Future Gamemastering

Adjusting to an ever changing world.
One hobby activity which has seemed to increase during the past year of pandemic adjustments is my planning for future games. Imagining a game that could be brought to the table "someday" is not new to the past year. It is something that I have lovingly engaged in for as long as I can recall. There are always games to get excited about, and planning a future game brings me joy. I am constantly running across sources of inspiration almost every day - things which seem to be able to be turned into a game scenario through application of some imagination. Each new hobby product release always seems so full of potential, and too many of them end up on my shelves - more than I will ever have the time and opportunity to play. With the lack of in-person gaming this past year, however, planning for future games has increased in proportion to games played - or so it seems.

I am a devotee of traditional game design - I like the term "traditional" to describe the original role-playing game design - the one I started with and the one that I often return to. As such, two games that have recently come to rest on my selves are White Star and Eldritch Tales. Both are based on the White Box design via its Swords & Wizardry simulacrum. White Star is obviously a space game and Eldritch Wizardry is mythos role-playing. One can readily see as much from a cursory glance at the cover illustrations.

Do I already have systems that I can use for space adventure games or mythos investigations - of course I do. I have some very good ones that I enjoy immensely. Ones that need no introduction and have stood the test of time well. Games like Traveller, D6 Space, and Call of Cthulhu will likely be games I return to time and again, despite discovery of any new system. Old friends are precious.

There are occasions in all aspects of life where expectations are greater than realizations, where we think we will like something more than we actually do, but then again part of the fun of trying new things is in the "finding out". So I read the new rules, think about scenarios and plan for future "finding out" if these are "keepers" or not.