I published a game (and have cool friends)

Announcement! Game!

A roleplaying game on my roleplaying game blog? No way. But I'm excited to share that it's my first published game (that's not an anthology of other people's games)! Very exciting stuff.

 

 

It's called Levity. It's a GM-less, rules-lite, comedy storytelling game for 3-5 players. I'll include the pitch and link here in case anyone is interested in checking it out.

Survival horror in the Canadian woods, identical twins and their romantic mix-ups, and an evil demi-god sea cucumber with an exploding coconut are just some of the stories you might stumble into in this zany party game that plays like a role-playing game and an improv comedy session got lost in an Italian vineyard and fell in love. Get ready to "yes, and" with your friends into silly memories of love, murder, the DMV, dream vampires, the hot scuba instructor, and more. Perfect for board game night with your friends or when the DM in your regular campaign gets stranded in the Arctic.  

NOW THAT THAT'S OUT OF THE WAY:

I wish to wax poetic about my friends. So you'll just have to suck it up and listen. One of the best things about this hobby is that I get to spend time with very excellent people. Some of them are in my Discord server. Some of them are in the two little game development communities I've scavenged together in Austria and in North Carolina. Some of them are not in any of those spaces but are still cool. They are good, creative people. They contributed to my legal aid fundraiser both creatively and financially. They do their own cool stuff too! They produce awesome games. They have game companies. They run a game podcast. They run a game adjacent forum. They're putting on an indie game event. They have game blogs (see the sidebar). Lots of blogs. 

They are the reason I made my game. I was inspired by the creativity, hard work, and energy that they put into this hobby. They are the reason the fundraising for legal aid was possible. Our magazine was produced because of their writing, layout, and administrative support and printed because of donations they gave. They are the reason I'm in this hobby. When I first made my Discord server, they created a community around me, replacing one I lost under sad circumstances and reminding me that I'm welcome in this hobby. They ask and give me advice, creating a little chain of mentorship that allows me to feel connected to a broader lineage of good people in this hobby. They have protected, encouraged, grounded, promoted, and materially supported me. They playtest for me and have me playtest for them.

I think I'm feeling a bit sappy because I miss my friends in Austria and am cheering them on from afar as they put together an event for this weekend (see the event link above hidden among all the other cool stuff my friends are doing). I think I'm feeling a bit sappy because I was spending time with new friends on Monday doing game design and I was so inspired by the fun ideas we bounced around (me with my Mongolian Empire-inspired game, one friend with her Wild West but with angels game, one friend with her courtly intrigue fairy game). I think I'm feeling a little bit sappy because I asked folks in my Discord server send silly selfies and pet pics in the selfies-and-pet-pics channel, and I'm looking at the silly pictures and am reminded of how good the people in my life are.

If there's a moral to this story, it's that we can only go as far as the people we're surrounded by. I'm a very lucky woman to be surrounded by these fine folk.