The untitled GUMSHOE Space game has now entered in-house playtesting—meaning that I’m not done the manuscript, but have enough of it to get started with my own group. In the process we’ll be, one hopes, finding the stuff that breaks on impact and fixing it before it goes out to other groups.
At this stage I’m always looking for ways to measure the success of the initial session given over to character generation.
This length of time devoted to character creation isn’t a given, of course. Indie-style designs have taught us to focus on a quick process, often because the game is a one-shot. Skulduggery certainly follows that model, giving you a mix and match process that unfolds in a few minutes. It aims to be a) fast, b) give you an immediate creative connection to your character and c) to be fast.
Largely because players bring so many expectations to the space opera genre—they want their ship, their gear, their choice of alien species, and other categories of crunchy bit as well, the space game embraces the more traditional model of the choice-laden, involved generation process.
One might argue, in fact, that it’s better to have either a very short process, taking a few minutes, or a long one, taking an entire session, and not so great to have a process that falls between the two. Half a session of character generation and half of play doesn’t feel like you’re starting quickly, nor does it give you the range of choices that engage you with a more detailed character.
So when speed is no longer your prime consideration, how do you measure the success of your generation process?
As a GM, first of all, you have to realize that the bit that seems like a lot of boring book-flipping may be extremely engaging for the players. This is when they enjoy maximum possibility and range of choice. It’s when inspiration start to flow. Or it might actually be boring book-flipping. It can be hard to tell the two apart.
Clarity is clearly an important measure. If you can smoothly go through the list of steps without getting confused or losing focus, something’s going right.
Having players happily ooh and aah over the various options, whether they be bits of gear or super-powers, is a good sign.
If they’re still thinking out loud about the campaign as they head out the door, that’s a point in your favor.
An oft-overlooked element is the quantity of interaction between players during this phase. Choices the group must make or discuss collectively bring about the shift from a series of people working in parallel to a joint imaginative effort. For example, in space GUMSHOE you pick a ship type from a list of eight with various features and drawbacks. This seems like practical crunchiness at its height, but it also requires the group to agree on what kind of crew they want to be. The choice achieves collaboration by means of a genre cornerstone, the starship.
The group questionnaires as originally envisioned by Greg Stafford and now found in HeroQuest 2 serve a like purpose, though more obviously in the realm of collective narrative control.
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