Posted by Jason on June 30th, 2008 — in Business Solutions, Design, Medical Hospital
I had a playtest-fest yesterday; Clinton did a splenic bypass. I’d been at a creative impasse with Business Solutions in particular and that’s over now. The thing I’m doing with Medical Hospital - the tactile, player-skill-equals-character-success thing - turns out to be just the ticket for Business Solutions as well. Clinton pointed this out and I’m so happy about it. We played enough alpha Medical Hospital for me to proceed with confidence and man, Business Solutions is pretty much done. I just need to run a few full games, get it out there for some blind testing, and that’s that. A pretty exciting development! I’m not sure how long it’ll take to come together but I bet it’ll be ready in the early fall. Information design will be a big challenge and I want to get that just right - the game relies on stuff you need to reference more or less constantly, and I’m not yet sure how to present those things in the clearest possible way. It’ll fall into place, I’m sure. Maybe the list of photocopier malfunctions goes on the back of the character sheet or something. Thanks to Joel, Clinton, and Mike for their help and ideas!
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Posted by Jason on June 21st, 2008 — in Check this out dude, Design
My entry in the Fight On! Adventure Writing contest. I was reading about African witchcraft and how witches make torches out of the anal gland paste of hyenas, and the next thing you know, zam! Adventure! I statted it for The Shadow of Yesterday, which probably dooms me to derisive scorn from the old skool judges, but it’d be easy to run in any system. If you ran it in 4e you’d need a 7-9th level party, because Gnolls are unapproachably badass in 4e.
Posted by Jason on June 15th, 2008 — in Design
OK, so everybody picks a character (there are eight to choose from, including a dead professor and a pair of dogs). You have a sheet with a description, a special ability you can use once per adventure, and three traits. Two are positive and one is negative. You draw a playing card and put it face-down over any three numbers in a card sequence, two through king, printed on your sheet. Like so:
The game revolves around creating situations for other player’s characters to deal with. Once you’ve set one up, their player draws a card and compares it to their sequence. If it is below or above the blocked part of the sequence, a positive thing happens related to the low or high trait. If the draw occurs in the blocked portion of the card sequence, a negative thing happens based on the bad trait. if you draw a two or a king, the card gets flipped horizontally, to cover five numbers, like so:
Your character succeeds, but with sacrifice - things are going to be harder for you. A second draw of a two or king switches it back. You keep drawing cards and creating narrative challenges for each other until an ace shows up, which is the signal that the chapter can end at any time. There are five chapters in a complete adventure.
There’s more to it than this (each chapter is driven by situation elements and there are crises that can pop up to make use of special powers or kill characters), but at its heart it is a very simple storytelling game with few moving parts. I think it will behave, in play, very much like the loopy fifties adventures of the books. Anyway, thanks, Trollbabe!
Posted by Jason on June 9th, 2008 — in Design, Medical Hospital
I wanted a way to simulate cardiac emergencies that are a staple of medical dramas, and reading through The Scut Monkey’s Handbook (Clinician’s Pocket Reference, 7th Edition), I found my answer in the rigid steps of the ACLS protocol. So:
MEDICAL HOSPITAL: CARDIAC ARREST
At each step in the protocol, the doctor announces the procedure and an assistant randomizes. A zero digit (or ten on a ten-sided die) indicates a successful return to a normal heart rhythm. The doctor can increase the odds of success by taking stress – one point of stress may be accrued per step, and increases the odds of success by 10%. Thus, if a doctor adds a point of stress, all further attempts will succeed on a nine or ten. If a doctor steadily adds stress, the chances of success increase accordingly. Only one point of stress may be added per step. After randomizing, the assistant reports the patient’s status to the doctor.
1. Check for pulse. If absent, initiate basic CPR. Check rhythm. If ventricular fibrillation or tachycardia is occurring, continue to perform basic CPR until a defibrillator is available. When available, apply paste and place paddles as directed on handles. Defibrillate at 200 joules. Clear!
If no conversion, continue.
2. Defibrillate at 300 joules. Clear!
If no conversion, continue.
3. Defibrillate at 360 joules, maximum output. Clear!
If no conversion, resume CPR and continue.
4. Establish an IV line and give epinephrine 1:10,000 solution 0.5-1.0 mg IV push. Intubate if possible. Defibrillate at 360 joules. Clear!
If no conversion, continue.
5. Give lidocaine 1 mg per kg of patient weight, IV push. Defibrillate at 360 joules. Clear!
If no conversion, continue.
6. Repeat lidocaine at 0.5 mg per kg of patient weight IV push. Defibrillate at 360 joules. Clear!
If no conversion, continue.
7. Give bretylium 5 mg per kg of patient weight, IV push. Consider bicarbonate or additional lidocaine bolus. Defibrillate at 360 joules. Clear!
If no conversion, patient dies.
So it’s a dumb little mini-game where the doctor must accrue stress to succeed, and the question is how much, and when. Meanwhile, you’ve got the defibrillator going, some drama at the table, I think it’ll be fun. Don’t use the above protocol to try and convert somebody for real, please.
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Posted by Jason on May 16th, 2008 — in Check this out dude, Design
The Game Chef results are in, and my game Dulse ended up in second place in the “best game” category. Which makes me really happy! I’m proud of the game and can’t wait to playtest it. Being recognized feels like icing on the cake after a very productive, very positive Game Chef experience this year.
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