Creating a system-agnostic roleplaying game module

Abstract

Opinnäytetyön aiheena on yleispätevän roolipeli seikkailun luominen ja sen pelitestaaminen, sekä pelaajien mieltymysten profilointi.

The main objective of this thesis was to create a tabletop roleplaying game adventure, designed to work independently of any pre-existing game system, thereby making it system-agnostic. The reason for making it system-agnostic was to maximize the number of people who could use it, rather than being limited to a specific system or ruleset. The thesis documents the steps of this process. It is divided into pre-production, production, playtesting, and iteration.

As an introduction to the topic, a brief overview of roleplaying games was included. The history of roleplaying games and elements such as rules and resolution mechanics were discussed. Popular rule systems were compared, and guidelines were outlined for the system-agnostic adventure. The specific roles of individuals in a roleplaying game were analysed, and concepts such as player agendas, aesthetics, and social contracts in roleplaying were discussed.

The tabletop roleplaying game market sector was researched to provide useful sales estimates to anyone interested in publishing or creating content for leading marketplaces.

The outcome of this thesis is a set of best practices to use for a player focused game design, including an understanding of player motivations and how to fulfil them to create engaging gameplay. They serve as general-purpose tools that can be used in other contexts besides tabletop roleplaying games.