Hi everyone!
I’ve recently been running a couple of workshops at MCM Comic Con, attempting to create Tabletop RPGs in an hour.
These have been generally successful and tend to go the same way: there are loads of ideas, and some of them can be combined together into something that’s really quite interesting and exciting – Era: Sharkninja actually came from this process!
I thought I’d take you through briefly what it is that we do, just in case you’re someone who may decide to turn up to one of our future workshops. I think that we’re improving every time (we’ve run three so far).
So I start by asking the attendees of the workshop, the people who are going to work together on this game, for some ideas on what we might do. So I take the ideas and I combine them together to make – and this will be of no surprise if you listen to my general advice about creativity – is a project paradigm.
Then we split up into groups! Each group has a set of things to work on and decide:
One group works on mechanics, weapons, what equipment is available and such.
One group works on the world – what is it like to live in it? What locations and factions are of note?
And one group works on the character aspect – what do people play as, and how do they play?
The next big part of it is actually the world building groups – sometimes one table, sometimes two – stand up and explain to everyone what it is that they have decided only a few minutes in, so that everyone can align.
At the end of an hour, we have a fair amount of material, and we use it to go over well, we go over it briefly before ending.
From there, it’s up to me to put together the ideas that we have, make sure the mechanics are sound and tweak when necessary, and then get artwork, put it together and deliver a game like Era: Sharkninja.
It’s a great process, and I’m really pleased with the way it helps people understand their own creativity.
So if you’re around in London or another MCM when we’re doing this workshop, drop in, join us! Let’s see what we come up with.
– Ed
