Sandy's Soapbox
High Concept
"High concept" games are focused on a) setting and b) marketability. This is the approach of most successful mass market RPGs. Hallmarks of this style feature mechanics specifically simplified to enable easy engagement with the setting, and usually are given a specific flavor that ties into the game.
So for D20 we have the D20 itself and the ideas of 'take ten' and 'take twenty'. V:TM has the idea of a blood pool and a dice pool. Deadlands uses poker chips and playing cards as mechanics.
A good high concept involves not just launching a new setting and associated mechanics, but a host of pre-planned support books. These can include books on setting, 'splatbooks' describing new groups or character types, and adventures.
High concept games can be created for tiny niche markets, as the essential defining characteristic is 'market-focused', and 'mass market' is just one of many markets.
At a certain point, high concept games gain enough of a following that a new scene arises, the...
Homebrew
Homebrew games are exactly that: the game a group has developed through play. They can be derived from an existing high concept game, which the players have modified greatly in the course of their own play (e.g. 'like D&D, only better!').
Alternately, homebrew games can be based original works using a new setting and new mechanic concept, which evolved through play (the Ars Magica approach). These house rules or house games are, unlike high concept games, played first then written afterword.
While homebrew can lead to piles of derivative book, all such genre work is not bad. At its worst, it's slush, but at its best, it creates a meaningful canon.
The difference between a high concept and homebrew game, even if both are built from scratch, is largely that homebrew games were fun for the creators, so they hope they'll be fun for game buyers. High concept games, in contrast, are specifically designed as a whole to be a marketable product, and often involve compromises between what the designer finds fun versus what gamers in general like.
Put simply, it's "we play this and think you'll like this" versus "we created this for you to like". Homebrews are what most small fantasy RPG publishers seek to publish.
Homebrew also includes supplements built for existing games, after the original high concept has become well entrenched. D20 Supplements and, to a degree, second-generation splatbooks for an established line are 'homebrew'. This applies even if they are created by the original publisher of the high concept work, and homebrew is not meant to be derogatory, just descriptive. It means "the neat mod or add-on for this known game."
Indie
Indie games are games designed and written but not necessarily intended to be played. This definition is, admitably, somewhat controversial, but I feel it best characterizes the indie movement.
While many designers hope their game is played, their goal in creating an indie game is to craft a strong work.
This is in contrast to a high concept game, which is designed for sales, or a homebrew, which is publication of the game they're playing. An indie game is, first and foremost, an author's creation for their specific purpose.
Indie reflects a design attitude focused on making the best game, not the most accessible or saleable game. Yet oddly enough, accessibility can be one of the creator's self-applied design goals, leading to a categorical cross-over with the marketable 'high concept' games.
Similarly, an indie designer may design a game with the purpose of reaching an audience not yet served--designing a game for young kids, for example. This is a high-concept game (designing a game to appeal to a specific niche), despite their indie pedigree. So the categories of 'high concept' and 'indie' are not far apart, and certainly not a function of market cap.
The mechanics for an indie game are deeply tied into the setting or, if the game is setting-free, the mechanics themselves are the game. The game is often read and critiqued by others, again without actual play being required.
There is also a small school of indie game design that takes an existing game and reworks it. I consider that 'homebrew indie', a hybrid owing more to indie game design than the publishing dreams of homebrew.
Examples
Let's look at examples for each category. It's not always easy to declare a work a high concept, homebrew, or indie based on perceived scope. Creator's intent does factor into the product. Therefore, all of these examples are drawn from personal experience--projects I've worked with to some degree--because part of the analysis has to include the process of creation.
High concept is where people write games to reach and sell a specific audience. A Faery's Tale is a good example of a 'high concept' game. We wanted to create a rich world based on existing faery lore. One of the design goals was to create "interactive storytelling game suitable for ages 6 & up". Finally, we all enjoyed a wider variety of RPGing than just "D20: Combat Vol. 4". The first supplement was planned alongside of the core book. The book was written and playtested extensively before release. Immediately after release, there were followup products in the queue.
Another high concept is the PDF adventure Priceless, originally designed as a LARP for up to 8 players, taking less than 2 hours to run from "hello" to game wrap. Again, what seperates this from a homebrew or indie work is that it was specifically designed for a specific (paying) audience using constraints dictated by the audience's needs, not the designers.
In contrast, the Fallen Future: Cyberthulhu rules/adventures is a homebrew. It's a cyberpunk take within Chaosium's "Call of Cthulhu" system. Based off adventures run by the author, it did see publication in a magazine (Arcane) as well as being archived here on RPGnet, and other people added to it. Being a homebrew doesn't make it less valid as a game, but does provide an indication of its novelty and scope.
For an example of how a 'homebrew' genre book can also be both marketable and appeal to customers, we look at the The Critonomicon. It's very old-school: 60 tables of crits, fumbles and mishaps for any fantasy game, D20 or not. It's a fun work, it sells well, but clearly it was not conceived as a stand-alone universe. Though I admit an RPG where every action is some sort of critical fumble might be amusing as a one-shot. "Mayhem: The RPG".
And 'indie', ah blessed indie, this field is the realm of writing games for the joy of writing games. The Forge is a well-known website by and for indie game designers. 1KM1KT is a great motivator for trying your own indie design. And one advantage of their Game Chef challenge (also in print form) is that the Game Chef entries get judged, resulting in a 'best of breed' set of games each year.
RPG Theory
There is a final category for RPG creation, the area of RPG Theory. This is books about gaming in general--on how to really play a character, or write a plot, or act out a scene.
While Roleplaying with Kids, for example, was designed as a high concept work-- a useful reference for parents and teachers-- it's not a game, so it doesn't fall into the above three classes,
Many RPGnet columns also fall into this Theory category, some of which are now out in print, and you can't really pin them down otherwise.
They're not high concept per se, because they aren't a marketable game. They're not homebrew (or blogs) because they are written for a specific target audience, rather than just being what the writer happened to be doing. They aren't indie because, again, they were written for an audience, not for the writer. Theory is... well, theory.
To this I would also include historical and sociological looks at the industry--from Fine's Fine's 1983 "Shared Fantasy" and Schick's 1991 "Heroic Worlds" up through Shannon's Brief History column series.
And finally, there's this column. As an RPGnet column, it's about RPG Theory. I wrote it as a high concept piece which is designed to appeal to a wide audience.
If you liked it, it's successful high concept. If not, it's unsuccessful high concept. The three categories are just a useful tool for evaluating the type of RPG, but assessing the quality is always up to the opinion of the reader.
Within the domain of their own tastes, the reader is always right.
Cheers,
Sandy
sandy@rpg.net
