Game Design Friday: Gygaxian

[Scott Jon Siegel]

Game Design Friday: Gygaxian

Gygaxian is a competitive creation game, with several "dungeon masters" (known here as GameGods) battling for control over the direction of a fantasy world. The sole Player moves about this world, in search of whatever treasure or other ultimate goal he chooses. Meanwhile, the GameGods build the world as the player traverses it, extemporaneously creating the map and its details through description (and dice).

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[sharp_as_a_cork]

Just a quick note on game mechanics:
As I understand it, a GG who rolled low for Confidence will never be able to take control of the game, not to mentiopn the fact that a GG with triply low scores is truly and utterly fucked. (As was the case in D&D all those years ago).

 

[Archon]

This is, by far, my favorite of your game designs, and something I think we might sit down and try for the sheer improvisational hilarity.

 

[Scott Jon Siegel]

As I understand it, a GG who rolled low for Confidence will never be able to take control of the game, not to mentiopn the fact that a GG with triply low scores is truly and utterly fucked. (As was the case in D&D all those years ago).

Well, a GG can choose which of his rolls to commit to which attribute, although a GG who rolls triply poor is indeed a bit "fucked" as they say. Can we think of an elegant design solution to this problem?

Remember that creating items adds to your confidence. So if we allow GameGods who are not in control of an area to create things in that area, this problem goes away. (It also makes it so that those not currently in control have something to do other than sit on their hands)

The problem with this idea is that it turns the world-creation into a collaborative effort, rather than a competitive one. Still, the idea of a Confidence boost for non-active GGs is worth looking into. Maybe a sort of peripheral "mini-game" could be played by the non-controlling GGs in order to boost Confidence (like heckling). Any suggestions for how this mini-game could work?

This is, by far, my favorite of your game designs, and something I think we might sit down and try for the sheer improvisational hilarity.

I'm happy to hear you enjoyed it! This month's design will be a bit more low-key, returning to my love of simple dice games, coupled with the fast-paced tempo of Pounce and the head-pounding pattern recognition of Set.