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Apr. 17th, 2024 03:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yhleeI thought y'all might enjoy a redacted version of the "questionnaire" I did in getting a brief from a micro-TTRPG work for hire with a client who wanted to commission this to promote one of their original works. Note that some of this is specific to the client, [work] (which I am already familiar with), and purpose of the game (promotional).
Based on initial contact:
parameters so far
- promo for [thing]
- target format: [a few pages in length]
- one-shot
- can use cards, dice, or other randomizers
QUESTIONS
You do not need to have definite answers to any of these, and depending on the desired direction some of the questions may not even be relevant! It's just a list of possible things to discuss or consider, in roughly priority order. If this gets to be Too Much, you can stop reading at whatever point and we'll approach it at whatever is comfortable for you.
most important
- timeline and due dates for deliverables?
- what are the unique elements/selling points of the story/setting that you'd like the game to showcase?
- desired "vibes"? [based on the idea that one thing you want to design intentionally is the desired player experience; also relevant here for marketing/promotional purposes]
- what kinds of interesting decisions do you want players to be making? [see above]
What I'm getting at with these are - of course, we all know gamers gonna gamer in terms of modding stuff in unhinged ways BUT if the purpose of the game is to attract people to [work] specifically, then the game ideally should not be GURPS lite; it should hook into the core appeal of [work].
other housekeeping
This is mechanics/production stuff mostly. If you have Strong Opinions ("I love this" or "ugh, velociraptor-themed plushie mechanics, DNW"), I can work with that. If you're at "do whatever works" and would rather be more hands off, I can do that too - whatever makes you comfortable.
Please feel free to note down any other items for discussion as they occur to you! This isn’t intended to be comprehensive.
- desired playtime? for a one-shot I'm guessing 2-3 hours tops (and of course unhinged gamers can do WEIRD THINGS to this).
- cooperative vs. standard GM-driven? ("whichever works better" is totes legit)
- target playgroup size?
- should there be a solo mode? (in a smol design, this may make the design a little trickier, depending on other parameters) [I know this client enjoys solo RPGs, hence asking]
- character classes and/or pregenerated characters? in a one-shot that minimizes prep, classes/pregens (maybe with a few customization options to keep the players happy) can streamline things tremendously
- off-the-shelf components (for simplicity/cheapness?) - e.g. regular poker deck vs. custom print-and-play.
- do you want this to be compatible with "expansions" - that is, for instance, do you want this to be designed so that one could pretty easily do follow-up one-shots, as opposed to hyper-specific to a certain scenario (and for a game this size, I could probably also design it so you can DIY follow-up one-shots if you'd rather!)
- parameters for playtesters?
Based on initial contact:
parameters so far
- promo for [thing]
- target format: [a few pages in length]
- one-shot
- can use cards, dice, or other randomizers
QUESTIONS
You do not need to have definite answers to any of these, and depending on the desired direction some of the questions may not even be relevant! It's just a list of possible things to discuss or consider, in roughly priority order. If this gets to be Too Much, you can stop reading at whatever point and we'll approach it at whatever is comfortable for you.
most important
- timeline and due dates for deliverables?
- what are the unique elements/selling points of the story/setting that you'd like the game to showcase?
- desired "vibes"? [based on the idea that one thing you want to design intentionally is the desired player experience; also relevant here for marketing/promotional purposes]
- what kinds of interesting decisions do you want players to be making? [see above]
What I'm getting at with these are - of course, we all know gamers gonna gamer in terms of modding stuff in unhinged ways BUT if the purpose of the game is to attract people to [work] specifically, then the game ideally should not be GURPS lite; it should hook into the core appeal of [work].
other housekeeping
This is mechanics/production stuff mostly. If you have Strong Opinions ("I love this" or "ugh, velociraptor-themed plushie mechanics, DNW"), I can work with that. If you're at "do whatever works" and would rather be more hands off, I can do that too - whatever makes you comfortable.
Please feel free to note down any other items for discussion as they occur to you! This isn’t intended to be comprehensive.
- desired playtime? for a one-shot I'm guessing 2-3 hours tops (and of course unhinged gamers can do WEIRD THINGS to this).
- cooperative vs. standard GM-driven? ("whichever works better" is totes legit)
- target playgroup size?
- should there be a solo mode? (in a smol design, this may make the design a little trickier, depending on other parameters) [I know this client enjoys solo RPGs, hence asking]
- character classes and/or pregenerated characters? in a one-shot that minimizes prep, classes/pregens (maybe with a few customization options to keep the players happy) can streamline things tremendously
- off-the-shelf components (for simplicity/cheapness?) - e.g. regular poker deck vs. custom print-and-play.
- do you want this to be compatible with "expansions" - that is, for instance, do you want this to be designed so that one could pretty easily do follow-up one-shots, as opposed to hyper-specific to a certain scenario (and for a game this size, I could probably also design it so you can DIY follow-up one-shots if you'd rather!)
- parameters for playtesters?
