Devlog #5 – “First Step” Jam + What Remains

Getting v1.7 together felt like a weird sprint against myself. There was something about having the realizations that I had about the game, and sketching out the ways I knew I could improve it by better centering player decisions, that made updating feel...urgent. Like the idea that someone might download and play v1.6 and not the better version that lived in my head was untenable. I don’t know what that says about the way I make things, or maybe why I make them, but I’m pretty sure it says something. All that to say, it’s been really nice to finish that sprint, to breathe a little bit and to let the game breathe as well.

With v1.7 now out in the world, I looked for some opportunities this week to showcase it. With that in mind, I’m thrilled to announce the Pillars: What Remains has been accepted in to the “First Step” Game Jam on itch.io, hosted by Becs/Starling from the Roll Plus Heart podcast. It is meant for first time designers who are making TTRPGs about journeys and beginnings, and is overall a celebration of creative people trying new things. I thought that Pillars: What Remains fit the bill like a hand in a glove and Starling thought so, too! I’m excited to see what other new designers do with the theme and I’m hoping it will open up some new opportunities for people to see and play Pillars: What Remains. Check out the jam here and the Roll Plus Heart podcast here – I’ve been listening to the gang play a short Brindlewood Bay campaign (a game I’m dying to try out myself) and it has been quite a delight!

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Last time, I wrote about the Wastes, how the idea for it grew and how it functions as an antagonist for the Courier during play. This time, I thought I would touch on the other part of the setting of the game, the isolated pockets of civilization that have survived magic’s collapse, called What Remains. If the Wastes represents the inevitable entropy of the self, then What Remains represents the fundamental human urge to act in spite of it. I’ve always loved Idris Elba’s line in Pacific Rim, “Tonight, we cancel the apocalypse!” and although I think it’s been delivered here less bombastically, it’s the sentiment the underpins the actions of the citizens of this broken world. The four main city-states of What Remains, Saleen, Meduin, Aelor and Rust, are each inspired by ways that humans have always responded to overwhelming hardship – through belief, ingenuity, community and perseverance – with the Courier’s role being to connect them together. In a game that can be used to explore real darkness, I thought it was important to use these places, and what they represent about people, to provide some light.

Interestingly, because the “plot” of a game of Pillars: What Remains takes place entirely in the Wastes, the world of What Remains only ever really comes up during Memories. These free form roleplaying sections, while key for defining each Pillar’s Drives, don’t feature gameplay mechanics that bind the players’ imaginations to my vision of the world. And I’m ok with that. I understand that the details of What Remains might not be relevant to every game and I’m happy for every player and GM to take what they need from it and to leave the rest. Ultimately, I trust the design and presentation of the game to highlight the need to define the world at the edges of its narrative action and for those edges to be a place where every player can express their own vision of what it is to cancel the apocalypse.

-HM