- Cosmology, religion, and ritual practice.
- A solid rule and skill system, clearly written and available.
- Pictures and visuals from the gameworld.
- A detailed geography and climate with regional information and a map.
- Suggestions for clothing, make-up, and props.
- A guide to game-appropriate weapons and armor.
- Culture write-ups for regions or ethnic groups.
- A rich political system that PC can immediately join.
- A guide to NPCs that a character would know or about whom a character would have information.
- A timeline and current-events log for the game.
- An active and usable forum system, website, and character database.
- A bestiary.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
World Building: What Do You Look For in a New Universe?
This is just a quick post that is really more for my edification. I'm currently writing LARP background plot for the up-and-coming Invictus. I love to write, so I find myself lost in the little details. However, I'm wondering what people look for in new game universe information. What sort of things get you to play a game? What do you need to successfully build a character? What is unimportant? What do games often leave out, that you wish was included? Consider the following topics, how important are they to you?
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I'm a sucker for the fantasy genre. No matter how good the rest of it is, it's likely not going to grab me. Endgame, for instance, sounded really awesome, but it's not the genre I want.
ReplyDeleteThe next thing is the staff, specifically the GM first. If I like and respect that individual I'm far more likely to play than otherwise.
Then the enthusiasm with which word is being spread. At the same time that 7 Virtues was being spread around there was another game that was also starting up. No one ever heard about the other game, but 7V was being spread by a very vocal staff. It's not that the other group wasn't enthusiastic about their game, they just didn't push it out there. The other game died out without getting off the ground. Too bad because it too sounded pretty cool.
That was all before even getting to the stuff you mentioned. Of course, I could just be weird (as if that's even in question).
Once I'm hooked, though, a solid rule and skill system, hand-in-hand with a world overview and racial/culture packages are all needed together to form a character concept.
Cosmology is not so important in my opinion as that should unfold as the game is played, not be given to the players, unless you mean here's what characters in this world *perceive* as cosmology going in.
The only pictures I need, 'need' being a subjective term, are pictures of the racial makeup, if any, to get consistency and meet the game designer's vision. Visual guides to clothing, armor and weapons are a nice to have too.
A map is cool, but not critical.
Geography and climate? This is live action, including the terrain and weather. Maybe I'm not understanding this one.
Really, if my character *needs* something to start the game then players should have it. If we can learn it in-game, then I don't think we need it. Every game setting will be different in that regard.
Cosmology is a good point-- even if the world cosmology is well-fleshed out, as a player, unless I start as a priest, I'm really more interested in finding my match. However, I think it's nice to have a basic understanding of what each religion does, once you come into game. For instance, if I walked into Madrigal, as a Lochsmoorian, and had no idea what the Green Man was, I'd feel weird.
DeleteGeography and climate-- this is more for background than anything else. For example, in Madrigal the Rhoemurgian climate, rugged with harsh winters, provides background for some of the people from that region. I think it's a smaller concern-- we're mostly in temperate new england--, but it can add to a character.