I’m currently crowdfunding a TTRPG called Strike Force Omega and as of the time of writing I have about three weeks to pick up another 20-some backers if I want to fund. Maybe one of them could be you?
But I’m bad at marketing so instead of trying to sell you my fast-paced tactical game of science-fantasy supersoldiers, I’m going to write about what “fast-paced tactical” actually means to me.
I love a turn-based tactical game. Especially on a small grid. I came as close to 100%ing Into The Breach as I have any game, and I passed 200 hours on Fights in Tight Spaces some time last week. RPG-wise I’ll wave in the direction of 4e D&D (which has consumed countless hours of my time), Pathfinder 2, or the probably crowdfunding as you read this Gubat Banwa.
There’s a whole digression here about how indie RPGs tend to be less in the crunchy tactical vein than the squidgy storygame one, and having designed a couple I’d say it’s probably because testing a crunchy tactical game takes many, many person-hours so if you don’t have a huge following or vast amounts of time to burn you’re going to find it difficult. But that’s another essay.
Here’s the thing. As much as I love moving tokens around on a map and force-moving enemies into bottomless pits, what video games like ITB and FITS have that RPGs like 4e D&D and Lancer don’t, is that a single level can be played through in like fifteen minutes. Hence my first design principle: