Post by Whiterook on Jul 16, 2022 10:46:16 GMT -5
I’ve been designing scenarios for several years, many published by leading game designers and companies. To one degree or another, many people reading this have probably designed scenarios as well, and it’s extremely rewarding and fun! …and not as hard as many might think. There are many ways to approach this endeavor, as varied as the designers who do so. Here is one example to maybe demystify the process a little, and provide fodder and inspiration for those that aspire to give it a try!
INSPIRATION -
Like the great novel, or work of art, or culinary masterpiece, it all starts with a kernel of inspiration. That moment where you say to yourself, ‘…hey, this would make a great…’. Those are the truly magical moments where your pulse races ans your eyes sparkle! Perhaps from a book you’re reading or researching (a lot of mine come from unit histories), a televised documentary, or a recounting from a veteran, just to name a few, the most typical source will come from historical background, for battles that actually happened. It can of course, come straight out of your imagination, but that’s usually less often the case, unless you’re dealing with times that never existed, such as sci-fi and fantasy; or you’re treading the “what-if” and alternative history landscape of creativity.
Wherever that inspiration comes from, I advise writing it down in pencil on a legal pad as my go$to option, but the younger set will typically use their computer or similar tech. What this all comes down to is, develop your plan and your script… it will be the foundation to draw from.
BALANCE -
No matter where you start your process after initial inspiration, I’ve found that this will be one of the first and biggest questions you will need to decide upon, and really is the Big Kahuna consideration. This is most especially true when designing a historical scenario for a battle that actually occurred. There is a huge difference between writing ‘balanced battle scenarios’, and more uneven ‘historical battle scenarios’.
The actual battlefield is a messy and chaotic scene, and things were rarely balanced, in terms of troop strength, Intel capability, force quality, and so forth. Balanced scenarios are mostly aimed at being playable in competitive events like tournaments, with both players having equal chances of winning. Historical scenarios are aimed at recapturing the actual battle situation as it happened, with precisely (or as near as you can get it) the forces present in actual time. Here are two entirely different beasties.
A word of caution here: “purest” wargamers will argue and hurl mud at unbalanced scenarios… something I could never understand, as it’s such a narrow view; the interesting thing being, historical scenarios are by far the more favored style of scenarios written all over the world.
INTRODUCTION -
When designing a scenario, I believe that you should always start with a brief description of the events you are depicting to be fought. This is not only the lynchpin for your audience to understand the setting of battle to be played, but also what the actual outcome was… it’s important to tie those two things together, so the reader has a roadmap on what to expect and/or shoot for (pun intended!).
It’s also helpful to add in a picture to capture the flavor and visual picture of the forces at play. A few pictures can really create the atmosphere for the game.
OBJECTIVE & VICTORY CONDITIONS -
This is very simple – just tell both players what they are fighting for and how to win.
GAME DURATION -
Nothing complicated here, just be precise on how many turns the game can ultimately last; keep in mind that sometimes, your scenario may be completed before the full amount of allotted turns to mandatory conclusion. For example, the game can end in any of the following situations (or a combination of some):
There are others out there, of course. It’s not a bad idea to take note of these as you come across them. One interesting one I came across is Random Game Length, where upon, after a set number of turns, players start rolling on a pre-determined schedule (example: at the end of Turn 6 roll a dice, on a 4+ play Turn 7, and so forth); or the game will end on the roll of x, y, or z (example: the game ends on a dr = 1).
FORCES -
After setting up the foundation of where the battle is and what the battle is being fought over, its time to decide what forces the players will use for the scenario. Of course, if you’re lucky enough to have the actual detailed order of battle for an engagement, then you can base it literally on that. Many well known units have their own Unit Histories …an excellent example of this that I use quite often is, All American, All the Way: The Combat History of the 82nd Airborne Division in World War II, by Phil Nordyke (see here). But for made-up what-if’s and such, you are free to cull together a plethora of forces, limited only by your imagination.
It’s worth mentioning here that many game systems now have Battle Generators that do much of this work for you. While they are certainly viable, and may make the process easier, I personally prefer the joy of “doing it yourself”, or to use the industry vernacular, Design Your Own (DYO).
POINTS - (optional)
Many systems use a Points mechanic… each individual figure generally, will have a set number of points; you cull together a force for a 100-point army, for example. This can be a valuable resource to incorporate, either from an established games’ system, or one you make up from scratch. That’s a little too non-historical for me, personally, and takes away what was actually there in the battlefield.
BATTLEFIELD -
Where is your battle taking place? Map… diorama? If you’re using an actual boardgame, utilize the maps given; these are often geomorphic in design, allowing them to be placed in differing edge and side abutments to create multiple battlefield scenes. You can also DYO.
SPECIAL SCENARIO RULES (SSRs) -
These are exactly what the title implies… additional rules that are supplemental to the core rules of the game. These can be for anything from limited visibility, weather, reinforcements, special units, etc. SSRs take “special conditions” and rule additions into account for play.
INSPIRATION -
Like the great novel, or work of art, or culinary masterpiece, it all starts with a kernel of inspiration. That moment where you say to yourself, ‘…hey, this would make a great…’. Those are the truly magical moments where your pulse races ans your eyes sparkle! Perhaps from a book you’re reading or researching (a lot of mine come from unit histories), a televised documentary, or a recounting from a veteran, just to name a few, the most typical source will come from historical background, for battles that actually happened. It can of course, come straight out of your imagination, but that’s usually less often the case, unless you’re dealing with times that never existed, such as sci-fi and fantasy; or you’re treading the “what-if” and alternative history landscape of creativity.
Wherever that inspiration comes from, I advise writing it down in pencil on a legal pad as my go$to option, but the younger set will typically use their computer or similar tech. What this all comes down to is, develop your plan and your script… it will be the foundation to draw from.
BALANCE -
No matter where you start your process after initial inspiration, I’ve found that this will be one of the first and biggest questions you will need to decide upon, and really is the Big Kahuna consideration. This is most especially true when designing a historical scenario for a battle that actually occurred. There is a huge difference between writing ‘balanced battle scenarios’, and more uneven ‘historical battle scenarios’.
The actual battlefield is a messy and chaotic scene, and things were rarely balanced, in terms of troop strength, Intel capability, force quality, and so forth. Balanced scenarios are mostly aimed at being playable in competitive events like tournaments, with both players having equal chances of winning. Historical scenarios are aimed at recapturing the actual battle situation as it happened, with precisely (or as near as you can get it) the forces present in actual time. Here are two entirely different beasties.
A word of caution here: “purest” wargamers will argue and hurl mud at unbalanced scenarios… something I could never understand, as it’s such a narrow view; the interesting thing being, historical scenarios are by far the more favored style of scenarios written all over the world.
INTRODUCTION -
When designing a scenario, I believe that you should always start with a brief description of the events you are depicting to be fought. This is not only the lynchpin for your audience to understand the setting of battle to be played, but also what the actual outcome was… it’s important to tie those two things together, so the reader has a roadmap on what to expect and/or shoot for (pun intended!).
It’s also helpful to add in a picture to capture the flavor and visual picture of the forces at play. A few pictures can really create the atmosphere for the game.
OBJECTIVE & VICTORY CONDITIONS -
This is very simple – just tell both players what they are fighting for and how to win.
GAME DURATION -
Nothing complicated here, just be precise on how many turns the game can ultimately last; keep in mind that sometimes, your scenario may be completed before the full amount of allotted turns to mandatory conclusion. For example, the game can end in any of the following situations (or a combination of some):
- When a player concedes or is wiped out
- After a fixed number of turns
- When a particular victory condition is achieved
There are others out there, of course. It’s not a bad idea to take note of these as you come across them. One interesting one I came across is Random Game Length, where upon, after a set number of turns, players start rolling on a pre-determined schedule (example: at the end of Turn 6 roll a dice, on a 4+ play Turn 7, and so forth); or the game will end on the roll of x, y, or z (example: the game ends on a dr = 1).
FORCES -
After setting up the foundation of where the battle is and what the battle is being fought over, its time to decide what forces the players will use for the scenario. Of course, if you’re lucky enough to have the actual detailed order of battle for an engagement, then you can base it literally on that. Many well known units have their own Unit Histories …an excellent example of this that I use quite often is, All American, All the Way: The Combat History of the 82nd Airborne Division in World War II, by Phil Nordyke (see here). But for made-up what-if’s and such, you are free to cull together a plethora of forces, limited only by your imagination.
It’s worth mentioning here that many game systems now have Battle Generators that do much of this work for you. While they are certainly viable, and may make the process easier, I personally prefer the joy of “doing it yourself”, or to use the industry vernacular, Design Your Own (DYO).
POINTS - (optional)
Many systems use a Points mechanic… each individual figure generally, will have a set number of points; you cull together a force for a 100-point army, for example. This can be a valuable resource to incorporate, either from an established games’ system, or one you make up from scratch. That’s a little too non-historical for me, personally, and takes away what was actually there in the battlefield.
BATTLEFIELD -
Where is your battle taking place? Map… diorama? If you’re using an actual boardgame, utilize the maps given; these are often geomorphic in design, allowing them to be placed in differing edge and side abutments to create multiple battlefield scenes. You can also DYO.
SPECIAL SCENARIO RULES (SSRs) -
These are exactly what the title implies… additional rules that are supplemental to the core rules of the game. These can be for anything from limited visibility, weather, reinforcements, special units, etc. SSRs take “special conditions” and rule additions into account for play.
