There is a phenomenon I am familiar with. In the presence of someone to keep me accountable, I have reflexive habits to maintain order in my life. I wake up on time, workout, walk the dog, make breakfast, shower, floss, brush my teeth, do the laundry, wash dishes, and even clean the bathroom as needed.
But alone…I enter full goblin mode. I spend the weekend in my underwear eating Cheetos and binging Supernatural. It’s a breakthrough if I remember to shower. This isn’t a fluke, it’s a reliable pattern, and it’s instantons. I feel myself degenerating even as Karen’s car pulls out of the driveway.
So this year, in preparation for being alone for four days, I made a plan…which eventually was named SeanCon! I invited friends over to play games, share meals, and sleep over. I had a lot of games I wanted to run and it turned out those were also games my friends wanted to play too. I was able to run everything I hoped for except Mothership, but I’m sure I’ll have another chance to run it soon.
I didn’t intend for this to stand in for for Big Bad Con, but it did offer a salve against the disappointment of it not happening this year. It was wonderful to see friends, play games, and talk design, share meals, and give everyone attending a chance to cuddle with the Sir Emmett!
Here were some game design notes that came out of our discussions.
- How many choices should be reactions vs. new content players create?
- Important things to know: What are we trying to do? Why? Do we know how to do it?
- Provide a list of things you need to know to play.
- How to teach elements over the course of the game?
- Make a list of every term a player needs to know: term / description / education required.
