Nick
@deepdark
TTRPG creator, miniature artist, and mech pilot. (he/him) A Perfect Rock is available now: aperfectrock.com Web: Insta: @deepdarkgames
I had a launch party for A Perfect Rock last night, and we made so many planets!
Uneasy is the game I'm most excited to get to the table. @adambell.games did such an amazing job with the production!
We've got the first copy of A Perfect Rock off the press! Really happy with how this turned out (and shout-out to @peregrinecoast.press for the swiss-bound, french flap suggestion).
The core game loop involves navigating to distant stars and exploring planets that could be your new home. I wanted each star spread to feel like you were there, looking at your potential new sun. Mixing the stellar landscapes with "old scientific book" took a few attempts to get right!
It's also important to me that my books are really useable, and never a barrier to actually playing the game. This means having a good flow, letting the layout breathe, and making it really easy for the facilitating player to run the game.
A huge inspiration was old scientific books with rock illustrations. I found this style helped emphasize the "you are an explorer, what do you find?" aspect of the game. (plus: I want to encourage creativity at a variety of scales, from planets down to rocks.)
Almost finished the layout of A Perfect Rock! Here are some sneak peeks and my thoughts on the design:
Played @possibleworlds.bsky.social's Tacklebox this evening, and it was excellent! Super easy setup, the "two people fishing on a boat" premise was really strong, and the prompts were very clever. Highly recommended if you want a 2-player story game!
A Perfect Rock is a finalist for the CRIT award's Best 1-page TTRPG! I'm seriously honoured to be nominated. Please help recognize these amazing indie creators by voting for your favourite games and creators here: forms.gle/HJLARSHa3FYz...
And I was Timothy, who wore a mini-bear skull mask and made a mess everywhere with the leaves from his nest.
@bmars.bsky.social was StarsBane, the serious, clean, tech-y kangaroo rat who eventually learned to just chill.
@strautmaskreplica.bsky.social was Cheddar, an average rat who loved food, spices, and their missing bestie.
Such a fun playtest of A Perfect Rock: our high-tech, super-clean rats ended up on an ocean planet, living on top of a whale, worshipping a sacred tree. Thank you @strautmaskreplica.bsky.social @bmars.bsky.social for being such good rat shipmates.
Another playtest of A Perfect Rock, and unfortunately our lizard people decided to live on different planets. I chose the planet with frozen acid oceans where the dead could be unthawed back to life, and @adambell.games lived in the center of a big egg with gigantic megalodons.
Volka loved to collect flowers, but also couldn't resist snatching a snake-teratops egg. Vassili had a strange, alien doll mysteriously appear in his quarters and whisper things to him. Very normal stuff.
Had a really fun playtest of A Perfect Rock last night! Our cosmonaut-inspired explorers did not want to live on the planet that digested you, or the planet with ancient alien defence bots. Instead, we settled for the hot, tropical planet teeming with deadly animals. #zinemonth #zinequest
What would you collect from each new planet? Keepsakes give a unique opportunity to build both the galaxy and your explorer's interests. Come embrace your inner collector in A Perfect Rock!
Second option: find a new home planet around a star forged from pure magic. Nothing weird could happen there, right?
Would you live on a ring-world? I'm sure it'll turn out differently than Halo. Like, 80% positive.
Zenithal highlight on the HOME Legendary Pilot kickstarter rewards. What theme song should be playing in the background here?