Hey everyone,
This is our first newsletter. Thank you so much for being my first subscribers. So my plan for these newsletters is to let you know what I've been doing this week channel-wise and give you some of my creative thoughts. I get up to a fair bit painting, building maps, and exploring new avenues, and I'd love to share that with you.
So this week started at PAX. I had intended to read the rules for The Electric State as I was expecting to start recording that next week, as I fully expected the Alien I recorded once I got home would be the last. No spoilers on that as even the Early Doors members haven't seen that yet, as it's still unedited on my hard drive as I type. You can only do so many creative things simultaneously. Bring on the AI agents. But instead, I spent my time in panels, strolling the tabletop area, checking out new games, admiring the cosplay (some more than others, say no more), and talking to some awesome creative people. In fact, it was so creatively inspiring that coming back to my humdrum IT job was quite a downer.
Still, this week I recorded a new Twilight 2K, and Cyberpunk Red is about to go up, and as I say, the final Alien. On to Electric State. So how to approach a new game... So little time, so much text... my approach is this:
A) Read as much of the setting prose as you need to get a feeling and understand the setting. If it's well known (fantasy, SciFi, Cyberpunk) then you only need to know what's different about this one. If it's something like The Electric State, you may need a bit more. I also listened to lots of Nirvana and NIN so I could get that 90s vibe. And I may have worn some tie-dye, but that was behind closed doors and I would have done it anyway.
B) Understand the system. If it's new to you, read the combat and skills systems. Does it have a social combat system? Make sure you grasp that. Are the skills diverse and complex? Get to grips with it. Is it the same system as you have played before? The Electric State is a version of the Year Zero system, so understand how that differs for this game. You don't have to memorize it all, grab sticky labels and go to town. Check out that rule book in the Cyberpunk Red videos—it's almost all labels.
C) Make a character and understand how that works. Your first go will likely be underpowered and underperform. Don't worry about that, as there lies the power in the story and gives you the chance to solve issues that come up imaginatively. Now create your team....
Hold on there Pete, you are saying to yourselves, what about solo rules...
It's ok "cow-gender-non-specfic-persons", I'm just getting to that.
D) You now have had the time to absorb the rules, the setting, picture your protagonists, and the world where they exist. Now you can think about the solo process. Are there official rules and processes? (The Electric State has some.) Read and work through them. Give them a first pass read, then engage and start play. You can learn as you go. If something doesn't work, ignore it. If you want to see that in action, check out my Walking Dead series—that's what I did there. If there are no solo rules, then let's go my Cyberpunk path. Grab as many tables as you can get your grubby hands on and make up a story. And that's it.
Hold on there again Pete, that kinda skimmed over the bit that is the hardest and has me worried.
Yeah, I know, but then I wouldn't have the stuff for more videos, would I?
Much love and awesome solo gaming. I'll be back with another of these, maybe next week. Unless you say don't.
Cheers, Peter
