I’ve got some cool Thornwatch news to share. Last time I talked about my game I mentioned that I got some great advice from Mike Selinker. He told me I needed to let someone else run the game besides me. Since I started working on it almost two years ago I have been the only one to ever GM it. Putting it in someone elses hands was incredibly scary but I did it last week. It was nerve wracking but Selinker was right, the notes I got were better than any playtest I’ve done since the first year of the game’s development.
Jamie actually approached me right after I made that last post and asked if she could run the game. You probably know Jamie from Child’s Play but she’s also an experienced D&D player and a very talented DM. She’s also been in nearly all my Thornwatch playtests and loves the game probably as much as I do.
So I sat back and tried to keep my mouth shut as she ran an adventure for a group that had never played the game before. It was a fantastic test of the game and I ended up taking a few pages of notes. It was a great way to see just how much of the game I’m still holding in my head. I learned a lot about what I need to get written down so that someone who is not me can pick this game up and run it for their friends.
Keeping my mouth shut wasn’t easy and there were a few times I slipped up and started answering questions rather than letting Jamie handle it. I think the next step is for me to not even be in the room.
I also probably need to produce a few more copies of the game so I can have multiple groups testing it. I've asked Mike Fehlauer one of our business guys here at PA to project manage Thornwatch for me. That means he’ll be giving me milestones and deadlines which is something I really need. I've moved from “I’m going to try and make a game” to “I am going to produce this game I made.” It's pretty exciting.
-Gabe out
