The exciting life of a hobbyist game designer - evaluating colour coded spreadsheets of character builds!

I've been meaning to try and it for a while but the chat over on the TIN discord nudged me towards just giving it a try.

I haven't come across that site before so I'll take a look. This is mostly just to try and improve my product photos but I'm also building up a props collection for convention games while I playtest a new spy game.

I threw together a test photo using various props I already had, not bad for a quick assembly of bits.

Ooh, I shall have to look that up. I've got a few fonts based on the early IBM electronic typewriters but always on the lookout for more options.

Why yes, I did just place a bid on eBay for some strips of microfiche so I can make some espionage photo mock-ups. Next, some hand made one time pads.

Having learned to drive in Somerset that feels narrow but not unusual - regularly drove on roads like that but I get why it can feel unsettling for a lot of people.

Somehow the various concept docs and drafts for my spy game have already crossed 15,000 words. There's a lot of repetition and ideas that have been rejected but for someone used to making small games it feels weird to have reached that number without intending to.

I bought it at expo but not yet got around to giving it a try. What are your initial thoughts on it?

Yes, it was really interesting to hear about your approach and the workbook is pure genius! I don't think I'd have ever considered it possible to structure a guide to building your own game in that way.

I am hoping it really grows in coming years, it was well organised and had a great vibe to it. Next year I'll probably either run something or get my own table.

Given the number of people that were at it I would say a lot of people knew about it but the marketing was very much local area given it was the inaugural event. Games were also only a small section of it - the primary focus was more literary.

I wonder if some of the stuff that @voidspacezine.bsky.social organise and host would be of interest - they sort of sit in that space between art/literature/games and feature a lot of experimental experiences

End of the week and I'm looking forward to attending the inaugural Questival in Port Sunlight tomorrow. I'm hoping it becomes a regular event and one I can support by offering games or having a table at in the future.

You're the second person I've heard say that this week, I'll have to take note of that when I schedule mine.

While I've been adding many notes to the working doc I finally managed a solid block of focused writing on my YZE this evening, rewriting character talents and crit tables. It's still an early WIP but I'm looking forward to a public outing at Dragonmeet.

Congrats to the winners, while I'd have loved to have been amongst them it was lovely just to see The Words We Leave Behind be nominated for Best Indie RPG.