Obsolete

Episode 1 & 2, rules character sheets and a findings & methodology report can be downloaded from here.
Obsolete was a table-top role playing designed by myself and Geniveve Conley. We started from the idea of making a tabletop role playing experience for people who don't play tabletop role playing games. We set out first to do research on why people- especially gamers- are squeamish about table top experiences and then set out to design a game that accounted for that.

The big finds: 

• General anxiety about "roleplaying"
• A large number of responders felt that they weren't creative enough.
• Steep learning curve (A 20-sided die is terrifying.)
• Time commitment 
• ​Inaccessible setting / Social Stigma (Few players felt comfortable in fantasy or sci-fi environments)

We took a few steps to try and work around these:

• Players play as themselves, woken from a long rest in an unfamiliar environment
• Combat is demphasized and all situations are resolved with a single roll of a familar 6-sided die.
• Simplified character creation: You self-report on a small number of skills and then choose abilities you think you have. These abilities are intended to be role playing prompts, designed to guide players as well as aiding the DM in telling the story. 
• The story is broken up into "episodes" of a approximately 10-12 episode season. Each "episode" should take no more than 90 minutes, with a target playtime of 45-60 minutes. 
• We took writing cues from 'rational mystery' shows like LOST, ending each episode on a cliffhanger and implying a deep, recurring mythology in the universe. 
• Setting the game in a sci-fi esque, but familiar environment.
  

You can check out a video of the playtest in the sidebar. 

Responsibilities:
On Obsolete, Genevieve and I really split the world-building duties. We came up with a basic premise- that advanced AI essentially makes labor and familiar human values obsolete- and expanded from there. We kept a pretty thorough world bible that proved to be invaluable when designing the game scenarios.

I also took the lead on developing the game systems and procedures that were tailored to our survey results. Although, Genevieve's constant refinement and use of player feedback to restructure the play was incredibly helpful. 

I also shot and edited the video. Not my strong suit, but a fun task nonetheless. 

TEAM

Team Credits:
Co-Designer & Co- Narrative Lead - Genevieve Conley

Co-Designer & Co-Narrative Lead- Scott Stephan

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MEDIA