This will be important this year, as The Forge Forums are closing, and I am concerned that what little community I am a part of, will be scattered to the figurative wind. There is still Story Games, which is a popular site, but their layout is a little unorthodox.

Game Chef is a one-week, do or die RPG development contest. Contestants are given a theme, and a number of key words, or "ingredients" that must be included. The produced document has a maximum length of 3000 words. The winner of the Game chef earns nothing but bragging rights, the greatest reward of all.

Last year's contest was "William Shakespere" themed, and the ingredients were Daughter, Exile, Forsworn, and Nature. Fair Folk and Wyrd Sisters was my entry for that, and I am quite satisfied with the results.

I've started to prepare by scheduling 2 play tests with different game groups, and a couple brain storming session with my brown haired boys. My mind is peeling out with ideas for games, and I'm working hard to not fall in love with any of them, and not to over develop them too soon. After all, I don't know what the theme is going to be.

What I do know is that I make the games that I want to play, and this year I'd like a narrative game that plays well with 2 people, but can scale up. Something that rewards the player for putting their own character through hell.

I'll be using this space to describe my creative process as I go through the contest.

Idea: Game rewards players when their characters die. Players create a new character with the same amount of accumulated XP, and a bonus based on the number of goals or challenges the character has overcome.