Devlog #1 - DM Dalliance's Design Challenge
My first Game Jam!
Hosted by DM Dalliance and run on itch.io, this game design challenge is the first I’ve participated in. The theme is ‘new beginnings’, and the resulting game must be no more than one page long (front and back), and either for a single player or four-plus players.
As I am already working on a solo journaling game, I thought this challenge would be a wonderful opportunity to further explore the genre. The restrictions mean that the story and the rules must be simple and concise, but still engaging.
In considering the theme of ‘new beginnings’, alongside the advent of the new year, my mind immediately went to Kanesha Bryant’s short Tumblr comic from 2016. This bitter-sweet comic about the death and rebirth of an eternal beast has stayed with me, the message of resilience and kindness and the willingness to try again despite failure is represented so beautifully as an choice.
I also wanted to experiment with the two D6 mechanic that represents opposing impulses of the player character that i first came across in shrug’s Dweller Among the Dead, and am currently experiment with in my other project.
My progress so far is developing the game around it’s central concept:
You are an isolated acolyte with big dreams to make your mark on the world. One day, you find a mysterious egg, seemingly abandoned, and take it home with you.
The game is structured into three acts, representing the different developmental stages as the egg hatches and grows. The player will roll opposing D6’s to determine how their character treats the creature in their care, journaling their interactions, attitude and ambitions.
I still need to do some fenagling around mechanics and the conclusion, but am so far happy with the progress made. Submissions are open until February 1st, so it is my hope to have the basic game ready in the next two weeks.
Download for free on itch.io!