Hey Man, well this is Babylon

I’ve been having a hard time putting my thoughts down on paper at this point, in a fashion understandable to an outside reader. Last night it hit me: Mass Effect 2. In this video game, everything in the game leads up to a multi-staged final mission through a gateway into the unknown. Leading up to this point in the game, you spend a large amount of time and effort first recruiting a full team of commandos, and then subsequently following up with those teammates in order to secure their ultimate loyalty. This last bit is always secured by the results of a special focus side mission, and these missions vary frequently in their approach and implementation.

For example, one guy’s mission is a pretty standard jaunt through an area killing a lot of bad guys, getting to an important life-changing conversation at the very end. Another is just a simple stalk-and-observe, with little combat at all. Each of them varies pretty widely, although most use the standard combat mechanic at least once. At the end, if you did well, your squad mate will be absolutely loyal to you, and gain more abilities and bonuses.

But more importantly: they will most likely not die at the end of the game. See, during the End Run, depending on the choices you’ve made and the way you’ve played the game, one or more (or all!) of your squad can die off in extremely heart-wrenching cut scenes. Fail to secure the loyalty of Guy #7, and he might waver in the face of the enemy and be mowed down, just outside of your reach. Gil #4 might be sucked out of an airlock into the cold of space.

The End Run of the game is a mostly-linear dungeon run, with a few Big Decisions interspersed between its areas. Regardless of who you take and who survives, the layout of the maps is the same, as are the battle locations and such. However, the presence of different people at different times affects your survivability pretty heavily, as do other non-companion-related decisions you made earlier in the game. So while the Main Objective remains the same (aka Kill the Big Bad), your earlier choices have direct mechanical impact on the attempt to achieve that goal.

So, bringing this back around to Hagakure 66, I see the major conflict mechanics being resolved primarily in pre-set Fields of Play: The Tarmac, the Parlor, the Duel, etc. A standard affair of theme-specific generalized Fields will be offered in the game text. When a new scenario is set forth, the GM states a simple opening scenario goal: “In this scenario, your pack will go to Hornsfirth Hill and secure the loyalty of the Mayor for your Patron’s cause.” He will already have written down one or more Fields which this scenario will feature.Then, each player writes down and submits an additional Field, effectively telling the GM “this is where I want to see action happen.” These can be from the game text, or made up by the player. Once the scenario begins, all major conflicts will be resolved on these fields.Once a conflict reaches a Field, the mechanics will play out as normal (still undefined at this moment). However, depending on the conflict and its relevance to the GM’s scenario plans, there might be unknown background conditionals at play. “If the players don’t tie Story Thread X up before this conflict, then apply Modifiers Y.”

Thus the players will be encouraged to explore the setting and the situation a bit to find these triggers and resolve certain conditionals. Getting the influential madame on your side can affect your conflict to drive the slaver out of town, for example. But pissing her off might actually get you in the Slaver’s good graces.

More on this as it comes to me.

Just as there are three core Codes which the player must balance, there will be three core “extensions” to those characters. These will function similarly to Classes in more mainstream games, and give the players a good variety of mechanical combinations for character assignment.

First we have the Pack Roles. Will you be the Pack Leader, and take on the mantle of command and control? Will you be the Road Captain, who guides the Pack along the Highway, ensuring a safe ride? Will you be the Tail Gunner, and keep up the end of the convoy? Will you be the Trail Blazer, and ride far ahead into the unknown seeking opportunity? How about the Armsman, who’s task it is to keep order within the rank and file?

Next we have the Bikes. The rugged “Thunder” is the beast of the long road and the even longer ride (touring bike). The vicious Wasp can speed forth to and from and danger (sport bike). The unrestrainable Dust Cloud can travel any terrain and surmount any obstacle (dirt bike). The ever-versatile Hawk is adaptable to any street, and any battle (standard/UJM). The roaring Dragon, built from the shells of the mightiest beasts, always makes itself known (chopper). The elusive Dragonfly cannot be captured on its field of choice (cafe racer).

Finally we have the sword styles. Honestly, I haven’t given these much thought yet, but I do plan on givine them greater attention in the coming phases of design.

More on this as the ideas take shape!

I’m still pretty divided on this idea, between two modes of implementation I’m calling The Steed Way and The Universe Way. On the first hand (The Steed Way), I’m envisioning using this third Code to represent the character’s relationship with their Steed, with the scale going from one extreme (“My steed is just a tool and nothing more.”) to the other (“I am the steed.”). Given the intended portability of the game, this could of course be a Bike in the default game setup, or a Horse, Spaceship, or whatever in alternate home-made scenarios.

Doing it this way would keep the three codes thematically similar, each one representing the character’s relationship with something external: The Team, the Sword, the Bike. These three relationships would be important to the situation in the game, and each would have social rules (the Codes) and expectations for maintaining good standing. The rules of the Pack dictate proper behaviour for members, like a motorcycle club charter. The rules of the Sword dictate proper use of the weapon, to the point of becoming the weapon. The rules of the Steed cover care and maintenance of your ride, as well as rules for proper traveling and such etiquette.

On the other hand, following The Universe Way, the Highway could also be a metaphor for the character’s relationship with the Universe at Large. At the low extreme, he again is just a tool-user, with no relationship to the greater world. At the high extreme, he has become the zen master, one step away from true consuming enlightenment, and everything else is just so much unnecessary time-wasting.

These two different ideas, I’m not sure if there’s a way to implement them both without overwhelming the player with too much Thematic conflict. Both implementations have a similar spiritual component, although the Universe Way would have heavier implications in this regard.

Each of the three Codes is intended to clash both within itself and with the other two. The innate conflict of the Pack is about keeping good standing within the ranks, while not getting consumed by the group mentality. Within the Code of the Sword, the character must find a good balance between using the sword to kill, and becoming a creature of pure emotionless murder in the possession of a Master. Likewise, the internal clash within the Code of the Highway could involve the balance between using the steed and becoming one with the steed, shedding your own identity in the process.

The inter-code conflicts, then, are a matter of balancing the extremes on their scales. One who has become consumed by the Pack Mentality will suffer on the other two scales, as loyalty to the team will be more important than skill with the blade or mastery of the steed. One who becomes the perfect weapon will be cold to his companions, and careless with his steed. One who becomes a melding of man and steed will be isolated from friends, and possessed of less reason to kill.

That’s a good question. First, I should re-establish that this isn’t just a “samurai game.” This is a Motorcycle Samurai game. It’s a game about inner turmoil, divided loyalties, wicked sword fights, and sweet bikes. Part pseudo-spiritual character drama, part bitchin’ battle-against-the-Crazy-88 sword fights, part hot motorcycle porn. These are all of equal importance to me.

So keeping that in mind, what’s going on here, Nathanael?

In the anime Kino’s Journey, each episode mostly follows the same format: the titular hero rides into a new town (they call them “countries”), is introduced to the local weirdness, and by the end of the episode he is riding away, having experienced some regional change or learned some important life lesson. He beings the episode with a ride in, ends the episode with a ride out, always moving, always subject to the winds of change.

I’m picturing a bit of Dogs in the Vineyard inspiration here, as far as episodic approach goes. The GM sets up a mission, with the intention of firmly yanking on the cords of a handful of the tenets of each Code – tenets which should solidly clash once all put into play. The pack is given an important mission by their patron, and they ride forth to the destination to complete it. Pretty basic right there.

Each “mission” should involve threats to each of the three codes. The Pack is threatened because Tobei and Hyuu are both trying to romance the same woman. The Prospect member has learned that the Patron is lying to them about his intentions behind the mission, but he is afraid to share this information with the Pack Leader, for fear of jeopardizing his membership in the Pack. That kinda stuff. The pack must deal with each of these threats to their Codes, while attempting to complete the mission at hand. This is how I’m thinking the basic scenario setup is going to look.

So with that basic frame in place, what do we actuall do in the game proper? How do the Codes affect play? What exactly is Play, anyway? What factors come into play when resolving game conflicts? What is the scope of this resolution? What is the balance between fiat and mechanic?

There is a possibility here to set some more rigid scene structure, if necessary. The Ride In, the Mission, the Ride Home, etc. I’ve played games that have more rigid scene framing rules, requiring certain types of scenes in certain sequences in order to tell certain stories. Those can be fun, but my gut right now is telling me to keep it more open. The vote is out on this one.

What do you think? What would be cool, fun, exciting, tense? How would your sessions play out? What would you want to see happen in-game, at the table?

Now, I begin to dip my pinky toes into the waters of actual game mechanics consideration. The three Codes have mostly been set into wet plaster, so now I want to erect some sturdier scaffolding around it, and prepare for some heavier work in the coming days.

Today, I’m mulling over the actual visual implementation of these three Codes. I’m envisioning each separate code as a seven-spot track. While I’m not intending to numerically number them just yet, doing so for the sake of discussion will help with imparting this vision.

In this idea, the “lower” numbers are closer to the Internal, aka the Self, while the “higher” numbers are further away from the self, and represent a greater connection to the External. True middle is perfect balance.

1: Isolation from / Rejection of the Code
2: Neophyte within the Code
3: Acceptance of the Code
4: Understand of / Balance with the Code
5. Empowerment by / Reliance Upon the Code
6. Deeper Connection with the Code
7. Consumption by / Fatalism resulting from Complete Immersion within the Code

I’m picturing one of two visual layouts for this (please excuse the crappy hand drawings):

Figure 1

or

Figure 2

In both setups, the rings go outward, with the Self on the inside and the External on the outside. The circle is set into three wedges, with seven rings. I’m currently leaning more towards Figure 2, being the Circle-within-a-Triangle. In this case, the circle would only have four rings (yes, I realize I drew the circle with only three. that was a mistake), while the extensions beyond the circle would have three more stages.

The player would mark their character’s current place on each of their scales. Using Figure 2, if the outermost ring is filled in, the character is in a state of true balance with his external forces. Continuing deeper into the Code, the outer points would be marked. Rejecting the ways of the Codes would drive the character more inward. In either case, there is imbalance, and imbalance will being the character into constant conflict with the world.

Indeed, a state of true balance would be even more conflicted, as it is just not in the nature of the world to allow such balance to maintain itself easily in the shadow of human emotion and necessity.

In a previous post on this game, I set down the basic premise of the game’s core dynamic: the three-way clash between Family Loyalty, the Warrior’s Honor, and the pseudo-spiritual Code of the Highway. Today, I’ve got the concept of Master on my mind, and am trying to figure out exactly what it means to me and this game.

One of the core inspirations for this game is the book Hagakure – the “book of the Samurai” that is sorta-famous in media as being the source of all of the quotes in the movie Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai. This book is all about defnining the essence of the samurai as the perfect retainer – made perfect by commitment to death for the sake of the Master. Only by acting as if one is already dead can a retainer be the perfect extension of the master’s will.

I want this master-retainer relationship to be in the game, but I’m not yet certain of its implementation. As it is currently conceptualized, Hagakure 66 is about a pack of motorcycle samurai who travel the post-war highways, seeking food, supplies, money, and either reattainment or absolution of their past possessions (physical, emotional, or otherwise). Currently, the only innate “master” of this dynamic would be the Pack Leader.

An enhancement to this core situation would lay down the idea that the Pack needs an external patron (Master) for its greater livelihood. This would add a new active component to the story at play: the seeking and supporting of a patron. Narratively, the gang would have a tough time finding a patron in the harsh social post-war landscape. Trust is a rare commodity in these troubled times. Finding a Patron, protecting a Patron, and doing the Patron’s bidding could be major in-game play concepts, and thus could provide the Master-Retainer relationship.

I’m not entirely sold on the idea of the Pack Leader being the de facto “Master” of the dynamic. My goal is to have the “relationship with the Master” implemented via the laws of the Way of the Sword, and have it clash with the Laws of the Pack. In other words, I want the master-retainer relationship to clash with the brother-family relationship. This could be done with the Pack Leader as Master, but it would be a stretch, and the lines would be a little too blurred than would be good for the initial conceptualization of new players.

What say you?

What does the Code of the Highway represent in what I am now calling the Thematic Trinity of Hagakure 66?

On my ride home today, I had this subject heavy on my mind (set aside your fears, I was paying more attention to the road, of course). It hit me the heaviest at a certain point on Skyline, when we took a sharp blind curve. At that moment, in the pouring flash thunderstorm rain, a truck coming the other way sped across our path to a side street and a bicyclist only 80 or so feet ahead popped out of a driveway. It would have caused an average rider’s sphincter to clench a bit tighter, but for me the situation was far more personal and tense.

You see, nine weeks ago today, I had my first motorcycle accident on that exact curve, in the exact spot where the driver cut us off today. Circumstances were different, but I would be a liar if I said that I didn’t get a little tense every single time I’ve taken that curve since (read: every single day of the work week, usually twice). Read more

Lately I’ve been working on a new game which has the working title of Hagakure 66. It’s a “Motorcycle Samurai” game, with the following premise: “The war is over, and your side lost. Everything you knew and loved is gone, destroyed or taken away from you. All you have now are your bike, your sword, your pack, and The Highway.”

It’s a game about riding around with a pack of motorcycle swordsmen after “the war,” finding a master to provide purpose to the pack, dealing with intra-pack tensions and conflicts, maintaining a pseudo-mystical bond with The Highway, fighting in sweet motorcycle sword duels, and upholding obsolete standards of honor and lifestyle in a world forever changed by “The War.”

Its primary media inspirations are Samurai Champloo, Sons of Anarchy, The Seven Samurai, and Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai.

Most of the game’s conflicts will come from imbalances between the three core forces of the system, each a separate Code of Conduct: The Law of the Pack, the Way of the Sword, and the Code of the Highway. Each character must constantly deal with threats to all three of these codes, and determine how they affect his or her life in this changed world. All three both complement and comflict with each other equally.

The primary mechanical purpose of these three conflicting codes is to give the GM some buttons to push. Each “adventure” setup should start with the GM picking at least one (hopefully more) of the avenues for threat within each of the codes, and narratively assaulting them, so that the players all have to deal with conflicts of Code from all sides, and prioritize them individually.

The other night I sat down before bed and worked up a quick mind map of some of my ideas. Here’s what I’ve got so far. I’d like some feedback on ideas. If you have any suggestions for additions and such, please please please send them my way.

Take a look at that and give me your input.