mcdm
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Welcome New Patrons!
🕑 Added 2023-02-24 01:00:56 +0000 UTCWe just released the announcement video for our new RPG, really just announcing that we’re working on it, so we thought it’d be a good idea to write something up welcoming folks and sort of setting expectations.
First of all, hello! My name’s Matt Colville, and on behalf of the MCDM crew, welcome to this crazy experiment! We’re working on what we think of as a “AAA RPG” meaning a big-budget, premiere title. Whatever form the finished product takes, it’s going to have full color killer art, rigorously tested design, and a lot of support. Meaning this won’t just be a game, it’ll eventually be an entire line of products.
And because Running the Game is the “real, warts and all, behind-the-scenes process of being a Dungeon Master” it seemed reasonable to just continue that philosophy here. Let’s liveblog the process of making this game!
So if you’re here, now, that’s one of the things you’re supporting. You’re paying money to see how the sausage is made and really just “support development.” So far, it’s been going pretty well! The people who’ve signed up for this seem to be pretty happy with what they’re seeing.
We make it a point to respond to folks here on the Patreon, but especially if you’re responding to a post that’s more than a couple of days old? The best place for discussion is our Discord. Patreon’s messaging tools are better than Kickstarter’s! But still not incredibly robust.
Updates are gonna be a little thin on the ground until, I estimate, late April. We work on this game a little every week, but only between other deadline-critical projects like Flee, Mortals!, and Arcadia.
So you’re not going to get updates on anything like a regular cadence, but you WILL get updates whenever anything new happens. So if we do a playtest this week, you will probably get an update about how it went.
And as new features come online, we’ll post updates about them. You might get an update about our proposed Negotiation System soon, for instance! Exciting! I really want to make Negotiation a pillar of this game because I think it’s something sorely missing from the heroic fantasy landscape. Not required just…this is important and currently I feel we are all badly underserved in that department and MCDM can do better.
Now, just because I think that, doesn’t mean it’s true! But that’s the promise of this patreon; we’re gonna find out together.
We’ve been posting stuff now since mid-January and we’ve already learned a lot about the unique challenges this presents, so I better talk about that a little.
Open Development
I’ve never worked on a game like this before. I’ve never ever really SEEN a game made like this, at least at this scale. Where we’re hanging out in Discord with folks talking about our ideas and development. I just talked in the Discord a little about the difference between Heroic Fantasy and Grim & Gritty Fantasy for instance.
That’s one of the reasons we’re excited about this. Open development, meaning making all our mistakes in public, is a unique experience and already we’ve seen people really excited by it. Because now folks are THINKING about game design, and why things are the way they are? And how they might do it differently, maybe for the first time. And that is a lot of fun.
But it does mean we often post about something we’re excited about, and then we try it and it doesn’t work. Or! It works for a while, and then as we add more systems and the game evolves, we need to go back and revise, or even throw out, something that previously was working fine and people were excited by.
So if you read about something, like…there’s a post around here somewhere talking about how Death might work in this game. Well maybe you read that and you like it, or you don’t, but in fact we already think differently about Dying in this game. The idea we talked about is already obsolete. So don’t get too attached to anything yet, either positive or negative. Almost anything might change at this stage!
Some folks, when the design goes in a direction they’re not happy with, they give us some variation of; “Why aren’t they LISTENING to us!” Well, we are listening! But we’re not actually looking for external feedback right now.
We want to show you how the sausage is made, we’re not asking for advice on how to make sausages. :D
We LIKE explaining why we’re taking the game in this direction instead of that direction. We put a ton of thought into this stuff! But a very small number of people see our explanation as an opportunity to NEGOTIATE. To get us to make the game THEY want, instead of the one WE want. Well, you know, vote with your dollars. Go complain on the internet, that’s cool. But there’s no point in complaining here, or our discord. That’s not why we’re doing this.
If you don’t like something we’re doing, you can say why! But make your case and move on. Because if you make that objection part of your PERSONALITY, and harp on it over and over, well the mods are gonna ask you to leave. Except they're not gonna ask.
Really, it’s been a tiny number of people doing this, but if we get a bunch of new patrons that means a lot of people who want to fight old battles and I felt like we owed it to our Mod Team to make sure everyone knows our policy here.
Eventually we’ll have something we’re ready to put in front of our testers and, when they’re done with it, we’ll put it in front of you folks and you’ll be able to try this game yourselves!
One thing we’ve noticed is; folks naturally want to use this project as a chance to kvetch about 5E. Well, we sympathize, but so far that has not proven to be a productive use of anyone’s time. Those discussions tend to get kinda toxic.
What does seem to work though is folks talking about how other games, especially non-D&D related games work. Pathfinder and Kobold Press and the OSR are all D&D-related, FYI.
Those discussions tend to be a lot more fun and productive. It’s always more fun to talk about how cool this feature from this one game is, than how burned out you are on some other design you don’t like.
Anyway, I think we’re doing another playtest tomorrow and USUALLY that results in a new patreon post. Cross your fingers!
I look forward to seeing y’all in the discord! Peace out!
Comments
MCDM Productions
I (Hannah) don't eat sausage so I've been imagining a tasty non-meat one, for sure!
Andres Yuhnke
for those of us who are vegan will you be making a meat free sausage alternative? thanks! ;)
PinkRose
I'm just here for the sausage.
Domhnall Zena
Same, I suspect that video has generated a lot of traffic (myself included) to this Patreon. I am excited to build a campaign using this new system as it is being developed. I think the community has been done with WoTC for a while now but have been waiting for an appropriate alternative.
MCDM Productions
Some of the developmental materials are shared here, either wholesale like Matt's post on armor or as a summary, like James's post on mechanics related to a recent internal playtest. We'll eventually have an open playtest for the community, but so far we're only testing these prototypes with staff to get things WE'RE happy enough with to show to the contract testers! It's a process and we're still in the early stages. Discord is where folks gather to talk about all this stuff, but there's nothing specifically shared there. You'll get everything here! –Hannah
Galen Monticue
Okay, I am very excited about your new RPG system, and want to know everything about it as it develops. 5e never sat well with me for all the reasons you talked about. About the armor. If you've never worn proper, well-fitting armor, it's not a strength test, it's an endurance test. Good-fitting armor will fit you like a second skin. If you are accustomed to it, you can go about your day and even forget that your are wearing it. But you are wearing extra weight and thus will tire you out much quicker than not wearing it. There are videos of people wearing full plate armor, helmet included, competing against firefighters and such on obstacle courses and winning. Armor is there for if you make a mistake while fighting an opponent. You don't want to get hit in the armor, that still can hurt, which is why you better be really good with your weapon. The weapon is your primary defense, not the armor. I'm going to say that again *The weapon is your primary defense, not the armor*! Sorry for the rant, the "So, We're making our own RPG" video stoked some issues I have with how armor is treated in games media. I've worn and used armor in fighting sports, getting hit still sucks even with armor and if you get hit in the wrong place, even the armor can't protect you all the time.
Arlene Garfield
I watched the YouTube video about the new system and I am so excited about it that I had to come here and support you guys.
JW
So do patrons get to do any playtesting or have access to the development materials? Or do we have to hang out on discord to get access?
Nick Onken
Been a long-time viewer and implementer of Matt’s stuff. Figured it’s time to put my money where his mouth is. I was very inspired by his video and work philosophies. Go get ‘em, tiger(s)!
Nyissan
I've been following your adventures for a long time. The idea of 'open development' is very intriguing and gave me the push to finally join your patreon. Can't wait to delve into what's already ben posted and to see how this develops!
Rory
Hey MCDM, Been watching your content on and off for the past half decade. Really happy to see you taking on this project. So much so that ive made a Patreon. Success Ahoy!
RaeDragon
Watching MCDM build a whole new system has taken a curtain off my eyes and really expanded how I think about dnd. Now it seems that every time new seattle dnd content comes out my first thought is “ok sure but WHY does it have to be that way? How does that fit the image of… whatever it is. Now, instead of “well what if we just tweak it a lil” my brain follows the logic train to “nah the foundation is flawed. Best to just start completely new.” There are pros and cons to this way of thinking but ultimately- I’m really excited for what your system can bring to the ttrpg community.
Adam T
I've had this module in my head I've wanted to write for some time. Originally planned it for 5e but, well, I've cooled on the idea somewhat lately. Starting to get it in my head that I might write it for this project when info is available. (I've codenamed your game 'MCDM Sausage' in my head, by the way, for the frequent idiom usage.)
Anthony Savage
I greatly appreciate being able to see how the sausage is made. All the work you've been doing and talking about has been invaluable to me as an amateur designer to better understand how I should approach my own designs.
Mr.Suulix
It goes a huge way for my consumer trust, the fact that you’re being explicit about “not asking for advice in sausage making” 😆 I really appreciate you guys at MCDM making your own game vision come to life, and I’m excited to see the development process. Thanks so much for sharing it with the community!!
dittrich04
This looks fun. Just the description of armor and how it's function should fit it's fantasy made me excited. Thanks for letting us watch the process.
William Goley
Immediately texted my group linking your video and said "Just a heads up... we'll be switching to this"
Ângelo
This post was a great session zero for how this experience is going to work, thanks for the hard work Matt and team!
Craig Lockley
Matt, I'm so happy you're doing this. The whole OGL matter, even if it was rolled back, has opened an opportunity for what I believe MCDM was truly destined for. I wish you folks all the best with it and I'll be watching closely as it develops.
MR
Just wanted to say I am excited about your game and extremely thankful you are doing this open development thing. I have never seen game development, the actually process, and it’s truly fantastic to witness. All the best to you!
AngelPlayer
Looking forward to what MCDM comes up with. High fantasy is my favorite genre, and dnd 3.0/3.5, 4.0, 5.0, and Pathfinder all have their pros and cons when creating those stories. If MCDM can build a system that caters well to the four pillars of ttrpgs (social encounters, combat, exploration, and puzzles), allows players to find a 'role' in their group, and balances the game so new players are not left in the dust with min-maxers (like myself), I think this will be an exceptional product line. I believe MCDM can deliver, and my wife and I are already interested in how we could make content for it in the years to come!
Paul Bigbee
Stoke level: 11/10.
Michael Hughes
Can’t wait to see what you guys cook up, Arcadia has been fantastic and Flee Mortals is soooo good! I really love MCDM’s design ideas, and can’t wait too tinker with the monsters in the future MCDM RPG book :)
Zarban
Can you explain this a bit? I haven't played Traveller, but I have the core rule book. I can't find anything about "equipment locker" or "ship's locker" beyond a couple of maps. An online search shows people talking about it, but I can't figure out where in the rules it's explained.
Gavin
Traveler always had a good idea with the "equipment locker" which takes about a paragraph to explain and takes the place of 3-5 pages of "wax, sealing...wax, candle....wax, cheese preservation" equipment tables.
Optim Pegasus
Just signed on after watching the announcement video and all I can say is... TAKE MY MONEY!!! Really stoked to see the development process and learn a little more about game design in the process. In the meantime, I suppose I will binge all of Arcadia to see what type of cool stuff I can swipe for my games. =)
Rogar Ravenhair
Can’t fucking wait! I’m so excited to more amazing products, from perhaps the best run ttrpg company!
MCDM Productions
Yeah that's the name James uses in his docs. PROJECT: INEVITABLE. I just think a good name should in some way convey either the tone, or theme of the game, or capture the feeling of what the heroes will be doing, and I don't think "Inevitable" does that. I dunno, maybe. We'll see.
Dan Hauswald
Name idea, even just as a working/project title beyond 'MCDM RPG': "Inevitable" I've heard you drop that word a few times, and even the phrase, "the inevitable MCDM RPG." It certainly has felt inevitable watching the channel for years, following, using, and integrating Arcadia content--and then the whole monster book. The core of my 3-year running campaign is built around Anahita and Uquivel from Arcadia 1 "Inevitable: the MCDM RPG" has a really cool ring to it and feels fitting for the project. I'm so excited to see this game come to its inevitable reality.
Ryan Treanor
Great video Matt. I know you spent a long time getting it right. I could feel the emotion and wanted to say I'm excited to get to come on this journey with you. You and the team are doing great :)
Daniel Tompkins
Really intrigued to see what kind of base mechanics you'll end up using. I've only recently started to try systems that use significantly different mechanics than dnd/pathfinder
Chris Dowdell
Thanks for the opener, Matt. Just like everyone else, I'm very excited about this! I'll keep in mund not to get attached to anything.
Peter Bess
So excited for this!
Roman Penna
Good fortune for the playtest tomorrow!
