Design keywords: building and imagination

I'm following a very busy work week with a sleep-deprived weekend, but do not worry, my head is still brick shaped. There might not be a lot happening on this webternetsitelogjournal, or in my notes, but ideas are a-brewing. I've been chatting about the game with some friends and getting more stuff from donors and - sadly for my wallet - the toy shop and eBay. Every acquisition, every conversation has sparked new ideas.

So here's a little insight on what's happening in this square brainpan. Most of my cogitations revolve around two words, building and imagination.

Building a Brickworlds adventure

I want you to be able to build everything in the game : your character and her gear, of course, but also the story itself. I'm toying with ideas on collaborative storytelling but I don't want to go overboard. The game has to be simple and I want old-school gamers to run games for their four year-olds.

Do not expect cutting-edge narrativist story game design. I wouldn't know how to do that anyway. As a player, you will be asked to contribute with story ideas, especially adversaries and solutions to challenges. As a game moderator, you will be provided with guidelines to create your story as quickly as possible (maybe even on the spot) with whatever toys you have at hand.

Imagination is Power

It is in the sidebar here, and it has been the philosophy of Lego since the beginning : it's all about imagination. Building bricks and similar games have a particular effect on our brains: as soon as we get our hands on them, we want to combine them and create things. This is precisely the feeling I want to convey with Brickworlds. You create people and their surroundings, then put them through an exciting story you share with your friends and family.

While toys are a great vector for imagination, I want to make sure that you don't get limited by the amount and diversity of Lego you have. Firstly because it's not about buying more toys, and secondly because I don't want you to limit yourself with the scope of your stories. If your children's room is filled with Star Wars stuff, you should still be able to explore damp dungeons, fight deadly dragons and rescue the damsel in distress.

On the other hand, I want the Lego you have to fuel your stories. So I will make sure your toy chest has a major role in creating adventures. For example, I have two of the Lizard Man minifig shown above on my shelf. I've decided that Hiro and Haru, the Godzilla Twins, will be major villains in my stories.

We will need an easy way to distinguish what in our stories need to have a physical representation, and what can simply be imagined. What do you think? Would you be comfortable with these choices, or are you looking for something else?