The Mysterious Lever: The Epic of the Wild West

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

The Epic of the Wild West

Hell On Wheels is a great show. Watching is has reminded me a lot of what I wanted to capture in Hostargo; that wild west adventure, with its danger and never ending hardships. But its people endure, and have shown me true Wit, Grit, and Spirit. If you haven't caught it on AMC or Netflix, I would highly recommend checking it out.

We also live in a wild west age. Only our age is one of technology, power, and cyberspace. Like it or not, our internet networks are only a paper thin barrier against a whole universe of cyber threats, and the more we trust in it, the more we open ourselves to both it's wonders and horrors. And that's exactly what the west is about: risking everything, in return for something. Following the dream, and riding the wave of challenges that - might - get you there.

I believe tabletop RPGs are one of the best mediums for capturing this feeling. Gambling is the built in mechanic - risking your character's life against all manner of danger. Every time the die hits the table, the stories changes, and the epic unfolds in ways we can never expect. Unlike books, there is no predetermined fate. Unlike video games, there's no saves or retries. Once that die is cast, there's no turning back.

The trick, of course, is actually making a game that fully expresses that awesomeness. I will keep this in mind with every step forward; with classes, items, abilities, and most importantly, story hooks.

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