Hello all!
It's been a minute since I had a chance to visit here. Questccg graciously dropped me a line and I figured I would swing by to say hello and send out some good vibes to you all.
I'm currently living in a rural area of the northern west USA, studying permaculture gardening/land-management practices and sustainable natural building at a kind of "eco-institute." I've been here since the first half of 2022, and have enjoyed life here tremendously. As part of my internship, I've recently been granted stewardship of an acre, rent-free, for life. This place will be my "home-base" for the foreseeable future.
Regarding game design: oh, it still happens, of course. :)
My current focus is on print-and-play games that utilize little more than a few sheets of paper, some common dice, and something to write with. The eco-institute has an Internet following, many of whom are homeschooling children, and so I've gradually shifted my focus to catering to that crowd (in an effort to generate some income). Designing "edutainment" games and teaching for a living is something I'd done at my previous day job, but this still feels like new territory for me. It's all enjoyable, thankfully, mainly due to where I live and what I do each day.
For those who remember it, Coal N' Write is still on my radar. I break it out to play/test with fellow interns, designers, and institute guests from time to time. It's become what I call "a roll n' write 1870s Montana mining adventure." The game has morphed into a business-management, storytelling ramble that stays true to the original three-dice mechanic I'd developed so long ago. I still think of it as my magnum opus and the best game I've developed yet.
Finally: I have a freebie for you to have a look at. Here's the first draft of Wordsmith, a print and play "speed-spelling" game that uses only two six-sided dice and something to write and erase with. I have aspirations on updating the graphic design to be a bit more user-friendly and charging money for that version, however so long as this draft stays available it ought to be free to download and play:
I want to explore more with the "2d6 grid" mechanic, which is a simple way to add some randomness and tactical aspects to a wide variety of game ideas. Maybe it's something where other designers can collaborate and we can develop a collection of games using similar mechanics and components? A PnP anthology seems like a lot of fun. ...All in good time.
That's all for now. Thanks again to questccg for dropping me a line. I hope everyone is well...! :)
