Orklord’s Haven

Jared Sorensen, the creator of the Big Three, was kind enough to drop by and help me with my game design.  I had assumed that the first three questions in the Power 19 by Troy Costisick were the Big Three.  I was off by two.  In baseball, I’d be batting .333, so I don’t feel too awful about it.

But wow, Jared Sorensen came by to fix my Big Three.  That’s pretty darn cool.  Plus, I’ve recently come to realize that my answer to question one (the one question that really is part of the official Big Three) doesn’t cover all of Decommissioned.  So, I’ll start with the new bits of question one, then tackle the official other two.

1.) What is your game about? 

For the previous answer, check here.  Decommissioned is a satire about corporate and consumer cultures, a game where the characters sacrifice their existence to gain freedom and individuality.  It is also about the power of belief.

2.) How is my game about that?

Decommissioned uses corporate jargon and organization to construct a satirical representation of a universe overrun by multi-global conglomerates.  The Player Characters are commodities manufactured to further the goals of the corporation, fighting endless battles over the same market share with mindless entertainment offered to them between battles.

3.) How does my game reward or encourage that behavior?

During character generation, the player creates a character motivated to run from their existence as a Battlebot and choose some thing or goal that is Sacred to that character.  As the game progresses, the Sacred increases if the player continues to pursue that thing or goal.  This Sacred value can be used to supplement or even replace values for the character as they continue to degrade.

Also, after the character’s escape, the corporation sends a unit of Battlebots, former peers, after the player character.  These peers are also degrading, but they have been promised to be restored by the corporation if they destroy the player character.  The peers offer a reflection of the consequences, and provide rewards for the PC as possible scrap to retool the PC, or possibly allies in pursuit of their Sacred.

One of the game design tools that has been shared with me is Jared Sorensen’s Big Three.  These three simple questions are designed to help flesh out the concept of a game.  It doesn’t ask for game mechanics, only a broad picture of what you want the game to be about.

The Big Three is also the first three questions of Troy Costisick’s Power 19 questions.  During Game Chef 2007, I answered the Power 19.  However, I am unsatisfied with those answers and wish to revisit them after some reflection.  Interestingly enough, the core concepts of the Game Chef entry remain with me even now.  As I explore mechanics and flesh out the design, I’m sure it will evolve significantly.

Here are the Big Three and my current answers:

1.) What is your game about?  What is easier: an existence of structure and safety or a life of freedom… and danger?  This game is a role-playing experience designed to answer that question.Decommissioned is a tabletop role-playing game about choosing your own path instead of going with the crowd, even if it means paying a price for that choice.  Decommissioned is also a game about understanding that price and accepting it.With Decommissioned, 1 to 2 players and a GM will create futuristic stories about Battlebots, inhuman constructs manufactured and owned by  multi-global corporations.  These Battlebots decide to give up immortality without freedom for a brief existence on their own terms.  Campaigns should last between three to six game sessions of two to four hours each.Lastly, the game is a non-humorous satire of corporate life.

2.) What do the characters do?  The characters begin at The Compound, a warehouse where all Battlebots are stored between conflicts with the competitors of the parent company.  During character generation, the player or players create PCs that choose a goal to achieve, something the Battlebot values above all else, even its own existence.Once the Battlebot escapes The Compound, the Tech Masters flip the Battlebot’s killswitch and the clock begins ticking: the Battlebot begins to degrade.  The Battlebot must achieve its stated purpose before it falls into a useless heap of nuts and bolts.The degradation of the Battlebot happens in stages.  As each stage progresses, the character undergoes existential scenes where they must face their own demise and reinforce their inner convictions.

3.) What do the players (including the GM) do?  The player(s) create powerful PCs at the height of their inhuman killing capabilities and infuse them with a soul.  Once the player creates the sacred goal of their PC, the players role-play the journey of the Battlebot out of The Compound as they fight their former teammates and their own externally expressed remorse and self-doubt.  The player rolls dice to resolve conflicts and during steps of degradation, the player makes choices about how the Battlebot loses core functions.  The game ends when the player either loses his character by choice or failure within the story or reaches the sacred goal of the character.The GM collaborates with the player(s) to create a unique and compelling sacred goal for each Battlebot to pursue before their demise.  Once this goal is created, the GM is responsible for creating and manipulating situations to challenge the Battlebot(s) physically as well as emotionally.  Tools the GM has at their disposal are other assets of the parent company, including other Battlebots formerly of the PC’s unit sent to destroy it, the degradation countdown, scenes during each stage of degradation and environmental and setting conflicts appropriate for the PC’s goal.  The GM presents conflict, but the GM’s ultimate goal is not to defeat the PCs, but to provide color and context to the struggle for freedom and individuality of the PC.  While the demise of the Battlebot may occur before it was able to achieve its sacred goal, the GM must endeavor to create a remarkable end to the campaign by cooperating with the player(s).