Author Archives: Quirkworthy
Game Design: The Dreaded Roll and Move… Sort of
Some mechanics are considered weak, redundant, or just plain bad by most gamers, and leading the march of this sorry band is roll and move. Roll and move does what it says on the tin. It’s simple, unsophisticated, and when … Continue reading
World-Building: A Vast Zooniverse
As Douglas Adams tells us in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: “Space is big. Really big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down the road … Continue reading
Illustration: Chicken Scratches
Over the last few weeks I’ve been getting back into drawing. Unsurprisingly, this plan, like all others, has needed modifying when it confronted reality. In this case, it’s the digital aspect. I thought that I’d be able to focus mostly … Continue reading
Game Design: A Load of Chit
When I started work on the Old Skool Skirmish (OSS) system, the main challenge was to make it feel like it belonged in the 80s. At the heart of my approach was to focus on old mechanics, and I soon … Continue reading
World-Building: Be Consistent
This is the first article of a several-part series on different aspects of a core world-building topic: consistency. The basic message is very simple: your world must be internally consistent. Doesn’t matter if it’s science fiction or fantasy, and it … Continue reading
Illustration: Blasted Art
Earlier, I said I was after a specific style of art for Blast ’Em! What I have in mind is the loose and sketchy sort of black and white, pen and ink illustrations that were common in the early 80s. … Continue reading
Game Design: Challenge Yourself
As I mentioned on Monday, I’m swapping out Project Shuriken for the moment while I polish my drawing skills a bit more. The replacement is a tabletop SF skirmish game called Blast ’Em! This is the first outing of what … Continue reading
World-Building: What Not To Tell Them
Today I’ve got a couple of things to talk about. The first is a change in the two projects I’m focussing on at the moment. I’m putting Project Shuriken to one side for a little while. This is simply a … Continue reading
World Pangolin Day
It’s today. The reason this is relevant on Quirkworthy.com will take a long time to wriggle out from under other projects, but trust me when I say that pangolins make sense. Plus, they’re really weird and intriguing beasties anyway, so … Continue reading
Game Design: Where Do Ideas Come From Anyway?
Over the years I’ve often been asked where I get my ideas from. It’s a standard question that is often posed to any writer or designer. There are several ways to reply. The most honest answer is to admit that … Continue reading
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