Week five already? Who would’ve thought! This past week, I’ve been focusing on creating an array of assets and descriptions for the overall item types within Monochrome RPG! It seemed easy enough, but as I crafted my lists, I realized how difficult it can be to brainstorm items that would be engaging, “punny”, and work with the overall theme of the game.
The Best Slang Around
As part of my own personal research, I explored the colorful language of the 1920s to gain some inspiration and perspective of the time period. Much of the 1920s slang terms I found were light-hearted and silly in today’s vernacular. Similarly to today, the colloquialism of the time was used by most of society, especially in relaxed situations. For example, someone who was drunk would be referred to as ossified or zozzled (even though it was the prohibition era). Being able to understand the language of the time period gave me insight into what might be considered funny and useful back then. This helped me marinate my thoughts into the right context to then create assets for the RPG. As a reference, I used this article to make sure I had some basic terms to recall.
Items, Lists, and Inventory, Oh My!
With all of the rag-time slang I acquired, I was able to start generating items based on five different types that’ll be found in the game. The type of items Otto will use during his travels include: Healing Items, Affinity Gifts, Stat Boosters, Stage Crew Members, and Unlockable Items! Within each type, I created a list of as many silly and cartoon-y items as I could! Drawing inspiration from classic 1920s society and modern-day things, I was able to generate over 150. Some of the inventory items I created include a Mint Tulip (similar to a mint julep), Gummy Chew (rather than chewing gum), and Harmless Dayshade (the opposite of its counterpart, deadly nightshade). Being able to conjure so many items and research more into the 1920s helped me sink into the world of Monochrome RPG and flex my creative skills. It was a really fun experience! If you’d like to hear a bit more about Monochrome RPG, check out the Workshop Patreon! I recently discussed some of the new level designs there too!
