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I'm often asked if Dread started as a horror game that led to Jenga or a Jenga game that led to horror.
The truth is the latter. For maybe 5 minutes it was a Jenga game that wasn't specifically horror—I think maybe a noir? It swiftly grew into its destiny thereafter.
But…
The truth is the latter. For maybe 5 minutes it was a Jenga game that wasn't specifically horror—I think maybe a noir? It swiftly grew into its destiny thereafter.
But…
…I kind of think the former would be more impressive?
Like, I want to be the person who was the person 2 decades ago who put goggles on, walked into his lab, & said, "Today's the day I break the formula for horror in #ttrpg. Now what am I going to need? Ah! Of course! Jenga!"
Like, I want to be the person who was the person 2 decades ago who put goggles on, walked into his lab, & said, "Today's the day I break the formula for horror in #ttrpg. Now what am I going to need? Ah! Of course! Jenga!"
That does occasionally happen to me. Wolfspell came about because I wrote a short story about sisters who turn into wolves to untangle at odds oaths they swore.
I thought, "If this were a game, what would I need? Ah! Of course! A Blood die & a Wolf die!" https://epidiah.itch.io/wolfspell
I thought, "If this were a game, what would I need? Ah! Of course! A Blood die & a Wolf die!" https://epidiah.itch.io/wolfspell
But I had been playing with Blood and Wolf dice for a while. I mean, they were sometimes Glum and Jovial or Zany and Grim, but the idea was there.
That's the key, for me. I've got 2 buckets in my brain:
• One I fill up with situations, characters, settings, moods, feelings, magic swords, ramshackled starships, library basements, a violet flower whose scent fills your heart with a stranger's nostalgia, etc.
• One I fill up with situations, characters, settings, moods, feelings, magic swords, ramshackled starships, library basements, a violet flower whose scent fills your heart with a stranger's nostalgia, etc.
• The other I fill with tone dice, Jenga, moves, odds, cues for when we need to know whose turn it is, roles, responsibilities, numbers to reduce, ways to negotiate fictional position, questions to ask your fellow players at inopportune times, mechanical puns, etc.
I'm sloppy, so some stuff from the first bucket can end up in the second, and vice versa, but the general idea is that I will be rummaging around in one until I find something that strikes my fancy and then jump to the other to find what best suits it.
Both buckets are labeled "Warning: Contains Aesthetics"
