Get deep enough into the indie tabletop RPG scene and eventually you'll come up with an idea that you want to play out in a game, but you can't find a good match for it (despite the thousands of games out there). So what do you do? You start making one yourself!

Most people homebrew rules in their favorite RPGs, and if you think about it, even that is game design in a way. You're no longer playing the game you were before right out of the book or box, you've added your own piece to engage with the story that you felt worked better in a particular situation. It may seem crazy, but anyone can make a game, either hacking an existing system or coming up with something entirely new, it just depends on how much work you're willing to put into it!

In this episode, Rene talks about all the games he's got in various states of development and completion, either through recognizing a niche that hasn't been explored well enough, or just an idea he couldn't get out of his silly head.

Please reach out if any of these ideas seem good to you and let's playtest them or urge me to finish them!

1. Empires of Rust - Post-Catastrophe Exploration & Community Building RPG
2. BRP Design Challenge - T.I.M.E. Unit; Time Travel RPG
3. Party Animals - Young player RPG where you play animals working together
4. MECH - Carved by RUNE solo RPG pitting mech vs. kaiju
5. Shared Dice Pool / Multiple Resolution Mechanics
6. Modular Classless Progression System
7. Cell(F) Defense - Play as white blood cells in the human body during infection/injury
8. The Estate - Tarot prompt-based year of an artist at a legendary estate
9. A Modern Discovery of Magic - What if magic was discovered in the 1910s?
10. Candles in the Dark Library - Dark academia Forged in the Dark
11. Decktectives - 2-player Buddy Cop RPG using a deck of cards & poker mechanics
12. All That Jazz - A music-making improv game of tossing dice and filling out sheet music
13. Lumen & Nox - The battle between light & dark in us all with Mass Effect style morality tracking & grid-based combat where light/dark affects your options
14. Pokemon TCG RPG - Just a way to use those old pokemon cards to tell shared 'mon stories without the many overtuned fan-made Pokemon RPGs out there...

Download Rene's Finished Games (for free!):

• One Last Quest - bring back your favorite characters for one more mission as elderly versions of themselves!
• Pine Island - Rene & Christian's first game for the PocketQuest 2022 summer game jam. Play as campers or counselors at a summer camp where nothing at all creepy will happen, surely...

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | Threads | DMs After Dark

email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com

Music in the Episode:

Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands