I Can't Believe I'm Doing This

[ladysprite]

I still remember my first LARP, incredibly clearly. I remember how much fun it was, and how excited I was to discover a new hobby, and I remember the promises I made to myself. I promised myself that I would keep playing for as long as it was fun, and that I would learn how to be a good player, and I promised that I would never, ever, ever actually become one of those crazy people who actually write the games.

I'm a lousy writer. I'm terrible at plot, and worse at interconnections. I don't have fun with it. I have fun playing. I think I may have actually stated that I'd rather eat glass than write a game.

In fifteen years, I never broke that promise. Until now.

I had an idea. Well, I had the idea a long time ago, to be honest. And, not being a writer, I did my best to drop the idea around friends that *are* writers, but none of them seemed to pick it up and run with it. And, unlike most of my mediocre ideas, this one never really faded.

Then, not too long ago, another friend mentioned an idea to me. An idea that was remarkably similar to mine. And before I could nail my big mouth shut, details started spilling out. And one thing led to another, and in no time at all it was clear that there was a game sitting there, hollering to be written, and that it wasn't going to shut up and that noone else was going to write it.

And so, jadasc and I have started writing Desperadoes Under the Eaves - a LARP based on the works of Warren Zevon. It's crazy, it's ridiculous, and it scares the crap out of me, but... the characters are there, and the more we look, the more we realize it was obviously meant to be.

Did I mention that this scares me to no end? I've never written anything beyond short essays before. I've never even run a tabletop game. I have no idea of how to write a game, or how to balance a game, or how to plot something. I know nothing about game design, or pacing, or mechanics. I am a clueless babe in the woods, and I'm terrified that this is going to suck, and I'm counting on the genius of Mr. Zevon and the skills of my cowriter to carry this off while I bask in reflected glory, but.... I can't stop now.

We'll be bidding it for Intercon H, or at least I think we hope to. So, all my larp-author friends, please be patient if I come to you in hysterics pleading for guidance. And, y'know, come play. I think it'll be fun. Just be gentle with me if it stinks.....

Comments

Games that Suck Hard and Long

[interactivearts.livejournal.com]

Let me pass along a thought here. There's a feeling I think among new writers that it's sort of "hit or miss" whether a game sucks or not, or that it's based on talent as a writer. "If I write brilliantly my game will be good, and if I don't it will suck."

Really that's sort of like people who think that car races or medical cures are a matter of luck. In fact they're a matter of a series of following certain principles.

That can be very intimidating to new writers because they think "I don't have that design knowledge" or don't even know that it isn't a crap shoot.

I can virtually guarantee that your game won't suck if you don't do a couple of things, which I honestly doubt you'd be likely to do.

1) Don't be overly ambitious. Write good solid characters of a length that you've seen before. A few games fail because the writers really don't write much, but remember that quality is more important than quantity. You've already halfway won, by picking a subject matter that is strongly suggestive and requires less exposition than say "my new fantasy world with complex politics nobody has ever seen before."

2) Don't be very reliant on mechanics. Most games that "suck" go bust over scenario or mechanical complexities. A very good, very experienced, GM can send a game onto the rocks on those issues. Point to a game at Intercon that has crashed in recent years, and I'll show you some underlying mechanical problem.

3) Remember what you enjoy as a player and write to that. Some people may dislike what you write, but that's a matter of style. Be true to yourself. Don't try to be enormously clever or do something tricky your first time out.

If you do those things, the chance that your game will suck is about 5%, and the chance that it will be pretty good is about 95%

You'll do fine!

Re: Games that Suck Hard and Long

[jadasc.livejournal.com]

Don't be very reliant on mechanics.

*nod* I have some, but not many, in mind.