Welcome Metropole Luxury Coffin

[madunkieg]

How I've failed. There was one aspect of neo-cyberpunk/postcyberpunk fiction that I've missed. It's discussed in Lawrence Person's Notes Toward a Postcyberpunk Manifesto . If there's one thing that separates the early cyberpunk from the later, it's the switch from lower class to middle class heroes. I knew of it. I didn't do it. Perhaps part of it was that I just wanted to set the game in a capsule hotel, which just doesn't evoke the middle class. Perhaps part of it was that games can benefit from a focused goal, and wealth made an easy goal.

But this emphasis, including Person's, on the dystopian/violent aspects of cyberpunk fiction have been overplayed by analyzers of the genre, but never seemed front and centre when the authors were asked about cyberpunk. If you read the opening to the Mirrorshades anthology, it's not all about dystopia. It's not someone complaining about the world going wrong. It's someone preaching the great opportunities to come. It's about reshaping social organization and restructure culture using technology. The new cyberpunk fiction focuses on that more than ever, for now we've seen how technology has reshaped social groupings. MLC puts that front and centre. I'm happy with it, or I will be until the playtesters tear it apart tomorrow.

A link to pics of a capsule hotel that looks a bit like how I sometimes envision the inside of the MLC: (except the MLC isn't as clean).

[madunkieg]

Playtesting Notes

The game ran better than expected, a lot better. The group ranged in gaming styles from players who measured everything in 10-foot increments to people who did thoughtful scene framing. We fixed the employment resolution test to match conflict resolution. They gave me a great idea for putting the character sheet on cards. Finally, some suggestions were made to create more money-sinks in the game. Everything else worked better than expected. They're all demanding to play more. Who am I to deny them?

One suggestion was made for a special playtest that I think I'll do. He wants to try playing the game with fairly advanced characters, testing how late-campaign play works. I don't think I've ever done that with a game before, but now that I'm thinking about it, it seems incredibly important. The next few days will see me designing an adventure for advanced characters, along with much editing on the draft.

[madunkieg]

I've been working on the cover image, building a 3d graphic of the facade of the MLC. It still has some work to be done, both in details and camera angle, but I thought I'd put it up for some feedback.



You can find a larger versions of the images at flickr:

I've got to make up images of the coffins themselves and the automat, too, provided I have time.

[pstmdrn]

It's lovely!

[vulpinoid]

That's looking good. What 3d program are you using?

[maledictus]

Really nice renders

[madunkieg]

[vulpinoid]

Yes, I would believe Bryce 4.

I've been using a free version of Bryce 5 for years (and have only just upgraded to a more recent version).

Sometimes a good tool never dies.

[madunkieg]

I could fiddle with this image together, but I think I need to move on, so here's the cover picture, before cropping:



I should be past the brainstorming stage, but the ideas keep coming. The MLC is now 6 floors between two street levels, with the entranceway on the second with the moving walkway outside. The tower continues further up, but the stairways don't go there and the elevators won't rise beyond the MLC.

...unless you fast-talk them into it. The main elevator's name is Roger. He likes the sorts of music he's not allowed to play.

[madunkieg]

I could have used another day. I could have used another month, another 30 pages, another... Alas I have to work in the morning, so tonight is effectively my deadline. The submission has been made to 1km1kt and hopefully all the pictures and fonts are fine. I'll post a link to it when it's up. For now I need a break, but my players won't let me take too much break. There are demands for more sessions and much expansion: more on the datanet, more depth on tech mods, the world beyond the MLC.

The greatest thing I learned from this contest was in regards to fruitful void. For those who don't know, fruitful void involves exploring a theme through mechanics, but not having a stat or mechanic for the theme. Thus, the void for MLC is community, and it's explored through brand tribes, sharing technology, mechanics for helping one another with tasks, etc.

Creating a fruitful void wasn't enough, though. I contrasted it against the game's goal, gathering the funds to leave the MLC. Pitting these two things against one another brings up questions of loyalty and empathy between characters. In playtesting it really pushed them to explore the possibilities in what seems, at first, to be a game with a straight line to the goal.

Goodnight everybody.