Let's Make a Game

Let’s Make a Game

When I first got into this hobby it was all about the game for me. The rules, the books, the miniatures, the dice, and of course the adventure.

Like most people once I settled on my game of choice…GURPS of course. I couldn’t get enough. GURPS 3rd Edition seemed to come out with a new sourcebook every month and my bulging bookshelf can attest to how many of those things I bought. I played the games and I loved the games, but I never thought about making the games.

Then one day I saw on Illuminati Online, Steve Jackson games website, that they were taking submissions for a new source book. GURPS COPS.

Perfect.

Well, I had to throw my hat into the ring.

It was my first attempt at writing and there is a reason you have never read a published book from me. (side note: I have published a fair number of professional articles for books and magazines since then, but that was definitely filled with first timer mistakes).

The process changed me.

Prior to that I never even thought of creating my own thing. But since then, that’s all I do. Homebrew rules, homebrew characters, and homebrew worldbuilding. But I am far from a game designer.

And then I met Christina and Mike. The real game designers.

Between the two of them they have a half dozen published games and based on the conversations I get to overhear there are more on the horizon.

Recently we discussed IPs that should be made into roleplaying games and the more I thought about it the more I thought it would be an interesting look behind the scenes of game design.

So, for this episode Mike, Christina and I are going to design a game. And that game is the Godzilla Roleplaying Game.

In full discloser I didn’t just now surprise Mike and Christina with this topic although I was sorely tempted. I gave them a heads up it was coming last week, so they have had a week to let the idea percolate.

With that said, where do we start Mike?