HILT // BLADE in Progress...

Hi! Here's a quick overview of where HILT // BLADE is at. First, if you want a preview of some of the core mechanics, check out this super lightweight hack I whipped up to submit to the Emotional Mecha Jam: https://agonysonggames.itch.io/metal-tears-ep. That will give you a good idea of what's in store for HILT // BLADE.

Its core systems are:

1. A randomized encounter with a giant monster (I'm calling them Imminent Threats) that should occur every session you play.
2. Moves that support interpersonal play, carefully pruned to avoid PvP (believe me, you'll generate enough tangential drama without moves that point you at antagonisms).
3. Snowballing consequences that can be as easy to pull yourself out of as they are to get into.

This game isn't bogged down by pages of moves, modifiers, or outlier mechanics. It's written expressly to get you into your characters and pushing an emergent plot forward collaboratively. You'll find (in the EP and the full game) that, most of the time, you're more interested in how your own and fellow PCs react to something, rather than what affect it had on the world. That's intentional: in HILT // BLADE, the interiority of the characters pushes interactions and generates scenes as needed.

Where the game really shines, of course, is when the randomized encounter hits: the PCs take all the baggage they created and tried to work through into their mechs and into the fight. Sometimes it gets ugly.

Now, I've written most of the mechanical bits and I've done a series of short playtests. At this point, I'm about to enter longer, campaign-style playtests to see how the game does over weeks and months, especially if a group has an open table culture and players and coming and going. Keep your eyes on my YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8DZ9ihhxSJwdepn95i0MzDaFAwHxfZ4n) for general playtests (where you can hear everything - from play to questions to criticisms) and upcoming updates! I'm going to talk about my design process and eventually have an edited, longform AP up for people to preview the game.