*cracks knuckles*

Just to remember, people: I won the last BPG Design Challenge. And I'm back to claim the victory belt again, weak mortals. Let's see you take on [booming announcer voice] JOE THOMAS MCDONNNNNAAAAAAALLLLLLLLDDDDDD[/booming announcer voice], and win the [booming announcer voice] UUULLLLLLLTIMATE CHALLENGE[/booming announcer voice].

Yeah, that's just my way of saying, "I'm in. This is awesome. Let's all rock this."

I am not going to participate in this, as i am to busy watching backlog episodes of heroes and postulating what a Dr. Strange movie would be like. I did however instantly come up with an idea for a game that i'm just gonna throw out right here.

In distant future global warming has made earth scorchingly hot at the equator and unlivable on 75% of the surface (screw fact, screw science, and especially screw al gore this is how it will work) Only places in the northern most climbs are still habitable in the slightest sence. It is atop Mt. Mckinly man's salvation will arrive. A team of scientist saw the end of man coming and they began to develope a system to save us all. They built an AI engine that would learn and grow and think and figure stuff out. They booted it up just as the last humans were dying off. The servers were kept in alaska.

The players are AI that doesn't know they aren't really alive. They beleive they are a group of scientists on a mountain trying desperatly to save humanity. Slowly over time they begin to notice that things that would kill or age them or harm them or whatever don't (like in "Tuck Everlasting"). Eventually they will realize that they are not human and rather ALL of humanity has been destroyed. They players on a Meta only level need to work (perhaps co-operatively in a puzzle solving capacity, perhaps competitivly against each other) to build a human clone before they realize that the task is impossible.

This game is Player vs. Character. The "character" is the live human who thinks he's on a mountain. The "player" is the computer software that knows that it can't actually clone humanity, only duplicate and vary it's own AI creating a sort of alaskan dream world akin to the matrix, but benevolent.

Characters are all pre-made by the designer. They do not have similar looking character sheets, and they don't even roll dice or mechanically function the same way, but they are all in the same socially contracted competitive enviroment.

There is no GM.

For unknown reasons i was interested in haveing one NPC who is always present, and responsability of playing him is shared by all participants. He is an older man who lives and works in a general store kind of place not far from "base camp" (base camp being where all the PC's live and work). He supplies the players with food and any item that they may need. Whether or not this character is actually human, another AI, a divine being, or other is up in the air and to be determined by the players organically as the game goes on. The only color i specifically added to this guy was that he loves the work of Aaron Neville (i personally don't really have an opinion about him). And thus, Mr. Neville is always to be played during the session.

I'm gonna enter.

My software engineers are going to eat Joe MacDonald's brains, and then burn a whole ship in order to keep warm.

I've got an entry in progress. This should frighten no one YOU

Just to be clear, here are the judging criteria:

DISQUALIFIED FOR:

1,201+ words
3+ pages
Not sent to email address listed as a text file
Not published or linked to from Story Games thread
Submitted after 1 January, 23:00 GMT

POSSIBLE TWO POINTS EACH FOR:

Undead
Software
Engineers
Alaska
Chugach State Park
Illiamna lake monster
Dena'ina Athabascan language*
World War Two Aleutian campaign

Just mentioning it, or using it as color, is worth one point. If it is central to the game or has a mechanical effect, you'll get two points.

*Zero points for Ingalik, Holikachuk, Ahtna, etc.

POSSIBLE THREE POINTS EACH FOR:

Playability
Uniqueness
Alaskocity

One point for eh, two points for probably, three points for hell yeah.

Playability means the judge's ability to easily understand, visualize, and play the game as written.

Uniqueness is tough, because you'll be judged against other entries. Similar entries will result in low scores.

Alaskocity is a measure of how well the design embodies the ineffable principals dear to Alaskans*

*The list is long, but you can't go wrong with freedom and self sufficiency, perseverance through adversity, the indiscriminate use of drugs and alcohol, and black humor.

Your criteria seem oriented more towards RPG design - what if I want to do a CCG? can i have no more than 3 pages of instructions, or no more than 3 pages worth of cards? For boardgames, does the board count as a page? Either of those might also have difficulty being contained in a text file.

So it's a text file, plus two pages of possible other material?

My concept, titled "Deadline."

You are part of a software development team, trying to finish an excruciatingly boring financials package implementation before the customer, Subzero Petrochemical International, LLC., fires you. To better meet this nearly impossible deadline, your company has sent you to the customer's location in Anchorage, Alaska. You have two weeks to complete the software. Players will fill the roles of project manager, software developers, database administrators, business analysts, and quality assurance engineers.

If it weren't difficult enough, something is seriously wrong at SPIL. Everyone on the team has been working long hours and some have been acting more like the "walking dead" than usual, and infusions of coffee and Jolt Cola haven't been sufficient to get them back on schedule. It could be the cleaning solvents the customer uses at its plant, or perhaps it's the cold temperatures. Some say that one of the tribal chiefs put an ancient Athabascan curse on the company and everyone working for them. Whatever it is, you better get it under control and bring this project in on time, and under budget!

A player must manage their character's Fatigue or risk succumbing to the Zombie Sickness and become an undead monster who nevertheless continues to show up to work and play Doom and probably ruin the project. At the same time, the team must complete project Tasks and smash down Roadblocks or risk losing their jobs.

Or something like that. Some revision necessary after reading the new scoring rules. ;)

Title: Iliamna Unknown

Blurb: Having just launched a successful game, Undead, the software engineers go on vacation to Alaska. They travel up the Kvichak River in winter to reach Lake Iliamna. On the lake, they set up camp, and search for the Iliamna monster. Unknown by the engineers, the code in Undead has opened a tunnel to the spirit world. There is no going back.

Posted By: Jason Morningstarso I can count them

I get two different counts from two different pieces of software. Microsoft Word 2000 puts me in at 1196, and Scribus puts me much higher. If I go with the Microsoft Word count, the game as laid out with art will technically be a 24 hour rpg also, but I'd rather use the method that you're using because I'm cutting it close.

What method of counting are you going to use?

Yep, Scribus says ten and Word says 5. Still, the difference was 107 words. It must do that with hyphens also. So, which to trust. Jason, ruling?

Edit: It was all the foreign words that drove it so high.

Posted By: joepub*excluding the idea of world peace, but that one's even harder to implement than polarpunk.

My game brings about world peace, but it doesn't have polar bears, so there's no point in my submitting it since it will surely lose.

Finished! Here you go. And much more fun than everyone else's boring, look-at-my-detailed-setting roleplaying games.

SNOWY-ARSE GEEK ZOMBIES

A Game To Play In The Snow

by Graham Walmsley

1. THE IMPLAUSIBLE BACKSTORY

In 1943, the US invaded the Aleutian islands, to recapture them from the Japanese.

During the invasion, a gunshot triggered an avalanche, which trapped a team of crack Japanese engineers. They would have starved to death, were it not for some mystical thing*. Instead of dying, they became zombies.

For years, they remained trapped, with only their radio to pass the time. From the BBC World Service, they learnt of modern software and Information Technology.

Now, they have escaped, due to some disaster*. They dream of two things: recapturing the islands from the American occupiers and talking to everyone about software engineering.

In Chugach State Park, Alaska, it's time for the final showdown. Are you ready to face the UNDEAD SOFTWARE ENGINEERS?

2. THE FUN BIT

First, find a snowy field. Half of you play the UNDEAD SOFTWARE ENGINEERS. Half of you play the AMERICANS.

The UNDEAD SOFTWARE ENGINEERS advance towards the AMERICANS slowly, arms outstretched.

If an UNDEAD SOFTWARE ENGINEER touches an AMERICAN, the AMERICAN must stop. The UNDEAD SOFTWARE ENGINEER will talk Geek Speak** to him for 15 seconds. After that, the AMERICAN becomes an UNDEAD SOFTWARE ENGINEER.

The AMERICANS must try to escape the UNDEAD SOFTWARE ENGINEERS.

They have one advantage: if an AMERICAN throws a snowball at an UNDEAD SOFTWARE ENGINEER, and hits him on the arse, the UNDEAD SOFTWARE ENGINEER must stay still for 15 seconds. Also, any AMERICANS they are talking Geek Speak to are released.

Carry on until everyone is an UNDEAD SOFTWARE ENGINEER or too cold to continue.

* Decide for yourself.
** e.g. "JavaScript was only called JAVA-script as a marketing exercise. It has little or nothing to do with the actual implementation of Java. David Tennant? Please. Patrick Troughton without the talent. And that bit where he fought the Illiamna was completely non-canonical. Qunsha deljek!"

There you go. I think it's clear which entry in this competition is the most fun to play.

Note how it includes all of those things Jason talked about. That'll teach him to have such a rigid marking system.

Graham

Well, "deljek" sounded like Dalek.

Graham

Okay, let me know if I've taken this too seriously:

The Hunger:
Undead Alaskan Software Engineers.
The Inuit exiled once human creatures, the ween dagoh (lit. “for myself only”,) to the farthest island from the mainland: Attu island. These once-human beasts had been cursed to undeath for eating the flesh of their fellow tribesmen and were doomed to hunger, stalking the hunters that were once their tribesmen.
In 1943, the Japanese invaded Attu island, establishing a base on the barren and forlorn isle. The forty-three inhabitants were captured, interrogated and forced into labor camps. Soon after these new prisoners were brought on, others began to disappear. Many thought they had been taken for experementation by the Japanese war machine until one of the missing was found; his bones had been stripped clean and cracked for the marrow.
When the Allies liberated the Attu Island refugees, they were relocated all across Alaska. Many settled near the Chugach State Park and the suburbs of Anchorage. Every year hunters, hikers and tourists disappear. Most are never found, some reappear only as skeletonized remains.
Tribe Software, Inc. relocated to Anchorage in the summer of 2002. Harsh winters and long nights quickly began to take their toll on the left-coast natives in Software Engineering. To boost morale, CEO James Higgins hosted a wilderness survival camp at Eklunta Lake. This is where you died. Trapped in a freak snowstorm, you ate the flesh of your dead companions, but it provided no nourishment. At the end, there was no pulse, no warmth, only hunger.
In The Hunger, players assume the roles of software engineers trying to save the remnants of their humanity from the infinite appetite of what they have become. As the Hunger gives them power, it also consumes them.
Vada inan dit?
Each character has 5 Eshlan Traits, each corresponding to a die size. Each player is allowed 25 points to spend on traits, and at least one of each die must be purchased. When an Eshlan Trait is brought into a conflict, it brings the following elements into the narrative:
D4—Belonging. Using these dice brings in work relationships and memberships. 1 point.
D6—Belongings. These traits bring in physical possessions. 2 points.
D8—Self-Esteem. These dice bring in self-worth, self-confidence and competence. 3 points
D10—Family. These traits bring in relationships with family and close friends. 4 points.
D12—Safety. These traits bring in physical safety and the risk of permanent harm. 5 points.
The diet of souls
The ween dagoh can subsist only on souls, consumed from the living. Where humans might live on the souls of animals, the ween dagoh must consume souls of their Tribe. In the modern context, they may consume the souls of anyone in their community, but gain the most benefit from those with whom they are close. Every character starts with a Hunger of 1. Hunger increases by 1 every time a D10 or D12 is brought into a conflict. A player may increase their Hunger by 1 to automatically succeed in a conflict (with one success.)
Scenes and Chapters
Play is divided into chapters, each comprised of a number of scenes. Each scene has a challenge, and a method to resolve it. In each chapter, each character must have a turn as the active player in each of the following scenes, though not necessarily in this order:
Competency Scene: In which a player must accomplish a job goal. This scene is framed by “The Boss” (another player selected by the active player.) The player may roll any remaining D4s, D6s and D8s on this test, bringing any appropriate elements into the narrative. Any roll greater than 3 is a success. The number of successes determines the degree of success. Failure is not an option, if a character is unsuccessful, they must increment their Hunger to buy a success. Any player bringing a D4 into this test must be properly ridiculed for not being self-reliant.
Stalking Scene: In which a player must stalk, kill and eat a human soul. The active player nominates another player as “The Prey” who frames the scene. The player may roll a number of D12 equal to Hunger, and may throw in any D10 or D12 remaining, adding elements as appropriate. Any roll over 8 is a success, and a character’s hunger in increased by (Current Hunger- Successes.) Hunger never decreases.
Humanity Challenge: the active player frames this scene, in which he must face a personal challenge to remain human despite the beast. The active player nominates another player as “The Beast,” to represent the opposition. The conflict is resolved by rolling any Eshlan Traits the active player chooses. The Beast rolls D12 equal to the Hunger. The dice are compared, highest to highest, second-highest to second-highest and so on. If there are any unopposed Hunger dice (from rolling too few Eshlan Traits or from Doubling Up or Running—see below) increase Hunger by 1. If the Hunger die is higher than the Eshlan Trait die, that trait is lost: it is discarded and cannot be used again.
Doubling Up—if a player rolls the same value on two or more Eshlan Trait dice (regardless of die type,) that player may apply them to the same Hunger die, and it is automatically successful.
Running—if a player rolls three consecutive values on the Eshlan Trait dice (e.g. 3-4-5 or 6-7-8,) that player may elect to Run. Two of the three dice involved in the run are lost (active player’s choice,) but all other dice in the challenge are counted as higher than the Hunger dice. To run, the character must do just that.

When a character no longer has any Humanity traits, they retreat to the Eklunta glacier to gorge themselves on the flesh of anyone they might catch. They have no connection to what was their life and are no longer in the game.

Edited-- missed a line from my draft. Oops.

I think I'm gonna have to bail on this to finish my Setting Contest project (which is already kinda Morningstar-esque). Sorry!

Hmm, email problems and our admin is in the UK on his honeymoon. If you need to send me mail, try jmstar (a t) gmail.com, sorry.

Got it. I want to see PEQ AP, BTW!

Another Entry

Since I believe that the deadline, "1 January, 23:00 GMT" doesn't expire for another twelve minutes or so, USE in AK precis.

Funny how a lot of posturing blow-hards and simpering theorists dropped out, to leave the real work to the hard-eyed professionals - the Sugarbakers, the Hansels, the men with tough, calloused mouse hands. The quiet types. Well, there were five entrants, four of which qualified, and there is a winner.

ENTRY: ILLIAMNA UNKNOWN

AUTHOR: BRYAN HANSEL

DISQUALIFIED? NO!

1,201+ words? OK
3+ pages? OK
Not sent to email address listed as a text file? OK
Not published or linked to from Story Games thread? OK
Submitted after 1 January, 23:00 GMT? OK

POSSIBLE TWO POINTS EACH FOR:
Just mentioning it, or using it as color, is worth one point. If it is central to the game or has a mechanical effect, you'll get two points.

Undead 1
Software 1
Engineers 1
Alaska 2
Chugach State Park 0
Illiamna lake monster 2
Dena'ina Athabascan language 2
World War Two Aleutian campaign 0

POSSIBLE THREE POINTS EACH FOR:
One point for eh, two points for probably, three points for hell yeah.

Playability 3
Uniqueness 3
Alaskocity 3

Excellent use of the Dena'ina language in play. Evocative and exciting. I'd love to see the technological background and baggage of the PCs interact with the ancient spirits! In fact, bumping up those aspects would have made this the contest winner. If there had been "points for style", Illiamna Unknown would have got them all.

TOTAL: 18

ENTRY: UNDEAD SOFTWARE ENGINEERS IN ALASKA

AUTHOR: FANG LANGFORD

DISQUALIFIED? YES!

1,201+ words? OK
3+ pages? OK
Not sent to email address listed as a text file? NOT SENT! DISQUALIFIED!
Not published or linked to from Story Games thread? OK
Submitted after 1 January, 23:00 GMT? OK

POSSIBLE TWO POINTS EACH FOR:
Just mentioning it, or using it as color, is worth one point. If it is central to the game or has a mechanical effect, you'll get two points.

Undead 2
Software 1
Engineers 1
Alaska 2
Chugach State Park 1
Illiamna lake monster 1
Dena'ina Athabascan language 2
World War Two Aleutian campaign 2

POSSIBLE THREE POINTS EACH FOR:
One point for eh, two points for probably, three points for hell yeah.

Playability 2
Uniqueness 3
Alaskocity 3

OK, so this entry is technically disqualified, but it's still a great start to an interesting and fun game. I enjoyed the historical research, and this entry hewed closest to the terms of the contest.

TOTAL = 20, had it qualified.

Congratulations, Graham! Whisper your shipping information to me. A couple of notes - having hard and fast criteria made the judging much easier. So did the fact that many weak-minded, mealy-mouthed individuals didn't enter. The flip side is that rigid criteria meant that my subjective favorite - Mike's game - placed last. C'est la guerre, or whatever.

Congrat, Graham!!! I guess now you can't say that you never win these things. :) Thanks for the contest, Jason. Good fun.

I agree, actually. The rating system was a gift to low-life opportunists such as myself.

Graham

The whole "yes, but" thing shines with potential. Now that you are freed from the cruel word-vice, I can't wait to see what you do with it.

Hey Fang,

I got it at 23:17:40 GMT, but if it upsets you, you win too!

Blast, missed another contest :(

Ash