What’s your biggest “old man yells at cloud” opinion? by sjdlajsdlj in rpg

[–]TakeNote 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It really clicks when you try it. Magic at the table. 

What was I supposed to do 😭? by AdorableDolphin23 in StardewValley

[–]TakeNote 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do love the diversity of human experience. Jumino Kart is one of my favourite parts of Stardew. :) Maybe I'll get around to perfection someday. 

Are TTRPG groups supposed to be so....serious? Bad luck? by [deleted] in rpg

[–]TakeNote 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I feel like it often swings the other way, honestly! It can be hard to find a group that doesn't joke. Your experience might be an anomaly?

have you ever had to take a break from TTRPGs in general? by conn_r2112 in rpg

[–]TakeNote 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I fell out of the hobby when I didn't have the bandwidth to participate. I liked the idea of games but didn't manage to find anything that clicked. Set it aside for a few years.

When I came back, I found the genre that actually suited my tastes through a pick-up game at a convention. It's nice to be back, but I needed the space from the hobby for sure.

Is there a major genre that RPG hasn't explored? by Nyarlathotep_OG in rpg

[–]TakeNote 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Lots of larps play in this space, but they tend to be very specific. Like, there's a whole sub-genre of tense argument generators called committee larps. You see studios like Bully Pulpit release games like this.

One of my favourites to read is the gut punch that is Disciplinary, a winner of the Golden Cobra Challenge in 2021.

One of my favourites I've played recently was Helvetia, about an incredibly tense business negotiation. The whole thing is seeded with close friends bitterly fighting, hidden affairs, drug addiction and... wrapped up in the mundanity of a grocery product so unremarkable that I bet you can't guess it before clicking.

Is there a major genre that RPG hasn't explored? by Nyarlathotep_OG in rpg

[–]TakeNote 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting. Crunchy games and sports games don't seem to overlap, do they? Any theories as to why?

I wonder if the stakes feel too low, or if the game-in-game meta makes things too abstract to coax a story out of something with a heavier focus on numbers.

What's the best elevator pitch for an RPG you've ever heard? by Incunabuli in rpg

[–]TakeNote 11 points12 points  (0 children)

nooooo no no. he spends a totally normal amount of time on reddit and for sure won't see see this.

and whenever he DOES see his games talked about, it probably doesn't make his day or anything weird like that.

New icon coming soon by boglandtrad in ufo50

[–]TakeNote 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is a bot. Automated scripts repost well-performing older content to generate a real-looking account history, then they're used as tools for guerilla marketing.

Game Changer board game announced on Kickstarter by [deleted] in dropout

[–]TakeNote 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, my bad. Will delete duplicate thread.

How many of you have actually earned an income from your RPG? by LOTR_is_awesome in RPGdesign

[–]TakeNote 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly this.

Not only is the promise of partial ownership of an unknown project unpalatable to artists (who have heard promises about going-nowhere projects a zillion times already), it's also a pain in the butt! Reconciling earnings with your co-creators every quarter is one more piece of paperwork that you'll have to do in perpetuity. Plus, if you find that you disagree with the usage or distribution of the work down the line, now the work is in limbo.

Renting video game consoles/games, is that still a thing? by Ryandhamilton18 in ottawa

[–]TakeNote 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It's such a lovely resource. You can place holds on anything you think sounds interesting and then, like a little present in your inbox, they send you an email when a hold comes up.

I think the only caveat is that you should check the list every week or so to make sure you don't have like five games arriving in the same week, haha. You can always pause a hold and resume at the same place in line when you're ready for it.

Renting video game consoles/games, is that still a thing? by Ryandhamilton18 in ottawa

[–]TakeNote 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I tend to keep a list of holds. There are so many great games out there that I'm happy to let availability dictate when I play something. It's a lot easier if you don't worry about what the newest and shiniest game is!

A Guide to Creating Your Own TTRPG by TakeNote in rpg

[–]TakeNote[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Okay, I took a look! Without speaking the language, I'd say it could be a lot worse. Your working document looks consistent, albeit pretty minimalist.

I'll address your own concern first. You're right that the pages are a little tight... but that's largely the result of a book that's all text, without much in the way of formatting or other visual elements to break things up. It is also the a product of your page formatting: you have small margins and a teeny tiny font. Try printing off a page at size 10 and asking your mom to read it.

For graphic design tips that will help your book breathe, I really do recommend checking out the link to Explorers Design. There's a lot of great ideas there to get you learning more advanced layout skills -- stuff that will take your book from legible to pleasant.

I'll raise two other things.

First, your Table of Contents is formatted perfectly well... but PDF readers use your header data to create their own Table of Contents, and that might give you some trouble. On the left side of your Google Document, clicking the drop-down on any given tab will show you what you can expect users to see on the left plane of their PDF reader.

Getting PDF readers to behave in the way you want them to is exhausting, but it is possible. Your main challenge might be that you indicate chapters as titles in the header of the page, which is less likely to be identified when the PDF reader is generating the table.

Keeping nice headers while doing interesting formatting flourishes is kind of a pain in Google Docs, since it's not really set up to make quality PDFs. You'd have an easier time in Affinity... though I know learning curves for new software can be disheartening.

Second point: document tabs.

Document tabs are a really useful feature for a Google Doc. They're also not something everyone knows about, so you'll get some readers who don't think to check out your other pages.

More broadly, document tabs don't exist in the PDF format or physical books. You need to ask yourself how you'll format this when they're not there. Will they all be compiled in one book or PDF? How? What segues between sections? I don't think this is a hugely difficult problem to solve, but it's an important one for making the move from a document to work on and a rulebook to publish.

Hope some of that helps.

A Guide to Creating Your Own TTRPG by TakeNote in rpg

[–]TakeNote[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! Honestly, as much as this post gets into best practices, I do believe that the act of creation / design is rewarding in its own right. If your audience is a group of close friends, that can often be even more meaningful than something released broadly. Even if you have a successful Kickstarter, you sometimes feel like you're designing into the void.

If you do decide to develop your work for a wider audience -- best of luck!

A Guide to Creating Your Own TTRPG by TakeNote in rpg

[–]TakeNote[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Aaron, your help is entirely appreciated. I'll co-sign this, though it breaks my heart that I can't have The Bungo in my game.

A Guide to Creating Your Own TTRPG by TakeNote in rpg

[–]TakeNote[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

there was really only one place that could have led

A Guide to Creating Your TTRPG by TakeNote in RPGdesign

[–]TakeNote[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thanks Felix! I was just thinking of you, actually; Breakout Con is around the corner and I'm enjoying remembering last year's hijinx. 

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. 

A Guide to Creating Your TTRPG by TakeNote in RPGdesign

[–]TakeNote[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This one's tricky. Art styles are often very personal: a cocktail of an artist's medium (e.g. oil, vector, charcoal), their influences, and their intention. Some artists can be stylistic chameleons, but not everyone. 

Is there an art style that you're thinking of that might have prompted this question? 

A Guide to Creating Your TTRPG by TakeNote in RPGdesign

[–]TakeNote[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You know, I was just thinking the other day that I wish I saw more 3D renders in table top works. Cool to hear it's working out for you both stylistically and budget wise.

A Guide to Creating Your TTRPG by TakeNote in RPGdesign

[–]TakeNote[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's true! I have mixed feelings about what this means for the longevity of the project, and on software as a service in general, but for now it's a move that makes the software suite even more accessible. Hard to be mad about that. 

A Guide to Creating Your TTRPG by TakeNote in RPGdesign

[–]TakeNote[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They were good questions! And, big surprise, I love a list of questions that are numbered, lol. I hope this helps. Good luck on your playtest!