Lava!
I’m making a game about lava and an AMC Gremlin.
It’s 1972.
There are no cell phones or social media, and you’ve just witnessed an eruption of lava in your Los Angeles neighborhood. You’re a failed master’s student in geology with a dollar to your name and an AMC Gremlin, but now it’s your job to convince all of LA to get the f*#& out of there!
Spoiler: Nobody in LA believes you!
Add an eruption
One of the game ideas I’ve had for years was a modular system where I could lay down a map in a well-known urban area and start an eruption.
I worked out the mechanic of a “hawaiian” style eruption from a vent that creates flows following existing drainages, much like Pu’u O’o did on the Big Island from 1983 until it ceased in 2018.
I was working for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory in 1992 and was in the field when the 51st episode of that eruption eventually created a lava pond just east of Pu’u O’o, later called Kupaianaha.
1970’s
But lava pouring into the sea, while amazing, isn’t that fun to play. And ruining someone’s island paradise in some cartoonish way isn’t a fun time, either.
So, I went with the 1970’s disaster movie idea as a satirical romp. I wanted to start with a failed geology student who still had contacts in the industry but is otherwise on the outside of the profession. Washed up and with a beat-up car, he has to convince everyone what’s really going on. And of course, nobody cares.
And no, this won’t star Tommy Lee Jones. Don’t get me started, but 1997 was a terrible year in Hollywood for scientific integrity. Driving your car across lava, Pierce Brosnan?
Voyages
I always envisioned playing on a hexagonal map, but I didn’t have the mechanic to move something around.
Then came Voyages from Postmark Games. Their simple three-dice system of movement meant I could drive my car across town.
But what is really special is the designers have encouraged the creation of “community maps.” A lot of very creative versions have already popped up. I asked permission, because I didn’t know if they wanted to continue with the nautical theme. “As long as it's fun to play you can do whatever you like!” was their answer.
Start your engines!
Published on February 2, 2022.
