You also don't need to reveal everything if there's a secret aspect to it. "Current plans for this game will involve topics strikingly similar to the current pandemic. This will be a core aspect to the plot. Where are people's boundaries on such a theme?"

I’m realizing at least 2 of my players won’t be able to engage with it in the right way, so I’m going to just come up with a different idea before Sunday. Time to dig out the History Book of Plot Ideas again...

(Aka my APWH book for last/this year)

Sober-minded Lich has split his soul into multiple pieces instead of using a phylactery. However, he is unable to go collect the pieces himself as he has gone weak. He tasks the party with combining the his soul putting it back in his body so that he can be properly destroyed and then kill him.

However, as the soul pieces are collected, the Lich begins to get more and more unhinged as his self-preservation instincts start to kick in.

When the players return to him, the Lich and anything dead within range of his Lair is trying to stop the party from approaching him

Each piece of soul is attached to a heartfelt keepsake, a photo, a pendant, misc trinkets, etc.

When you manage to defeat him and reunite him with his lost humanity, his soul manifests and thanks the party.

The party need to deal with the Lich because his mere presence corrupts the neighboring territories. Dead don't stay dead. Plants don't grow. Hunting grounds lack game. However, the party does not need to be vicious or sympathetic to the Lich.

This is a mini story I like to use to find out where players are at in their head space. How they think about the world and the people in that world.

@Ash was it a single dwelling unit or one for just one water outlet in the house? We are thinking of getting one for our kitchen ... water 'round here is kinda hard and scaly ...

@AncientSwordRage It's been my experience and observation that with things like game design it's generally more beneficial for the designer's craft, to make a lot of small games, than to spend years on one big game. I sympathize with wanting to get one big project perfect, though. It's something I tend to gravitate toward myself.

@Ash Ah. Thanks. Were you generally satisfied with it, or did it require a lot of up keep?

I have gotten mixed reports from my associates at work who have the kitchen units, and we are not gonna spring for a "whole house water softener/salts treatment" thing ...

@BESW wise words

@AncientSwordRage Something I've seen a lot of designers say helps them is, try to boil down your game to the absolute smallest form possible. Even if the final form is twenty times that size, you've got a point of reference to keep it from spiraling out of control, and you've had to do that careful thinking about what is necessary.

This is one reason "you have two stats" games can be great: they distill a whole game into the tension between two opposing qualities.

@BESW that shouldn't be too hard to follow in principle

(Not all games are about the tension between opposing qualities, but a h*ckton of them are.)

But also, just. Having something finished is a really good feeling and gives you impetus to keep making stuff, while also giving you something to reflect on and improve from.

My creative juices are flowing now

this is very true

Try not to slip on them

You've probably seen a lot of my games in various forms of completion. The more elaborate they are, and the less clear my thesis statement for them, the less likely they are to actually get finished.

@AncientSwordRage Could you send some to me? I’m writing a d&d5e version of the truenamer for a friend’s new character...

@BardicWizard I spilled them all

I've got a couple concepts that are massive and I'm excited about them but I'm not sure I'll ever be able to bring them to a satisfying conclusion because they're so big.

And working on Ensign of the Week more (hint hint, find it here )

So I would even take spilled creativity

No sense crying over spilled creative juices, right?

Yep, feature creep and scope creep can really hinder game development, especially when working independently. Too-big projects tend to either collapse or freeze, which means not gaining practice in the dev process. Much better to aim for something small and focused, and maybe add stuff as needed.

@MikeQ That's something I super appreciate about systems like BOLT and Fate; they're designed with a strong independent core loop that can have supplemental loops and modifications snapped on and off as needed. This isn't just a good thing for players, it's great for designers.

Hola. I’m stopped at a Burger King, been driving most of the afternoon, you guys are awesome.

@ThomasMarkov no you're breathtaking