Let's Try Making a Hack of a Solo Journaling Game
For the past few years I've been wanting to try making a few things: zines, solo journaling RPGs, and interactive fiction. I've made a couple zines so far but I struggled with making my own solo journaling game, mostly because I hadn't played enough games yet to get a feel for it. I've had more practice now, and it occurred to me that I don't have to start from complete scratch and create something brand new and unique. Some solo journaling games can be adapted into different versions. I've seen "hacks" of these games and realized that I could maybe try to make my own hack as a first attempt at making a game. Then I saw that the Bearblog Creation Festival was going on right now here, so I thought it would be fun to try to get this done for that.
First of all, if you're new to solo journaling RPGs, I'll explain what they are. They are role playing games that you can play by yourself because they have game rules/mechanics that help you build a story, drawing, map, etc based on prompts. For instance, a game might have a list of prompts that you choose by rolling dice or flipping over playing cards. Or both! There are so many types of solo journaling games out there. Many of them are free and homemade. I like them because they are so accessible and useful for experimenting with your writing or just writing for fun. I also use solo journaling RPGs as a stress/anxiety relief method because they help me focus on something completely different from the stress in my personal life.
So if you're also a solo journaling RPG enjoyer or are curious to try some, read on below!
The Original Game Alone Among the Stars: The game that I used as a starting point is Alone Among the Stars by Takuma Okada. In this game, you explore outer space and the amazing planets out there. The game mechanics use dice and playing cards to help you find planets, wondrous sights, and exciting adventures. Many other exploration games have been created as hacks of this easy to understand and play game. I'm excited to play it soon for my OCs that I write about on this blog.
Download Alone Among the Stars here
My Game Alone in the Night Side: The game I created using Along Among the Stars as a model is about creating items in the landscapes of your dreams, and is base don my wish that I could get creative things done while sleeping. You have your life on the Day Side, but at night, instead of having random dreams or nightmares, you fall asleep into your second life on the Night Side. This second life helps you mentally recharge for the next day ahead. It is a magical, dreamlike world where you can find or create whatever you wish and feel a deep sense of accomplishment and contentedness. Create whatever feels cathartic to you in the moment that you're playing.
Download Alone in the Night Side here
NOTE: This game is printable with the game rules on one side and an example version of gameplay on the other. Then you can cut and fold it into an 8 page zine with the game rules on the pages and the example map on the inside that you can unfold to see. There are instructions on the webpage, or you can look up how to cut and fold an 8-page zine.