Welcome to our very first dev log! Here we're going to answer the question, 'what the hell is this thing you call In Other Worlds?' Yes, we realise that this might be a little unclear to some of you. Truth be told, it was a little unclear to us for quite a while. But it's been congealing in the background for several months now like sticky toffee (or old blood).
So we'll start with who we are and what we're building. That doesn't interest you or you already got the skinny? (Wow I sound old) Then jump to the news a little lower down. There we'll discuss our new one-page game, a horror one-shot you can playtest, a Source Book and Rule Book for the Persistence, our very own RPG system, and Jupiter's Arc.
Who (and Where) Are We?
We're a bunch of fantasy and sci-fi lovers mainly located in Berlin — a city which is, we will tell you right now, phenomenal for people with eclectic tastes.
I think we can safely say that Berlin is a huge reason why In Other Worlds exists, and if we are successful, it will be a huge reason for its success.
Oytun and I (Jelte) met each other at an RPG gathering that I attended within the first few months of moving here last year. These kinds of meet ups are as common as weird smells in this city. As are roleplaying and boardgame organisations, RPG shops and conventions, and people who play tabletop games. I have lived in about 20 countries in my life but in this regard Berlin takes the dice pouch.
Bring on the counterculture!
Interestingly, none of us are natives. In fact, we've all spent most of our lives outside of Europe and the West. We feel this is a major strength. You don't know the currents that guide your life until you move from a river to a lake or sea.
In case you haven't met us all yet, you can check out our interviews here:
What Is This Thing Called 'In Other Worlds'?
In Other Worlds is a world building studio with a particular interest in RPGs. We're avid players and have been building worlds and systems for our groups for decades. Now, we've decided it's time to turn that into an actual business.
We've been thinking long and hard about how to do that. The RPG space is crowded and for a new studio to break through is difficult. This is why the website emphasises the world building rather than the RPGs.
The plan in a nutshell:
- Build worlds for RPGs and also for other areas like TV, games, books, or whoever else might need a world. Our first RPG world is going to be the Persistence while Jupiter's Arc is the first non-RPG world.
- Sell merchandise related to those worlds. This includes, most importantly, the work of artists who are enthusiastic about our worlds and want to make figurines, posters, jewellery, and anything else that fits the world, and who want to work with us.
This will hopefully give us a few revenue streams which will allow us to keep doing what we love.
We're Looking for Artists!
We're looking for people to help us in two regards.
First, we need artwork for our projects. We're planning two books for the Persistence and both will need a great deal of artwork. If you're interested in helping out with that, that would be absolutely amazing.
We compensate artists for their work. In fact, before he became a part of our team, kime_bot joined us as a paid freelancer. Mind, as a startup with limited (okay, currently non-existent) cash flow, we're restricted in what we can offer. But we believe artists should be compensated for their work. We have plenty of experience working as freelancers ourselves and know how it feels.
Second, when our shop opens, we're looking for artists whose products we can offer there. The items would have to fit one of our worlds or related themes, but don't need to be designed for them.
We would share the profits. We take care of marketing and shipping. You just provide the product for sale.
In this way, we hope to give artists another outlet for their art. Because they deserve it and we know how hard it is to survive in this area.
Does this sound like something that's up your alley? Then get in touch through the contact form!
Yes, There Will Be a Shop!
Actually, there already is a shop standing by for when we're registered and ready to go. The registration is a bit more difficult than you'd hope (Germany loves bureaucracy. It's a national pastime) but it's moving along.
We're also collecting products to sell in the shop. We'd like to have a nice collection of things ready to go from day one.
If you make things that belong in a world building shop, see above. We'd love to discuss stocking them. The plan is currently to roll out the shop across Europe first before we go wider. The timeline on this has not yet been set.
For the rest of you, who just want to know when it opens, sign up for our newsletter.
We're Working on a One-Pager
We recently visited the Berlin International Roleplaying Convention (BIRCON) where we were introduced to the concept of one-page roleplaying games like Lasers and Feelings. Also, while there our flyer for the beta test one-shot for the Persistence provoked somebody to ask 'are we going to play as the parasite?'
We loved these two ideas so much we thought, why not put them together? Then, in a burst of creativity (you know how those go), we basically built everything over a few Discord calls.
The concept: You play as a minion for the Puppetmaster, crawling through the cracks between dimensions to take over a host and work out where you've landed. It could be a castle, a starship or an office on a Tuesday afternoon.
Now for the hard part. Fitting it all on one page! We've got space for about 850 words, so a lot won't make the cut. But we already have a first draft! A few more, then kime_bot can work his artistic magic. If everything goes according to plan (when does it ever?) we'll release it before Halloween.
We'll make it available here on inotherworlds.net as a PDF. So check back (or, again, subscribe to the newsletter).
It will be free.
The Persistence Continues to Evolve
Our main project right now is a big RPG system and world. We call it the Persistence, and most of the material on the site so far is about this world in some way or other.
This is the medium-term project. We're already running both one-shots and an actual campaign in the world. The feedback we get from these is then being used to make the system better.
Currently most of our efforts are in dice mechanics where we're trying to find ways to make contested rolls interesting, fast and consequential. We're also hard at work on our combat mechanics. Here we're trying to figure out how to incorporate momentum, our flexible magic system and agency while still being easy to understand and fast to run.
Do you want to join in with our efforts? We're offering playtest opportunities to the wider public.
Please note, the Persistence is a dark world, but not a horror one. We chose horror as the theme for the first adventure as Halloween is just around the corner. As you may have gathered from the essays, our goal is always to think deeply about what the impact of something like flight, magic, or superposition is.
In this way, these ideas don't lie on top of the world (as we feel they so often do) but instead are deeply integrated. This should create a world that, despite being fantasy, is immersive, reacts realistically to the players' actions and by extension becomes a place they are invested in.
The mechanics will get the same treatment. Here we want to have everything feel cohesive and well thought out.
This does mean the process is taking a while. But that's okay. We'd rather take the time to build something that's great than to rush to market and give you something that's mediocre.
We're currently planning to run a Kickstarter for funding once we feel confident about the project and that we can finish it off in a timely manner. So if you'd like to get your hands on either book (or both!), sign up for our newsletter (is there an echo in here?).
Oh yes!
Right now we plan to publish the books in two rounds. The first will be for the Source Book, which is by far the furthest along. We'll keep that one system agnostic so you can start playing in it immediately.
After that, we'll be releasing the Rule Book. We will give the option to order both from the get-go through Kickstarter, but in that case there will be a wait between the two.
Where's That Arc of Jupiter?
We know, we know. One trailer does not an arc make. We are still working on it. The project is far from dead. Once we have the time, there will be further videos, artwork and articles.
This is an example of a project that is not planned as an RPG but rather as world building. The dream here is to eventually be able to turn it into a gritty sci-fi series. We've got plot lines, character arcs, and deep philosophical concepts to explore.
We've even planned a whole range of cool technical drawings and such of the machines involved. Shiran, our collaborator on this one, loves machines and has worked as an artist, architect and interior designer for most of his adult life. So we expect great things. Pressure absolutely intended!
All we need is more time. Who decided to put only 24 hours in a day, anyway?
Want to know more about that? I think you know what's coming! Sign up for our newsletter...er....er...
If You've Read This Far
Thank you so much! Your enthusiasm is very much appreciated. As a little bonus, you've demonstrated that there are still people whose attention span has not... ooh! Butterfly!
Where was I?
It's taken a while to get here, and I know not a lot of it is visible on the website yet. A huge chunk is waiting in notes, Discord calls and playtest sessions for our tender love and care so it can make it onto the site. We're looking forward to sharing it all with you over the weeks and months ahead. One day, we hope you'll be as excited by all of this as we are.
As for further dev logs, there's no fixed schedule, because we'd rather write when there's something worth saying than when the calendar rolls around to a certain number.
Until then, thank you. I don't think there's anything left to say except peace, love, and sign up for our news... No. No! I'll stop! Put that down! Not the face! Not the face!