do rpgs have to be about numbers?
mini-article is up front, dev update is further down
it's something i've been thinking about a lot lately. i'm not someone who naturally comes up with new game mechanics, i'm much more of a story-focussed person, but one thing i do like to think about is a new type of rpg that moves beyond numbers as the basis of everything. obviously this is pretty hard.
we use numbers for a reason. even if people complain about too much maths or keeping track too many stats, it is generally just the easiest method of play to say something like "if you hit this number you pass, if you fall under you don't". i probably don't play enough rpgs for me to feel this way, but i don't think anything truly revolutionary can be done in the world of rpgs until we find a way to move beyond numbers altogether. tbh, replacing numbers on a die with drawing cards or using tokens is still "numbers" to me, because they could still somewhat easily be substituted with just using numbers.
i'm generally not satisfied with just a pure-roleplay solution either, as i feel like that's just a different, albeit related, hobby. i still want some kind of guiding structure. so here's a stupid idea with variations i've been thinking about lately but will probably never bother to implement into an actual mechanic or system. if you use it idc about credit but at least don't try to prevent others from using the same concept (because i know you'll all be scrambling to use these totally sensible concepts):
the organic rpg
- use some sort of organic medium to determine outcomes in the game. would probably be better suited to slower formats like play-by-mail or solo journaling games
- plants - the most obvious choice. plant-based makes fun wordplay. grow a plant and use the plant's growth to influence how you play. the success of the plant influences character traits or scenarios, maybe in-game situations force you to take worse care of the plant (e.g. leaving a shade-requiring plant in the full sun), or bonuses in game can give you fertiliser or something.
- sourdough starter (or other fermentation projects) - the more fun version as lots can go wrong, especially if you're inexperienced with fermentation and choose a tricky project (obviously growing dangerous mold is not an ideal situation in any scenario). similar things to before, the results of your fermentation influences what happens in the game. sourdough starters in particular would make fun gameplay as it multiplies pretty quickly - could work for something focussed on parasites or disease. could even translate how much bread you make out of the starter into some kind of mechanic.
- if you want to take a 1-1 approach of a game about taking care of something, a fermentation project works well as it's more abstracted from most concepts you could choose, e.g each player is a god and their jar of fermenting food is the universe they look after. allows for more creativity when you have to translate kimchi into an entire civilisation whose lives you dictate if you let the jar dry out accidentally.
- closed terrarium - setting one up and then just letting things go and having the results dictate the course of the game. similar as the ones above, but with slightly higher stakes as quite a bit more effort can go into it, especially if you include animals like fish (should be undertaken with a bit more care and responsibility in mind)
- why? i like the idea of having a living thing (that obviously would not result in cruelty of some form if mistreated lol) influence gameplay. the unpredictability can make things interesting and still allow for a small amount of randomness. the idea that working on the living thing can influence gameplay too is appealing - working hard to make sure you grow a healthy plant gives you a physical sense of achievement, as well as the fictional.
- isn't this just another form of numbers? unfortunately, yes. basically, you could replace the organic thing with just a random number generator (aka dice) and a table when it comes down to it, but at least you can influence the randomness more by choosing how to take care of it. watering your dice isn't going to make them roll better numbers lol.
let me know (see contact link) if anyone has ever attempted something like this or if you decide to try it out. and now onto my regular update.
updates
last weekend i went to the ryde library zine fair which was great. more tables there than i anticipated, with good variety and vibes. saw some familiar faces too! i made a zine to pass around just for fun, which i put up on itch for free, or you can download the pdf directly if you want.
zine fairs always get me pumped, the second i leave i want to hit up another one. i have plenty ideas for more zines to make, plus i recently discovered millie's decker zine maker for making printable zines in decker which is great! definitely will use this. i also got some supplies for making zines physically (aka how everyone made them) so i want to try making some that way too.
i was mostly sick this week so not much work done, however i think i have finally found a solution to my writing space issue even though it may seem like more effort than it needs to be. basically just installed a fountain plugin to obsidian and will write each scene's script in obsidian, give all of them a number and then use the numbers to organise each scene in a graph so i can keep track of the overall flow. this seems more difficult because of swapping back and forth, and how the graph will literally only show the scene numbers so it's not super read-able but i think it's working for me. whatever just gets me writing. unfortunately articy draft x really is just the best software but it costs a billion dollars so i'm never going to use it lol.