Category Archives: Game Design Project

Hack the planet!

#YourTurn, Cyberpunk Dice Game, Game Design Project, Game Dev Diary, Prototype

In the inaugural post of this “game design diary” I promised to write about why I chose to develop a dice game that has a cyberpunk theme.

This is that post.

I love the genre of cyberpunk. Whether it’s books, films, anime, graphic novels. I love it.

As I’ve mentioned many times in the past I was a teenager during the 80’s. I grew up with the home computer boom. I was part of the home computer boom.

I learnt to code on my ZX-81 and Oric-1. Later on a PDP-11 and BBC Model B’s at college.

But that was me. I spent a lot of time bathed in the glow of the cathad ray tube of my tv typing away.

It can’t be stressed how amazing and wonderful a time this was. Every month there seemed to be a new home micro released trying to tempt you to part with your money. Computer games were exploring what a game was. Not only mechanically and gameplay wise but also theme wise.

I loved the movies Wargames and Tron.

Whilst studying in Brighton I came across William Gibson and cyberpunk in the form of his novel Neuromancer.

I loved the dystopian setting of mega corporations, hackers as lone wolf guns for hire.

Then I stumbled upon the Shadowrun series of books. Wait cyberpunk with fantasy elements! Wow!

Then I came across anime and manga, particularly the amazing cinematic and ground breaking Akira. Then there was Ghost in the Shell.

Hackers hit the cinema.

More recently (the last ten years or so) I came across Netrunner and the Android universe. Netrunner captured the whole cyberpunk genre so well, especially the runner (aka hacker) going up against the mega corporations and hacking their servers. It was fun having to play both sides in a game.

We have had some cool tv series and movies such as Tron Legacy, and Mr Robot. Black Hat was more action than hacker.

Somehow cyberpunk is meant to be this dystopian future with mega corporations running things. Law unto themselves. But somehow that seems to be now! I love how it has the little guy, usually a hacker as the hero fighting against the corporate big guy.

Inside me is this counter culture, anti-establishment rebel. Cyberpunk feeds that inner me.

So that is why I’m going with a cyberpunk theme.

I blame Scott Rogers

#YourTurn, Cyberpunk Dice Game, Game Design Project, Game Dev Diary, Prototype

The inspiration bug that Scott Rogers ignited with his book Your Turn! is kicking in.

In the past I’ve given constructive feedback on my friends games that they have created. Whether that’s Jonathan and his Streets of Commonville, Jeff’s evolution themed card game, or Byron and one of his prototypes. Whether that feedback was any good or useful is open to debate.

However up until now I’ve never felt tempted to create my own game.

But now it’s time to put up or shut up!

The slightly less portable game prototype kit

I’ve put together a portable prototyping kit. It’s not exactly the suggested list in the appendix A of Your Turn! It’s 90% of the list, with some additional bits scavenged from a completed copy of Pandemic Year One. Plus a couple of bits don’t fit into the case I purchased.

I have the genesis of an idea for a game.

I want to create a cyberpunk themed dice game.

I like dice games. Heck we know how I feel about Dice Masters, dice versions of board games, even roll and writes. So it’s only natural I’d want to create a game that uses dice in some significant way.

There is no way you’d describe my knowledge of dice games as encyclopaedic.

At the moment I’m entering a “research” phase. Where I’m trying to expand my knowledge of dice games, and how dice can be used within a board game.

As part of my “research” I have a small list of dice games I want to get or try. Plus one or two in my collection that I haven’t played I want to get to the table. There are others in my collection that I want to revisit.

I’m going to try and get one or two of the games before I visit Nathan next week. He’s the ideal person to try them with.

Nathan will also have to suffer me wanting to try one or two games from the two Knizia books on dice games that I have. In the name of “research” obviously. You can see my current research reading list at the end of the post.

Ideas are already slowly coming through. So I’m making notes of them as they surface.

I have some mechanics I like and think I want to include such as the Yahtzee push your luck, I split you chose, and the Free League mutant year zero stress dice mechanic (particularly the Alien rpg) that uses push your luck in another way.

In the next post I’ll look at why cyberpunk as the theme.

Bibliography aka Reading List

  • Tredd, W.E. (2013) Dice games new and old: how to play dice games over 50 including craps. Cambridge: Oleander Press.
  • Knizia, R. (2010) Dice games properly explained. Place of publication not identified: Blue Terrier Press.
  • Knizia, R. (2019) New tactical games with dice and cards. United States: Blue Terrier Press.
  • Rogers, S.A. (2023) Your Turn! The Guide to Great Tabletop Game Design. Indianapolis: John Wiley and Sons.