Side Projects and Other Updates

It’s been a while since the last update!

Runika has now been in print for nearly four years. Lucidity has had multiple reprints (and the deluxe edition has completely sold out). As part of the original Runika Kickstarter, I released a 45,000-word middle-grade children’s book, Runika and the Six-sided Spellbooks, following Runika’s adventures with her friends, and then last year I released the follow-up to that book, Runika and the Everrime Princess.

2020 was a fairly awful year for so many reasons, and the quick release of Runika from Lucidity, followed by a global pandemic, meant that not only was I burnt out, but it snuck up on me in the way that burnout does. I’m afraid I’ve left a lot of this blog to go to seed, and that last post about A.I. use in arting up your prototype has had two separate updates as the conversation around A.I. has evolved.

So what have I been working on?

First, new board games, because I always get asked what’s next. I’ve been testing and trying to get a map-making, god-creation game, Creation, off the ground. This has proven to be one of those games that is tricky to nail the balance between player actions, and I’ve reworked the game multiple times to no success. I’ve similarly been working on three other game concepts:

• Goblin Swamp-itect: An engine-building path-making tile-laying game of real-time play, where you are a goblin town planner laying out your swamp town. Tricky to get the ‘fun’ aspect of this game down – balancing complexity with repetition.
• Wake Up Meeples!: A worker-placement game of conspiracy theories, where proving your conspiracy right changes the rules of the game. Less funny with the rise of far-right conspiracy theorists becoming reality instead of a joke.
• Voidborn: Six-sided Starships: Another game in the ‘lots of dice’ category. This is a space-civ co-op deck-building game where you are building massive ‘voidborn’ ships to defend your planet from an invading force. The game uses seeded decks (similar to Robinson Crusoe) to provide your foes with rudimentary A.I. to adapt to your plans.

Second, to TTRPGS. With a bit of focus swapped to writing, I’ve been playing around with two different roleplaying games. Both are up on itch.io for free, so if you’d like to give them a shot, head on over there and download them! And if you do take them up with your group, please let me know how they run, as they’re both in playtest and subject to change.

• Dragons in the Dungeon: is a supplement to the amazing Blades in the Dark, porting across Dungeons & Dragons classes and settings into the Blades system. I’ve made this a bit fluid, so you can use the classes, the species, the setting, the monsters, the guilds or any mix of the above, including a full magic system that allows you to bring D&D spells into your Blades games.
• Voidhunters: is a completely new RPG system that takes inspiration from games like Apocalypse World and Call of Cthulu. Play as a plucky adventurer in a space opera setting. Roll d20s to test your skills. Pull off amazing combos to turn the scene in your favour. I’m really excited about this system, and I’m working on getting the balance of complexity with novelty right.

Finally, to books. With the first two books in the Runika series written, I’m working on the third (of four) as well as writing other stories. Should any of them get picked up or put on Kickstarter, I’ll be sure to mention that!

It’s been quite a year (or years), but I’m slowly getting back into creative endeavours. For those of you who are still with me, thank you so much for the continuing interest.