Recently, we conducted our second playtest session for V/R Variable Realm. The first playtest mostly involved character creation. This time, we delved into actual gameplay, and I came away with some troubling impressions. But that’s what playtests are for, right?
Identifying the Issues
The playtest revealed that the game, as currently written, doesn’t quite work. What’s not working? Firstly, there are more significant rule gaps than I initially thought. While this is theoretically fixable, I had assumed we could bridge these gaps with on-the-spot decisions. However, we found ourselves repeatedly asking, “But what does this do?” for many elements, and I didn’t have satisfactory answers. This rendered some of the seemingly cool mechanics less engaging because they lacked meaningful impact.
The Concept Behind V/R
Let’s quickly recap: V/R aims to emulate a genre of media inspired by MMO games. It’s not meant to recreate World of Warcraft, Diablo, or Final Fantasy as tabletop RPGs. Instead, it aims to simulate stories written about these games, drawing inspiration from works like Shangri-La Frontier, Solo Leveling, the DIE comic series, and the LitRPG genre. The goal is to tell a story about people playing a game, focusing on their experiences rather than simulating the game’s mechanics.
Design Goals and Challenges
My initial design goals for V/R included creating a “pick-up game” – with relatively easy rules, concise (around 50 pages), and playable with minimal preparation. I wanted players to be able to jump in without extensive character creation or brainstorming sessions.
As part of this approach, I envisioned most of the Game Master’s (GM) content being procedurally generated. For those unfamiliar with tabletop RPG history, random tables have been a staple since the early days of Dungeons & Dragons. While many modern RPGs have moved away from this approach, I wanted to incorporate more randomness to emulate video games.
What Went Wrong?
During the playtest, it became clear that this approach wasn’t working as intended. The game felt directionless. By removing much of the GM’s involvement and placing all the emphasis on the players, we lost something crucial. This was especially apparent because my players didn’t share the same emotional connection and familiarity with the genre that I have.
Initially, I thought the problem was a lack of context. However, after reflection, I realized the issue ran deeper. The game was missing structure.
Finding Inspiration in Other Systems
As I pondered solutions, I looked to other game systems for inspiration. Games like Blades in the Dark and its variants (Band of Blades, Scum and Villainy) offer a much more structured approach to gameplay. Each adventure in Blades follows specific planning stages, which is exactly what V/R Variable Realm needs.
I also drew inspiration from smaller story games like “Follow” by Ben Robbins, which focuses on a group working together to achieve a specific mission. These GM-less games provide a clear structure for how players build their adventures together.
The Missing Piece: Structure
What V/R currently lacks is a framework for players to decide what they want to do. While we have methods for character creation and combat, we’re missing that crucial first step of mission planning and goal-setting.
This realization helped me understand why I’ve been successful in running Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA) games. In those systems, the game’s moves create the adventure structure. When players look at their available moves, they understand what the game expects them to do. V/R, with its more generic “Action roll” system inspired by Blades in the Dark, lacks this built-in guidance.
Moving Forward
To address these issues, I’m considering several changes:
-
- Implementing a structured pre-game planning phase, similar to Blades in the Dark.
- Exploring the possibility of making V/R a GM-less or solo game.
- Focusing more on group creation and world-building before individual character creation.
- Incorporating elements from successful playtests of other games, like Godflesh, where we built the group and their area of operation together.
The key takeaway? V/R Variable Realm needs a framework. By providing more structure, we can create a game that captures the essence of MMO-inspired stories while offering an engaging tabletop experience.