustration is similar in concept or role to one of the classic four Oz characters (Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, Cowardly Lion), but different enough that the non-Oz fan is going to look twice. Since they are established characters from later stories, the Oz fans get a little Easter egg that makes them look twice.

Having the cover art for the story be so similar helps reinforce that "Oz, but different" vibe and also serves as a bit of branding, letting readers know that they are from the same publisher.

Asked Questions

Now, I am nowhere near as cool as Jared, but people do ask me questions about Adventures in Oz.

When it is released, what form will Adventures in Oz take?

It will be released both as a softcover book and a PDF on Lulu.com. The book will contain rules for creating and playing your own Oz characters, being the Narrator of a roleplaying game, and an extensive guide to L. Frank Baum's Oz, complete with suggestions for making your own stories and locales within the land of Oz. The PDF will contain all of this information in a highly portable electronic format.

My goal is also to make the game available wherever quality gaming PDFs are sold.

How much will it cost?

The book will sell for $14.99 and the PDF will be $7.99

What age group are you targeting with your game?

I have designed the game so that it should be playable by virtually any age. It will be marketed as a kids RPG, but my playtest group was composed of people all in their 20's and we had a lot of fun.

Do you have anything else in the works?

Indeed I do. I hope to publish my own edition of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" as illustrated by my talented team of artists by the end of the year. Also in the works is a cooperative effort between myself and James Wallace, bringing the characters and locations of his book "The Magician of Oz" to your gaming table.

Farther out, I'd like to do a supplement detailing the lands beyond Oz, such as Sky Island and the Land of Mo, and a book of adventures for those Narrators with limited time to prepare their own.

I haven't read the books, but I love the MGM movie. Will I enjoy your game?

I certainly hope so. I include a lot of information from the stories, so you shouldn't feel too left out. You might even be inspired to track down and read some of the stories.

I haven't played an RPG before. What am I missing out on?

But nearly everyone has played a role as part of some kind of game. When we were younger, we all played some kind of pretending games. The rules of the Adventures in Oz game are there to provide a more structured experience and to resolve questions that can arise during play, such as putting an end to the old "Cops and Robbers" arguments of "I shot you!" "No you didn't!"

You will need at least two six-sided dice (the kind found in most board games) and each player should have a piece of paper recording their character's abilities and other details.

Oz on Zazzle!

As of today, you will be able to purchase products featuring the Adventures in Oz cover art and logo over at Zazzle.com. Not only are they great products, but the profits from those sales help me pay the artists and other people who help me make the game a reality.

In our last episode...

When I compared Oz to Star Trek a couple months ago, there was one very important thing I left out. I didn't realize what it was until I read this Grognardia blog (Thanks for the link, Groknard).

One of the things that captured the imaginations of millions for both Oz and Star Trek was the lack of continuity. You didn't have to follow the series to enjoy it. You could watch any episode or read any story in any order and be able to enjoy them.

If there was something you needed to know from a previous installment, you were told very quickly or it was simply glossed over. The Patchwork Girl's origin story was not rehashed in every story she appeared in. She would simply appear, perhaps with a small explanatory note, and the story would proceed.

Later Trek shows built on these original stories, but lost this simple charm. They developed a more stringent continuity, requiring the viewer to follow the show more closely. Deep Space Nine in later seasons became very soap-opera-ish in terms of continuity.

Oz fan writers often do much the same thing. They will write "sequel" or "follow-up" stories that refer to something from the old books and assume that the reader already knows what's going on. While I am not going to say that all such "sequels" are bad, I will say that they are rather difficult to do well.

How does this apply to gaming? Well, back in the day, RPGs followed a very similar format. Not by design, but by a lack of design. Early roleplayers basically treated their characters like golf clubs, choosing one to play based on the needs of the current dungeon. "4th level? You guys need a priest? Got one right here."

Much like television, gaming has expanded to include ongoing campaigns with elaborate storylines and a cast of recurring characters. Also like television, this serves to separate those who got in from the beginning and "get it" from those who are just starting out, trying to get involved later on. This has the side effect of making roleplaying very intimidating to new players. If you haven't been playing for several years or have the latest edition of the rulebooks and know the game world inside and out, there are people who will not give you the time of day. The books themselves have become larger and more expensive, a far cry from the simple booklets of yesteryear.

The Adventure Begins With You!

This week marks the unveiling of the cover art of the game and the new slogan: "The Adventure Begins With You!"

Wouldn't that make it an "Udventure"? Seriously though, roleplaying is an active hobby. Not in the running and jumping kind of way, but it does demand participation. A book is just a book until you apply your mind to it. So it is with a roleplaying game. Moreso, in fact, as you apply your imagination and creativity to playing your character.

While it is possible to play your character "by the numbers", it's not a lot of fun. By speaking in character (with or without funny accent) or developing personal goals, you make your play experience several times better. If everyone does it, the fun of the game increases exponentially.

A beta version of the game is will be available at http://ozrpg.50webs.com until the final game is released (Hopefully in the next couple of months). Grab some friends, make some characters and build a story out of your favorite Oz novel.

(Bonus points if you can See What I Did There (TM)).

Game Balance

One of the slipperiest concepts in game design is that of balance. It actually comes in two flavors, so I'm going to discuss them separately.

The first component is character balance. When dealing with multiple characters or character types, each one should have something different and interesting to recommend it. But at the same time, if an option is too good, you've made all of the other options look bad by comparison.

This is the problem I ran into with my first draft magic system. Magic was too effective and too easy to do. If things got tough, the sorcerer could simply cast a spell and the problem would be solved. While you could argue that that's how the Oz stories work, it's not very fun in a game. Every player wants their "spotlight time", the chance to do something cool that only they can do, or only they can do well. To have a wizard in the party would mean that everyone else would pale in comparison. Hopefully, the redesign closed this gap.

While balance should be on the mind of every designer, it should also be part of the Game Master's responsibility. Make sure that each character that a player proposes is unique and interesting and doesn't step on another character's niche or schtick. Make sure that challenging one character doesn't mean invalidating other characters.

The next part of game balance is scenario balance. This means balancing the challenges that a character will face against their abilities. A well balanced scenario is one that makes the players work for their success, but avoids making it impossible. If a particular challenge is too hard, players will give up in frustration. If a challenge is too easy, players feel like their success was handed to them. I'm sure we've all played enough video games to appreciate that feeling of beating a boss battle once we'd figured out how to fight him. Same basic principle.