Over the weekend, Nate and I proposed a duel. The challenge: Create an original RPG in an hour based on 10 random prompts. We originally planned to rate our games directly and decide the “Superior Game” right there and then.
We realized as we went on that we really couldn’t try to compare the two games we wrote. We decided at that point that we have a selection of listeners who might be willing to chime in and help us understand which game they like the best. Therein is today’s news segment.
Comment, email us, or tweet at us with your favorite game, and we’ll tell you who the winner is next time on The Drunk and the Newsies!
Thermite and Thylacines (Matt’s Game)
The Crystal Rock School for the Artistically Gifted (Nate’s Game)
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And here I would have just made Breaking bad with thylacine.
You guys are awesome. If I had bewbs, I’d let you sign them.
Yes i’m shore Amanda likes hearing that.
Okay my vote at the end here are my notes. The way I critique things is on content and execution so bear with the rambling and poor word choices.
Thermite and Thylacines =
Mouseguard in Australia with Thermite. – plus
Came together well for only an hour. – plus
The dice mechanics are kinda meh. – minus
Its a silly system that can fit a lot of story niches but maintain its core appeal. – plus
Crystal Rock School for the Artistically Gifted =
Definitely Slice of Life. Not my favorite style so lets keep going.
Feels like the show “Recess” and The Persona series relationship thingy. Interesting concept. – plus
The Pyro Chefs just gives me the image of Murdock from the new A-Team movie cooking scene. Gun Powder grilling. – plus
Nate has the system more filled out in an hour and can be set in multiple settings/ideas like Matt. – plus
One dice is a definite plus. – plus
I think the main reason for my vote is the sales pitch in the recording. Reading both systems Nate and Matt have a off-beat but informative way of world building and giving the rules. But in the recording I don’t get the same manic (bad word choice) feel from Nate as I did from Matt. Nate was toned down during his presentation while Matt was bouncy and upbeat.
Winner this round: Matt
It’s true. Having spent a good deal of time with Matt in person, I can now safely say that he is a 6’3 or 6’4 ball of pure energy. Conversely, I’m pretty much the least expressive person you’ll ever meet.
I think the best way to tell which system is “superior” would be to run a one or one and a half hour game for both systems to show off the mechanics and feel of the games. I am saying this in both the interest of fairness and accuracy, and because schadenfreude pushes me to ask you to do ridiculous things with even more ridiculous time restraints. On the bright side, it would give you fodder for the ubiquitous ‘Example of Play’ section that every RPG must have. You could likely just three-man it with those present, or you could round up a group of ne’er-do-wells from the internet on short notice. I am positive there is no short supply of folks willing to play hyper-intelligent dingoes or eccentric art students.
This is an excellent idea. We might very well do just that.
I thought that was a given.
Well, yes; we’ve done a playtest of one of these games, but it was a three hour game. Doing two hour-and-a-half games paired back to back, rather than full three to four hour games, would probably be best.
So I found this sitting in my library last night having downloaded and never listened to it, and as an honorary Australian, I feel obligated to point out that a: Tasmania is actually a state of Australia on the island bottom right of the continent, and b: Thylacines/Tasmanian Tigers technically aren’t actually dingoes (Tassie Tigers were native, dingoes are not) and I personally think Thylacines vs Dingoes subplot would have made Matt’s game cooler.
But seriously, aside from that, his system sounds kick-ass.