Hey BGDF Aficionados
I am in the process of designing a board game and seek your assistance, input, and ingenuity. My wish is to create a board game that really captures the essence of a Role Playing Game. To achieve that, I see two key factors: character development and story.
The character development is achieved through quests, combat, crafting, exploration, and simply game progression. Right now, I'm happy with how I have these mechanics designed and maybe will seek advice on it later.
Where I would like help is how to convey story through my game. I am considering having a comic or picture book come with the game, that would tell a little backs story, as well as the story of the game, and possibly a little bit afterwards. (Side Note: the story is also being told through the quests as the players progress through them.) My only issue with the comic idea is that the characters played by the players will be the players' creation (in other words, they aren't pre-made characters to choose from). I've considered having the comic tell the story through one of the main characters, which would be an NPC, such as the King or a common soldier, but then how would the story/comic connect to the characters (ie players)? I feel like that would be a major disconnect, as players want to see themselves as part of the story (it is a role playing game, so that's pretty crucial). Could the comic tell the story with a party of "Filler Heroes"? If so, I could even have the Filler Hero templates (basically, pre-made characters created, with pre-made progression set for them). Also, the comic is only one idea. I'm open to different ideas. I've considered having an "Adventure Book" that is similar to a Pick-Your-Adventure story, where as the players play through the game and make choices, they can consult the adventure book for the narrative, based on the choices they make. This could allow for multiple stories, and coincidentally, replay value and game appeal.
Anyways, what are your thoughts on the best methods to convey the story? Also, how important do you think the story is to the players? Would you be interested in reading a comic that came with the board game, or would you just toss it aside and get right into the action? What if the comic coincided with the game and it was a reference for in-game play?
Thanks in advance for your advice and thoughtful attention.
Cheers,
20%
Hey Orangebeard
Thank you very much for your thoughtful attention to my post. You have a really interesting and unique idea for the game that would give the players an engaging method of questing, and that is definitely something for me to consider.
To give a little bit more detail about my story (and game), players will get to choose to be play either the Good Side or the Bad Side, to allow both cooperative and competitive game play. My plan was for the game's story to be continuous throughout the game. The story is quite more detailed than a simple "Village A is being pillaged by Orcs or Trolls... go slay them for a reward." I know you were just stating an example, but my point is the story is much bigger, as in there will be a decent back story about how the Bad Side is growing forces, rampaging across the land, and massing an invasive army against the Good Side. Players will have two types of quests through the game, Story Quests (specific for each side), and Town/Side Quests (random quests drawn from a deck, not side specific). Both types of quests were going to be pretty similar in scope to your example, in that they may require one or two shorter sequences of events for the players to unravel. The difference is that the Story Quests will be side specific and play in sequence, getting more and more difficult with better rewards. Also, they will be tied to the Final Climactic Event of the game. The Town/Side Quests would be available to all players from either side and would be drawn randomly from a pool (at least, that was my initial idea).
My initial post was about how to convey the story of the game (ie, the Story Quests) and possibly convey it through another medium, such as a comic. Your idea of a Mad Lib/Choose Your Own Adventure is a great idea and still could be worked on the scale of what I'm thinking for the story. Possibly during the Game Setup, players could fill out their Adventure Sheets with the monsters/treasures per your idea, and then play out the game. Alternatively, the Story Quests could allow for choices to be made, with each choice leading to alternate story progressions. The choices the players make from the Story Quests could be referenced to the Adventure Book, with corresponding narrative for each choice.
I do like your idea quite a bit, and think it would be an interesting method to engage the players while providing re-playability. If you have any other interesting ideas or comments, I'd be interested in hearing them, especially since I've given a few more details about my conceptual design.
Thanks again,
20%