BURNING THE WITCHES

+ Describe the CATS from class on 11.28.

Concept: The concept of Burning the Witches is a single-page fantasy table-top role playing game where young witches in the 1600s work together to protect their community against restless spirits.

Aim: The aim of the game is to successfully protect the town from the restless spirits while also concealing your witch identity from the town folks. 

Tone: I would say that the main tone of this game is a coming-of-age gothic adventure. It deploys aspects of gothic horror, as seen with the overall theme of witch hunting, but also has an aspect of youth and coming-of-age with the characters being young, new witches.

Subject Matter: The subject matter of this game include witches, fantasy, adventure, a medieval setting, elements inspired by the Salem witch trials, Tarot, Tarot cards, Pagan traditions, naivety, magic, spells, children/teens, spirits, ghosts, and the undead. 

+ Why did you make this game? The answer cannot be "because I was required to." Even if this is something you wouldn't have naturally done on your own, there's still a reason you made the particular thing you made.

I made this game because I am super interested in Tarot cards and reading Tarot and all things witchy. I knew I wanted to make a fantasy/adventure game because those are what I tend to enjoy the most but I really wanted to incorporate a historical, witchy, Pagan element to it. I wanted to make a game that I would actually want to play and that’s exactly what I did! I’m definitely going to play this with my friends soon. I also was heavily influenced by a Tarot deck that I have (Doreen Virtue & Radleigh Valentine’s Angel Tarot Cards) because I think the artwork on them is absolutely beautiful. I want to live in the world of this artwork, so I decided to make a game where I can get as close to that as possible.

+ What elements of your Magpie book did you use and why did you select them?

The most important element from my Magpie book that I used was Tarot cards, from the “Collect the Joys” week. That week I did a lot of Tarot readings with my sister and we had a great time, so I wanted to incorporate the Tarot cards as my main mechanic in my game. I also thought that using Tarot cards would be a really unique mechanic because instead of relying on certain numbers or getting a score, the player gets to interpret the meaning of the Tarot card, just like you do when doing a Tarot reading. I also decided to use Tarot from my Magpie book because I felt that this was something I was really passionate about and had a lot of ideas to work with! I also used my obsession with Pinterest (from the obsessions week) as a general tone and vibe for my game. I decided to use this element from my Magpie book because I thought that Pinterest would give me a lot of inspiration and get the ideas flowing!

+ What themes are you exploring in your game and what craft elements did you deploy, both in visual design and in mechanics, to support that exploration? What inspired your thinking on, particularly, the mechanics?

Themes: fantasy, spirituality, gothic, adventure, coming-of-age

Mechanics: space, time, objects, actions, rules, skills, chance

The main themes that I explore in my game are fantasy, spirituality, adventure, and coming-of-age. I used the Tarot cards as an object and a mechanic to really tap into the spirituality and fantasy aspect. Tarot cards are so heavily associated with spirituality and connecting to the universe, and the specific Tarot deck I chose (Angel Tarot) especially added to the fantasy aspect with the magical creatures and fantasy artwork. I also designed the physical sheet of the game with a spiritual, rustic, fantasy map tone to play into the fantasy theme. I also added to this spirituality theme with the aspect of interpreting the meaning of the Tarot cards to decide the outcome. In the spiritual world, interpretation is key to making decisions and solving challenges, so I decided to lean into that and add to the spiritual/fantasy theme in the game. I also used the rules and actions as a way to explore the coming-of-age and adventure themes in the game. Having a set of rules and restrictions was important to tie in to the coming-of-age because just like the young witches in the game, the players learn as they go, make mistakes, and build up their skillset. Additionally, the actions added to the adventure by creating a risk and reward system. This worked with the players’ skillset to provide a good balance between chance and choice so that they were challenged but still intrigued enough to keep going!

+ What do you hope players walk away from the game having experienced?

I hope players walk away from this game having experienced something new! I hope that this game was out of people’s comfort zones or something they haven’t tried before, because this class was my first experience with TTRPGs. I also want players to have experienced a fun adventure and really used the mechanic of the Tarot cards to their fullest potential. I hope they had fun creating meaning out of the cards and applying their meanings to the game scenarios. As a Tarot card enjoyer, applying the card meanings to my own life and situations is something that I do constantly, so showing people how to do this and incorporating it into a fun and rewarding experience would be amazing!