It seems counter-intuitive, but the longer I play RPGs (and really any games), the more I appreciate limitations as a tool for creativity. For a lot of people this is already second nature, and it's something that I've often experienced over the years. But the more...
Once upon a time I used to play exclusively power fantasy games - D&D, and everything like it. There were explosions, it was awesome and very epic. But eventually I wanted something...
I read a great little book a little while ago, called "We Are All Weird" by Seth Godin. I wish I had read it a few years ago. But I feel its lessons apply to everyone trying to create something - whether that's a book, a...
After I finished my Kickstarter for Infected RPG back in 2015, I had big plans for creating lots more good RPG content. And then I ended up starting a family, moving cities, and buying a shop! It's been quite an adventure. I put my RPG-design plans...
For many people, gaming is a luxury they just don't have time for. Life's busy. Many people, work, have families, run businesses, have other interests and commitments - squeezing in a few extra hours every week to sit down with some mates and roll dice can...
Mark Hamilton is a game designer living in Canberra, Australia. He's currently working on Rasania Chronicles, a neo-apocalyptic sci-fi RPG, utilizing the Immersion RPG system. This is his first guest blog post. One of the biggest hurdles all budding writers face I feel is the ability to...
So you've read Infected! and maybe you've played the scenario in the back. But now what? Your friends are coming over and they expect an awesome game - you need some ideas, goddammit! Drum roll please...
If you're creating an RPG or board game, chances are you want to put it on Kickstarter. But to do so you'll need to show people what your game is about, and one of the key ways to do so is to create a Quick...
There was a time when I would have combats in a story just because I liked combats. The game actually revolved around them. The combats seemed to be the story. We would calculate bonuses very carefully, feats and abilities, the powers of swords, exact actions in every...
Combat can be awesome, or it can simply be one grind after another. But how do you keep each combat from blurring into the next? Even more so, how do you make it so that your players don’t just attack every obstacle and kill everyone...
This is a repost from my latest Kickstarter Update. Well, it’s done! That’s right. The Kickstarter for Infected! is officially over! If you have not received any part of your pledge yet, please email me at oliver@immersion-rpg.com and I will sort it out for you straight away. There...
When I first started designing my Kickstarter for Infected, I didn't have much experience about Kickstarter. All I had to go off were the other Kickstarters that I'd seen, and Jamey Stegmaier's blog, among others. One of the first Kickstarters that I had noticed was Fragged Empire,...
When I was a kid, it seemed fairly evident that some people were just born much more talented than others. It might be at sports, or writing, or art - but whatever it was, it seemed to make a big difference. After a few weeks or months of...
I've started running a game shop (of all things) in Canberra, and in my first week in the shop I met a very interesting fellow called Mark, who found out that I'd created Infected! (it's plastered all over the walls), and mentioned in passing that he had...
I've been running an epic fantasy campaign with one of my mates via Virtual Tabletop for about a year now, and it has reached truly crazy-epic proportions. The game has become insanely fun. And one of the most fun things about it is that I...
Last Sunday I was lucky enough to participate in a game at BrigadeCon! It was a fantastic day, with three great RPers and a lot of fun and shenannigans. To cut a long story short, the three of them were sent on a mission to...
A talented artist called Jacob Thompson sent me this doodle the other day. It seemed substantially cooler than a doodle, so I was inspired to write a short story, set in our Myths of Khoralla setting. It's something I've been meaning to do for some...
A few backers recently asked me for some more information on our upcoming settings. We've already introduced God Forge, but here's the intro to Myths of Khoralla. This is an epic fantasy setting. Gods, demons, dragons, flying cities, immense battles, heroes cutting through their foes...
So I've been tinkering, again! One of my good mates wanted to try out rolling up a character for Infected, to see how it went. At first we tried rolling 1d10 for each stat, but after he got an extremely persuasive drooling idiot, we decided that was just...
When you're playing with an experienced group, particularly people you've played with for a long time, it is usually fairly easy to transition into Cooperative Storytelling. Your gamers are likely also GMs in their own rights, or at least find it very easy to be...
You remember a past long hidden to you, something hidden in the blackness of your mind, but suddenly dredged free: You stand amidst the blackened ruins of the once-great city of Nipirill. It has been attacked and ravaged by your armies. The strength of your...
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I played a great one-shot game on the weekend, with two of my good mates. One of them has been playing with me for a little while, though the other had never played Immersion before, and was more used to playing D&D and Pathfinder. I...
I had a fantastic idea sent to me by Brian Wille. Thank you for the entry, and I'll look forward to some more! Chicago and the Great Lakes are an interesting area. Michigan is home to a great many small lakes, rivers, swamps and isolated places....
Want some ideas for Infected RPG? Check out these concepts for bringing Infected RPG Down Under to Australia! The Newcastle Reavers Down Under, there were never all that many people in the first place. The interior of Australia is vast, hot and arid. Farms were doing it...
I got a package a couple of days ago, which I am very excited about! It's the books! Well, an advance copy of them. I am assured that the last of them will be still hot off the press by the end of next week. I am...
AJ Pickett is one of the most ingenious and imaginative GMs that I've ever had the pleasure to game with. His legendary Rifts and Heroes Unlimited games have long lingered in my mind and his imaginative notebooks was one of the inspirations for me to...
Death is a tool to be used just like any other. Don't get squeamish! It's quite possibly the best tool you've got...
I recently started reading a very interesting book called Secrets of Power Negotiators. Actually, at first the title put me off, as I'm not so all that interested in being a "power seller" or "power negotiator," and it seemed just too...
It's official! As of today, Infected! is live on Drive Thru RPG for Digital Downloads. That means that if you missed out on the Kickstarter, you can jump in right now. What's it got inside? 256 full-colour pages dripping with glorious, high-quality art. Everything you need to play. ...
I've come to realise a very important rule about personal appearance, and it is something that is applicable to artists, writers, salesmen, and really anyone who wants to sell something to others...
Hi all, This marks a momentous occasion. After months of building a crowd, creating a Kickstarter, writing, editing, art-directing, sweating (a little bit of bleeding too), our first release Infected! is officially finished! Actually, quite a lot of this was finalised while I was on holiday in Japan and...
If you've finished your book, you'll want to get it out into the hands of your customers as soon as possible. So what's to stop you just putting up a PDF online and selling it? Well...
I have been looking for a good camera bag for a number of weeks, and finally settled on one I wanted. I had about $200 to spend on it, and wanted it to be able to carry not only a good camera, but any other...
I've been working with a variety of freelancers for some time in the creation of Infected, and in that time I have learnt a few things from the client perspective that I think could be of real benefit to any freelancers out there who are interested in...
I was recently looking for some cartographers on the Cartographer's Guild, and I was approached by a number of talented cartographers. Christian was one of the artists whose work really appealed to me. On top of that, he even sent me an application piece because...
Note that this glitch has now been fixed by the Backerkit team (praise the gods!). There has been a glitch in Backerkit for Pre-Orders that I would like to let all pre-order backers be aware of. For some reason, every order gets a $65.00 Pledge Level added...
One thing that any kickstarter or game creators will be faced with sooner or later is Refunds. Refunds are important. For backers and customers, they provide a reassurance that if they're not happy, they don't have to feel ripped off. But on the other hand, it also...
I have a confession to make: I am a cat person. However, I'm not a crazy cat person who lets them walk all over the table and sleep on my bed. There are definite boundaries, and the cats have learnt over the years that they are...
I was having a discussion recently with someone in relation to my last article, and he mentioned something that really piqued my interest. The crux of it was simple: Ultimately, if the crowd doesn't like your product, it doesn't matter how much marketing you do. Boom....
If you're gearing up for crowdfunding, but have simply no idea where to start, are finding it all overwhelming and feel like you're going slightly mad trying to keep up...
Infected! has been my first-ever Kickstarter experience, and as part of it I chose Backerkit to help me manage my fulfillment and pre-orders. I figured I wanted people to have the option to continue to purchase the books and limited-edition materials like the Narrator Screen...
If you're creating an RPG, you're likely to fairly rapidly come up with a problem...
Venger Satanis has been featured here before, and now he's back with a brand-new work recently released, called Alpha Blue, and its companion piece Girls Gone Rogue which is on Kickstarter now. I caught up with him for an interview - check it out! ~Oliver R. Shead Hey...
So you're confident that your product is good, that what you've got to offer the crowd is something that people will want to pay money for...
Some of you may recall that I ran a competition for Infected! when the Kickstarter was on. There were quite a number of good quality entries, and it was rather difficult to judge because of that very point (learnt some lessons there, I can tell...
When you start making a game or book or product, one of the questions you will soon be faced with is How much disclosure? In other words, how much should you show people about your product? How much should you give away for free? How much should...
Getting players to continue their interest in a game is a bit like getting a reader to continue with your story. How do you keep them interested? How do you keep them thinking about the game and wanting to carry it on? The best way this works...
I've been stumbling around slowly learning how to make great adventures. You'd think it'd be easy, but it's not. Particularly if you don't take stand alone modules but instead let a story grow organically, based on the problems the players are faced with, and then...
I recently ran a few games at Aethercon IV, the Online Convention. As you might be able to tell from the name, it's the fourth year that it's been running, and I've been lucky enough to be part of it from the beginning. That alone...
I've had an intense last couple of months. Churning through well over 100 pages of the manuscript (250 is the target size), I've also hammered through the rules to make sure they're the best, simplest and most streamlined they can be. And it's been an...
We're making good headway with Infected! After a few weeks of stop-start revision, I've launched fully into the fourth draft of the book (it's already had 3), and am now essentially finished a draft version of Chapter 3. There's still a fair way to go,...
I recently got the opportunity to interview Peter Hollinghurst, an Indie Designer with a new tarot-based RPG that is now on Kickstarter. Here's what he said about his experiences in creating this cool game! ~Oliver What is "Fortune's Wheel" about, in a nutshell? Fortune's Wheel is actually two...
I have been gripped by a gaming revolution. It’s not mechanics (though they help). It’s not setting (though this, too, makes a big difference). Rather, it’s playing style. Namely, I have totally changed my concept of action, and what’s interesting in a story/scenario/adventure. Instead of action taking...
I recently had the opportunity to interview Indie Tabletop RPG Designer (and OSR disciple) Venger Satanis, the creator of two successful Kickstarters (for "How to Game Master Like a Fucking Boss" and "The Outer Presence."), with one more currently open for funding!. Check out his...
BackerKit is now live for Infected Zombie RPG! This is pretty cool. Not only are the surveys being sent out and all that cool stuff being organised, but we are also now available for Pre-Orders! So if you or your friends missed out on the Kickstarter, it's...
Well it took me a lot longer than I expected, but I have finally come up with a winner for the Infected! competition. In case you're not familiar with what I'm talking about, I posted up a competition during the Kickstarter for Infected Zombie RPG, saying that anyone could make an entry...
A few hours after we finished our Kickstarter, two of the Immersion Studios crew (myself and Jet Liberson, a playtester and "Lord of Film") sat down to do a thank you video to all our backers of what had been an incredible 35-days journey. We...
I have been inspired by all the game design going on recently on Infected!, and with talking to a lot of backers of our Kickstarter (thanks everyone!), and thought I would write an article on exactly how I think a campaign of Infected! can be run to best effect....
I recently interviewed Nicholas Robinson, the creator of Pilgrims of Rao RPG, about his new game on Kickstarter (there's still a bit over 24 hours to go, so check it out!). It's an interesting game, and Nicholas is a really passionate creator, so I'm really...
Well, this is it...
A couple of days ago I got the opportunity to play a one-shot game of Infected! with Nick-Nack, a YouTube Vlogger, and two backers of the project on Kickstarter (Richard and Tom). It was a lot of fun! Quite hilarious at times, and also dramatic, terrifying and intense. But I...
Our Contest for Infected! is drawing to a close! There are just 4 days left in the Kickstarter, and just 4 days left in the contest as well! We've been getting some really fantastic entries, and it's been inspiring to read all these great ideas, story...
I had the opportunity to interview the Thorin Tabor, the designer of the Indie RPG Shadows Over Sol the other day, which is now on Kickstarter! Enjoy. ~Oliver Thank you for the Q&A! First off, would you like to let everyone know what your tabletop RPG is about, in...
For inspiration on Infected RPG, I turned to Stuart Holbrook, one of my best mates and a key contributor to the Immersion RPG game design! Not only that, but he's an incredible writer, with a debut novel on its way. This short story is a...
Weston "The Wez" Prestage (also known as Agent Festaskull and Obsidian Blackbird McKnight, amongst other titles), was my first DM and the disseminator of all things RPG to a whole generation of young men who would otherwise have spent it in drink and women (though...
Kerri Ellis is an Independent Marketing and Promotion Consultant, specialising in Facebook marketing. Three years ago, after a massive career shift, Kerri decided to start using her marketing, PR and promotional skills to help businesses involved with her passions - dance, music and creative writing....
It's official people, Infected! Zombie RPG is now live on Kickstarter. Wow, what a ride it's been so far. I planned on doing "a few minor touches" last night, and then realised that there were some major touches still needing doing...
Our Kickstarter for Infected Zombie RPG is nearly ready to launch. August 16 is the big day (remember, Australian Eastern Standard Time - around 10am). If you would like a sneak peek, you can see a Preview of the Kickstarter here. We're also putting out these beautiful promotional images....
First RPG from Immersion Studios launching on Kickstarter on August 16. Bestselling author Oliver R. Shead makes his Tabletop RPG debut with a new take on the classic zombie apocalypse theme. The outbreak is over. The Infected are all-but exterminated. Now, finally, humanity has the chance...
Immersion Studios is now officially part of the Game Publishers Guild! This is a new and upcoming alliance of Indie game publishers, dedicated to assisting each other with advice, services and mutual promotion in the game industry. Personally, I'm really chuffed to be part of such a...
I was sent this hilarious (but totally factual) lesson on economics by a good friend of mine some years back. Somehow I never forgot it. Recently, I discovered it again, and have been having some long candle-lit nights thinking through these lessons and scribbling with...
I have become a hermit. Until my Kickstarter launches, it seems I am to have no social life, or virtually anything that resembles anything other than RPGs and crowdfunding. It’s for the best. I know plenty of talented people who have told me that they’re going...
When you’re developing a Game or Fictional setting, there are some points to make sure you’ve got right – and one of those is water. I never realized quite how much water people actually need and use. But a burst pipe at home soon brought...
Our Sampler for Infected Zombie RPG Sampler is now up on Drive Thru RPG! Actually, it's been there for some time, and is now in its third iteration. I have doubled its size and added more and more content into it until it's now 63...
[caption id="attachment_763" align="alignleft" width="379"] Ghost DM[/caption] Ghost DM, of the blog "Ghost's Bump in the Night," gave our Infected Zombie RPG Sampler a try as a one-shot game with his group! Check out how they went with the game. He played it using different rules, for sake...
Haters gonna hate. It's not exactly great English, but that phrase has been strangely comforting on occasion for me over the past couple of years as I developed Infected Zombie RPG. As an Indie game designer, you have to get yourself out there into the public...
Okay, so I've gone and really done it this time. With a bit of feedback from some valued playtesters and readers (thanks guys!) I decided to add some more content to the Infected Zombie RPG Sampler book. It was a fair bit of effort, let me...
Want to wrap text around an image in InDesign? This tutorial can give you a few tips that can save you hassle and frustration when designing RPG books. I'm working here on the manuscript for the "Infected" Zombie RPG that I'm close to releasing onto...
I had an amazing game last night, and it really inspired me to write some more about Dynamic Combats. We were playtesting our epic fantasy game Myths of Khoralla, and shit just got real. To cut a long story short, our hero ends up finding himself confronted with a...
I’ve been looking back over my progress with Immersion RPG and its settings over the past 5 years, and whilst at first my reaction was, “What the hell was I doing for these 5 years?!” on second glance I realise just how much I’ve learnt....
I found this video the other day. It's a very interesting take on the practicalities of carrying weapons and armour in a medieval or classical period setting. What do you think? Is this realistic? More importantly, would this enhance or detract from your games? Personally, I...
Have you ever found that sometimes combats can seem to lack punch? They start to seem like “just another combat” that the players have got to get through. “Oh, it’s a goblin encounter, okay,” and then the players go through their well-rehearsed system of blasting...
There’s an old saying in writing: “Show Don’t Tell.” Essentially, this means that you should show what something is, or who a person is, by their actions, by examples, etc., rather than just talking about them. For example, you could say, “Joe is an angry man,” or...
Hey guys, check out my first ever tutorial on how to create this cool splatter/water-stain effect on your book. You can use lots of different Photoshop brushes - I've linked to the ones that I used, though there are literally dozens out there. This is...
I recently discovered Daniel Warmke and his interesting game "Cartomancy" on Kickstarter. It uses cards instead of dice to resolve actions - these are actually playing cards, rather than game-specific cards. In his Kickstarter video he speaks (somewhat tongue in cheek) of how this will change...
It's been a while since I've updated anything here about the progress of Infected RPG, though no doubt if you're on our Social Media pages you'll have seen a ton of updates! In short, things are going very well with the game, and we have...
When you first think of running large-scale combats, even battles, you may find the prospect seems exciting at first...
Villains are generally portrayed as dark, brooding, nasty individuals, with few redeeming traits. After all...
The final stage in the Infection is what's known colloquially as the Shambler. The virus has at this point almost completely destroyed its host's body. The boils cover its body from head to toe, gases and stinking liquids fill its flesh. The thing moves slowly....
Check out this guy! A revolting Infected, one who has been infected for quite a while. The virus is slowly but steadily killing him, consuming his body, and covering it in highly-contagious boils. In particular, Bursters are often filled with gases that horrifically distort and twist their...
Initiative is a subject that has received a minimal amount of attention over the years, at least by a good chunk of the games out there. From what I've seen of Initiative systems they usually seem either way too static or way too clunky (hmm...
Like most of you, I've run a lot of combats down through the years, from all sorts of systems like Rifts (and the Palladium universe), AD&D, D&D 3.5, Pathfinder, Whitewolf and then a few smatterings of others. And one thing I've found is that combat is usually treated...
This nasty individual is...
Another of our wallpapers for Infected Zombie RPG! This rather unpleasant creature is an "Alpha," an Infected who is altogether too smart for his own good. You see, whilst the infection destroyed the minds of most of the Infected, there were a very few who maintained...
Check out our first ever Wallpaper for our upcoming setting Infected Zombie RPG! It's a "Mimic," and yes...
Obskures, a German blog on all things RPG and awesome, has just done an article on our upcoming Infected RPG Setting. Needless to say, that makes us pretty excited. I've got to say, he's gotten the scoop on it, seeing as he's showing some pics I haven't...
An article for Role Players not Roll Players Jet Liberson is one of the original playtesters of Immersion RPG, and has helped coax it along since its infancy. Passionate about RPGs, he is well known for his love of playing unusual (or sometimes outright bizarre) characters that...
I was recently running an adventure for a couple of avid gamers in a Star Wars themed setting. As republic soldiers, their mission was to transport a dangerous criminal from a remote holding bay on a jungle planet to a more secure facility closer to...
We've been looking for some inspiration for Infected! from the Real World - and we've found some amazing place! These areas look like a zombie apocalypse has torn through them...
It's been a while since my last post, and it's time to remedy that with interest! We've been absolutely flat out working on our first title release, Infected RPG, a brutally realistic vision of an Infected apocalypse. Harsh, unrelenting and absolutely terrifying. This is not so much a...