Sunlight now Available at DriveThruRpg

My Game chef 2016 entry, Sunlight, is now available on DrivethruRpg in both Pay What You Want and full-color formats.  Written for the contest, and dedicated to our beloved dog, Yoshi, the game is a real-time webcam based role-playing game where one player is Command, who has to try to rescue the other players within a single hour.  The game uses innovative new systems, including blind tracing and resource allocation, and was greatly inspired by games such as Space Alert and Rafael Chandler's Viewscream.

Everyone who supported the original book is now able to download the full-colored version for free.

Hope you like it!

Retails at $3.00 at DrivethruRPG
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/187740/Sunlight

Pay What You Want version available too.
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/199032/Sunlight--PWYW-edition

So I didn't make it to the final cut

My entry to Game Chef 2015 didn't make the final cut.  But it was definitely an experience I plan to repeat in the years to come.  The creative challenge was invigorating and while I feel a bit sad my entry didn't make it to the finals, I still feel pretty psyched with the feedback I received.

I'm thinking now of at least releasing my work somehow on Drivethrurpg or something. I am not sure how yet, but it definitely feels like it needs to be born.

Congratulations to the finalists!

The finalists are:
Dragon, Fly by Paul Beakley
Dragonfly Brewing Company by Michael Wenman
Dreams of Dragonflies by D.X. Logan
Far Away From Home by Aleksandra Samonek
Good Night Fairy Theatre by Emily Griggs
ISP Dragonfly by Kevin Omans
REDREAM by RON LANGTON
Sisters of the Hive by Jordan Saxby
Stay, Still by Heather Silsbee
Tea Ceremony by Niamh Schönherr
The Long Sleep by Bill Templeton
Wings by David Rothfeder

See you again next year.

2015 Tally of 12 so far...

As of right now, it is July and I am pretty proud to say I've currently hit nine of the twelve game promise I started two years back. For those who are not familiar, I challenged myself to play or run at least 12 new games each year.  So far, this is my third year of embracing the challenge and if anything, it has allowed me gain so much new insight and ideas on game design and approaches.

The current tally includes:
1) End Of the World
2) Don't Rest Your Head
3) Fiasco: Bad Timing
4) Ryuutama
5) Roll20: Dungeon World
6) Bliss Stage
7) Companions

8) A Red and Pleasant Land

9) Apocalypse World

That means I am down to three to go for the year! 

Also, I recently found the courage to finally join this year's Game Chef and so far I'm hoping that my work was received well.  The challenge was definitely a fun experience and I do hope to take part in future challenges.  The game I wrote is called welcome to the EYEland and it sort of plays out like an odd Battle-Royale reality show game with a twist.  I have no idea how everyone else have found the game, but so far one review has come up (thank you Michael Wenman) and thankfully I didn't get that bad a score.

Those curious to see the review can check it out here: http://vulpinoid.blogspot.com/2015/07/game-chef-review-49-welcome-to-eyeland.html

The Gaming Seminars have taken a breather last month, however, and we hope to get them back on track this month.  I only have the problem of possibly not being available for the next one, which is sad cause of what we have in mind to make it more awesome.  Eventually, we do hope to actually make them feel more like mini-conventions, and who knows maybe eventually a convention event devoted completely to role-playing games might come to pass.

And of course, a tiny table top gaming moment of joy comes from Twitter.  Rocky is teasing me about how much I am fanboying over the fact I am occasionally in communication with my designer idols.   I threw Ignacy a joke about whether he would even travel to the Philippines to play board games with me.  To my shock, he actually replied: 

The internet has truly made so many "dreams" now so much more plausible and achievable.    Now... to get my own book out soon.  Sighs.  I really should.

Game Chef 2015 idea #01

A group of teenagers once signed a release form to join Dream Island, a reality show where each contestant is given one full year to reach for his dreams no matter what they were supposed to be.  But something must have happened outside the island because all the cameras have gone still, and the show may have been abandoned.  The contestants may have been abandoned.  One contestant has been tracking the days and has just informed the others that 400 days have already passed and still no one has come to tell them the show is done.  No one at all.

The players are the Dragonflies.
The audience watching the still ongoing show, which is less about reaching for ones' dreams and more about seeing what a group of teenagers will do when they believe the world around them is gone and they are the only one's left.  Each player can monitor the island using their mobile multi-sensory drone cameras (nicknamed Dragonflies) to observe other contestants and prod them to do things.  Ultimately, each player wants a certain contestant to win.

Because in this reality show, the Audience is far from indifferent.

The Dragonfly robot in flight (Indiegogo) [Image taken from Yahoo![

Game Chef 2015 has begun

I'm hoping to join this year.  But man, I'm gonna have to find a way to squeeze it in with all my other responsibilities and stuff.  This week is a heavy week for me, sadly.

This year's theme is:  A Different Audience

And the Ingredients are:

1. abandon
2. dragonfly
3. stillness
4. dream

I have to find a concept, create a game using two to three of the ingredients, and finish it within 9 days.   I wonder if I have what it takes?