2018 's 12 New Games Challenge and March Update

So I've been kinda slower this year so far in hitting my 12 New Games Challenge. Despite having given myself focus on getting more TAG Sessions releases out, I've realized I've been stretching myself thin with so many projects, stretch goals, and experimental games... and I only mean that in a bad way in the sense that it has kept me from being active in other ways.

I have barely been able to update my personal blog, The Garapata Can Speak, nor our couple's blog, BaduyPride, for years now.  And I've been juggling time to find the opportunities to visit my family, to be able to travel and to watch movies.   Thankfully, my anchor my love and my heart, Rocky, remains forever supportive and stoic in reminding me to both reach for the stars and to remain realistically grounded. The last few days have been a challenge, with him at Singapore for work stuff, but I love the fact that despite the physical distance, I know he is in my heart and I am in his. And that our passion for each other and our passion for tabletop gaming both continue to grow with every single day that we continue to share our lives.

So, back to the challenge, it is now March 15 as of this blog post's writing and so far, the only new games we've played so far are the following:
1) Pasion de las Pasiones
2) Protocol: Virtuax

Set for this Sunday is the third new game, a session of jim Pinto's Protocol: Dead Things in the Walls.
The beauty of Protocol is how simply elegant the systems are, and yet how wildly different the experiences they can offer given each game has its own little twists and touches.

Workwise, I've been busy toiling away at the keyboard, hoping to hit the following projects this year:
a) Project "Beautiful Song, Deadly Blade" 
Which is a Powered by the Apocalypse WUXIA game which tries to capture the narrative drama that unfolds in such books and movies. While it seems to be a zeitgeist project (with so many other creators working on something similar), I'm thankful that everyone seems to be approaching them in their own ways. I do hope the people who take part in the BETA testing would have favorable things to say. If you are interested, do shoot me a message asap!  The current code is OUaTiJ, and beyond that I cannot say more for now.

b) A Second Moment
The deluxe edition and sequel to the almost-award winning two-player tabletop rpg, A Single Moment, continues to be refined and tightened. After the very colorful events of the previous year, I think the baby deserves to stand on its own two feet once again and bid farewell to the past. It was definitely a learning year for me, given it was my first game to ever be released as my first attempt at a fully professional solo venture. This Second Moment will be a chance to show I have not lost my touch. While I doubt one can ever hit lightning twice, once can at least learn from what the past has given and use those teachings to make things far better.

c) Dreamscrapers
My Steven Universe inspired game has taken a back seat, especially with the first two projects above taking center stage. But I definitely still hope to get back on the saddle and finish this Young Market friendly RPG which includes drawing as a mechanic in accomplishing things.

d) Neko Yume/Cat's Dream
The Ghibli-inspired Solitaire RPG is also hoping for a professional release this year. The artwork for it is just spectacular and I cannot wait to see the whole thing get completed and release. It is a project I never thought I'd ever release and I do hope people enjoy what I've made once it is out.

In addition, there are a bunch of other projects, stretch goals, and the sort which I cannot really talk about yet, but I feel tremendously honored and humbled to have been invited to be part of.  Then, there are also the Community Creators stuff that I've been working on for 7th Sea, 2nd edition and I do hope to soon release stuff as well for Pugmire, as well as for one of my old favorites, Vampire the Masquerade!  2018 continues to be an exciting and thrilling adventure.  I do hope you're all still choosing to be supportive of me in this wonderful journey.

Thank you.

TAG bites - March 2018 - Dead Things in the Walls

This March, let's discover how to do horror without a GM handling the scares.

Three players only.

"Something inside the walls was breathing. Calling for me in the night. I couldn't sleep or wake. I was trapped somewhere between consciousness and death. I knew whatever was calling for me wanted one over the other." 

Dead Things in the Walls is a roleplaying game about modern horror and the price we pay for greed. Based on films like Dark Water, The Fog, The Grudge, Hellraiser, and Ringu, this game explores the lives of people trapped in a vicious cycle of terror. Players take on the roles of characters replaying the horrible events that once took place in an aged, and obviously haunted, house. And while they can leave and go on with their lives anytime they wish, the cycle cannot end until the dead things in the walls are fed.

Protocol is a series of story roleplaying games that thrust characters together into dramatic situations. Each game uses the same set of rules, with vastly different parameters, start points, characters, and finales. Players take on the roles of directors outside the action and characters inside the action, using the ebb and flow of four different scene-framing styles (vignettes, interrogations, interludes, and ensembles) to tell meaningful stories about characters in crisis.

Each game in the Protocol series is zero-prep. The game length is exponentially long, so games with more players take more time to complete. The Protocol Series requires a deck of poker cards as well as tokens to track drama points.

TAG bites this March 2018 will be running a session of Dead Things in the Walls.

There will be seats for 3 players. Mature players only recommended.  Best for players interested in trying a horror game which is different from anything else they have played before.

Purchase the game here.

Learn more about TAG Bites.