Description:
A free-form table-top role playing game about a surreal road trip. Players improvise a series of surreal events that happen on the road. The game focuses on the humor of an absurd journey that exists for its own sake.
The game was made over the course of four weeks with three other teammates: Kelly Chang, Shelley Chen, and Shiyun Liu.
Gameplay:
Players encounter surreal events on the road that obstruct their way. Everyone has an emotional reaction to these events, which is determined randomly by a die roll. Players work through these events and visit strange towns to rest when the day ends. The next morning starts with players reflecting on the trip or sharing backstories before getting on the road again.
The game ends when the players reach their destination after five days on the road.
Design Details:
- We used a small character creation stage to start the game gently and give players material to create surreal events from. This helps generate a spectrum of irrational events where some feel more meaningful than others because they might relate to a player's character.
- To encourage comedy, we made players react to surreal events based on a die roll which often led to nonsensical responses. We also asked players to justify their reactions to create some humorous engagement with the absurd.
- We made players reflect and discuss at the start of each day to let them signal what they are interested in and seed the ground for the upcoming surreal events. We also used it to create an ongoing push and pull between meaning and the irrational, sustaining a surreal atmosphere.