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The half hour RPG
I'm not quite there yet. HGMO is close but there's still some room for improvement. But I think we can get RPGs down to half an hour total playtime, prep included.
Why would we want this? Because getting our entertainment in small chunks means it's easier to play and less of a social and personal drain.
The design path here is Breaking the Ice -> Shooting the Moon, It Was a Mutual Decisions -> Drifter's Escape -> S/Lay w/Me -> HGMO where we're not talking about direct descent but technique development.
Here are my thoughts about the things that shorten game time.
1) Definite end-point to play that is non-mechanical. Mechanical end-points can speed up play in longer games, but in games of this size they often extend play artificially. Thus, you want an end-point that is reached fictionally.
2) Play in explicit, short turns, around the table, with resolution integrated into the turns.
2a) Be able to pass on said turns productively.
3) Restrict action to a simple choice set or clear creative range. Allow room to break this if needed.
4) Fixed roles, with extra players slotted into existing roles rather than added as new characters.
5) If there is a GM, GM prep consists of at most three pick-lists. GM is also part of the standard turn structure.
5a) Probably a GM makes the game slower, because of the other mechanical things a GM demands. But we'll see.
6) While the end of the game is not mechanical, there is an immediate mechanism for moving the game along: introducing conflict, developing plot, etc. that triggers rapidly.
7) Think in terms of "this happens now" rather than "this can't happen yet."
Why would we want this? Because getting our entertainment in small chunks means it's easier to play and less of a social and personal drain.
The design path here is Breaking the Ice -> Shooting the Moon, It Was a Mutual Decisions -> Drifter's Escape -> S/Lay w/Me -> HGMO where we're not talking about direct descent but technique development.
Here are my thoughts about the things that shorten game time.
1) Definite end-point to play that is non-mechanical. Mechanical end-points can speed up play in longer games, but in games of this size they often extend play artificially. Thus, you want an end-point that is reached fictionally.
2) Play in explicit, short turns, around the table, with resolution integrated into the turns.
2a) Be able to pass on said turns productively.
3) Restrict action to a simple choice set or clear creative range. Allow room to break this if needed.
4) Fixed roles, with extra players slotted into existing roles rather than added as new characters.
5) If there is a GM, GM prep consists of at most three pick-lists. GM is also part of the standard turn structure.
5a) Probably a GM makes the game slower, because of the other mechanical things a GM demands. But we'll see.
6) While the end of the game is not mechanical, there is an immediate mechanism for moving the game along: introducing conflict, developing plot, etc. that triggers rapidly.
7) Think in terms of "this happens now" rather than "this can't happen yet."
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Or, just make 3 versions of the game, like episodes or books.
"Spacegame: The Moons of Minos", "Spacegame: Altair's Lost Children", "Spacegame: The Lost Colonies", etc.
You end up cutting out the GM still, and people who really get into it and want some variety (or to play all 3 back to back) can do that.
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*ears perk*
Re: *ears perk*
http://www.metafilter.com/87579/Designing-Space-Fighters-and-Marines
Re: *ears perk*
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The fastest game with a GM is S/lay w/Me. The GM prep for that game is "pick one thing from four lists of four items each." That's about the max I could expect.
Ultimately, I don't know if a GMed solution is the right one.
yrs--
--Ben
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Space explorers on a small (3 - 7 crew) ship, perhaps...
Hm...