Design

The Shrieker Podcast 009: Nicholas Hopkins

After making things awkward with baby chickens, Nicholas Hopkins returns to The Shrieker to talk to us about the development of his first game.

Cyclopean Stars is a lovecraftian (not to be confused with cthulhuian) Powered by the Apocalypse game. Nick felt driven to write this game because other games in the genre just don’t do what he wants. Call of Cthulhu, the first mythos game, introduced a sanity mechanic to RPGs. Trail of Cthulhu, using the Gumshoe system, created a more flexible investigation system. Tremulustries really hard to emulate Call of Cthulhu, which was a misstep in Nick’s estimation. In Cyclopean Stars Nick wants to make a modern, narrative driven, long term game that is low prep (with a procedurally generated mysteries) that lets players quickly get wrapped up in a messy, corrupting world where you can’t help but get isolated from your past live. Nick’s game is still pretty early in it’s development but he’s hoping to playtest it as much as possible at Origins. You can follow or get involved in the development of Cyclopean Stars on the game’s G+ community.

This month you can download a Lovecraft inspired Apocalypse World style front, ready to drop squamulous horrors into your game.

The Free RPG Society: Quill is a pay-what-you-want, solo RPG based on letter writing. It’s fun but might not actually be an RPG. Look for a full a review on the Geeks Rising blog.

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The Shrieker Podcast 007: Jonathan Zimmerman

Jonathan Zimmerman talks to us about Nighttime Guardians, a simple game about teddy bears protecting sleeping children from things that go bump in the night.

Jonathans’s first game aims to be accessible through its simplicity. The rules are short, filling one double-sided page. The game only requires a handful of common six sided dice. The subject matter and simplicity should make the game usable by even the youngest players. The core game is available as a pay-what-you-want but future supplements will likely have a small fixed price.

This month you can download Quimcy Sluran’s Slumber, a short adventure for Nighttime Guardians.

The Free RPG Society: The demo version of Golden Sky Stories is a trimmed down but completely usable version of the full game. Its unique genre and resolution mechanic make this a game that everyone should try at some point.

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The Paper Robots Episode 60: Brian Petty

In this episode Logan chats with the talented  Brian Petty as Brian lets him come by his workshop for an interview.

Brian makes everything from 501st Star Wars armor and helmets to replica quality models and his own original masks. I felt like a kid at a candy shop when I saw all the different things he had hung on his shelves and in progression tables. This man is amazingly talented and so kind. He shared a lot of what it was like to get started and how he is more than willing to help out people getting started in costume design.

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Facebook/Brian Petty
IG: PETTY.BRIAN