Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
About Black Coffee Games
Black Coffee Games aims to shift the paradigm of the existing gaming market that is centered around the “for profit at the expense of the game” model. We believe this “for profit” model of game design has inadvertently convinced most people that they would not enjoy a role playing game. See, you just thought of something very specific when you read that, and what you thought is probably painfully inaccurate. Don’t blame yourself, you’ve been taught wrong, it’s not your fault.
Black Coffee Games is creating games that are not profit oriented. Instead, we are making games that are game oriented, enjoyment oriented, story oriented, community oriented, you get the idea. We’ve started by creating an RPG (don’t do it, don’t assume that means what the profiteers say it means) that promotes inclusivity and creativity. So I can’t tell you what it’s about because it’s about whatever the players want it to be about.
Black Coffee Game is a gaming company that wants to find out if we can succeed without lying to our customers… We want to see if it’s possible to be a successful company that is transparent in what its goals are, what it spends its money on, what it pays its employees, a company that doesn’t leverage its customers data or privacy. What we want is to make incredible games that bring new gamers into the fold, that bring people joy, that promote the exploration of story ideas and character concepts.
Will we be able to do this without any investors or starting capital? Without any connections in the industry? Without an army of lawyers or Pinkertons in our pocket? Probably not. But we showed up, and we are going to give it our best shot.
Black Coffee Games does not use generative AI. This isn’t because AI generated products are inferior or invalid, we just find them to be rather trite and boring, just as we find anything aimed at the middle of the bell curve. There is little difference between the AI generated song, the focus group-driven movie plot, and the RPG developed in a boardroom.
We believe that AI is just another tool, and with all tools, there are appropriate and inappropriate ways to use it. Hating AI would be like hating a hammer, I don’t hate my hammer when using it fails to make coffee in the morning (I’ve tried and it does not end well). If other gaming companies want to use AI to make “new” content, I encourage them to do so, as the quality will likely speak for itself, just as their intentions have.
So rest assured, Black Coffee Games will continue to create systems, stories, and paradigms without the use or assistance of AI. Meanwhile, the rest of the industry will do as they will and we will see where the dust settles.
About Spectrum
Spectrum is a tabletop role-playing game that focuses on collaborative storytelling where all players share an active role in creating an epic tale. The mechanics of this system are designed to add diverse, unique, and infinitely varied paths for character growth and development. More importantly, Spectrum provides the narrator and players the freedom, flexibility, and stability needed for you to flex your EPIC BADASSERY. If you enjoy creating lore-rich backstories, experiencing meaningful character growth, immersive story progression, engaging in role play, and sinking into the role of your character; then welcome to the last system you’ll ever need to learn.
If you are searching for yet another RPG that rewards power-gaming, meta-gaming, class hyper-optimizating, rules-lawyering, and exploiting loopholes; that’s fantastic! However; Spectrum may not be the ideal RPG for you. But fret not; if bloodshed and glory are more your speed Black Coffee Games is currently developing a system designed specifically for players to get their murderhobo on.
Spectrum is not inherently combat-focused, it does not reward the default to mindless slaughter for experience point gain. But it is important to note: as with any good story; conflict is still part and parcel and does not have to be violent conflict. Spectrum is designed to fit any story you want to tell and can also use all conceptual material from any and every extant system.
The perception of quality shifts and wavers when you attach the word free to it. “There must be something wrong with it,” you think as you approach it warily, as you would a coiled snake ready to strike or a parcel with a faint ticking sound coming from inside. We live in a time where it is reasonable to question the word free.
“If there is nothing wrong with your game, why would you give it away for free?” The answer is simple, it is because we want to be freedom fighters against the titans that have created systems designed to suck all the creativity and joy from our base pathos.
Because at this point, nearly everyone in the industry is responsible for poisoning the well to some extent, even if they don’t understand that they are. While the titans of industry, those omnipresent shadows that whisper in your ear while tugging at your wallet, most certainly know what they are doing, at least as far as their bottom line is concerned. And that is, unfortunately, where their concern typically ends. Don’t believe me? Go call a help desk. Seriously, we can wait.
Because it should not be about the books, though they’re useful and often quite pretty, and it should not be about rolling the dice, even though they’re shiny and adorable, and it sure as shit shouldn’t be about quarterly profits. It needs to be about the story we tell amongst ourselves and as friends, as a community, and as a common species. About keeping alive a tradition that stretches back as far as the first campfire. Trust us when we tell you that we won’t try to disguise well-polished trash. All trash that comes from our shop will be stamped with big, bold letters, proudly proclaiming it for the steaming hot garbage it is.
A role-playing game (RPG) is a cooperative story telling game in which the players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting, where the choices that players make affect the course of the story. These settings can range from the super realistic to the utterly fantastical.
One common feature of many RPGs is the role of the “game master”, “dungeon master”, or “narrator”, a participant who has the awesome responsibility of maintaining the narrative flow of the story by presenting the fictional setting and arbitrating the results of character actions in that setting.
But let’s be honest, RPGs are just a bunch of rules designed to help you and our friends play “make believe” together. With Spectrum, all you need to play the game is two ten sided die, our core rules, and some friends, or some randos off the street, or both. Because the key component to playing Spectrum is provided by the players themselves, namely communication and inclusivity. We have minimized the number of items you “need” to play the game because who the hell are we to tell you the best way to make believe. Playing an RPG is not a form of passive entertainment, it is not like watching a movie or playing Monopoly, it requires active participation and cooperation from the players. And, of course, there lots of other resources that you can use to facilitate game play; map boards, props, music, interpretive dance, puppets (I love to play with props and visual aids, my buddy loves to play with sound effects and themed soundtracks).
You can play the game at a table, around a campfire, in the car (trust me), over Skype, phone, text based chat programs, and I have even heard of one group of psychos playing a campaign via mail.
If this sounds too open ended and flexible, it’s because you’ve been lied to about how amazingly simple the game of collaborative make believe is.
The game play loop of an RPG is that of improv theater.
Narrator: Sets a scene and introduces a choice
Player A: My character does this
Narrator: Describes how said choices affect the fiction
Player B: Oh, and that makes my character feel like X and they react with this action.
Narrator: Describes how said choices affect the fiction.
etc…..
The rules of any game provide the mechanics for resolving the outcome of events, including how the player’s characters interact with the world. The rules exist to provide a balanced game environment, but rules cannot be created that fit all eventualities. Enter the narrator (aka game master, dungeon master, etc….)
In Spectrum the narrator controls all aspects of the game, except for the actions of the player characters. If a game can be metaphorically described as a play, in which the players are the lead actors, and the Narrator provides the stage, the scenery, and basic plot on which the improvisational script is built. To do this the Narrator is responsible for playing all supporting characters.
The role of the Narrator is:
1. The game organizer who prepares the overarching game story in advance for the players by creating the settings and scenes in which the players will have their characters act.
2. Responsible for maintaining a dynamic narrative flow while they manage the plot by creating the details and challenges for the player’s characters.
3. Weaves together the player-characters’ stories within the story environments as well as and the effects and outcomes of their actions within the story, describing what the characters experience within the events of the created environments in which the characters can interact. Tracks and controls non-player characters
4. Responsible for managing the general state of the game world in order to maintain a realistic continuity of events as the story evolves.
5. Responsible for having a thorough understanding of the game rules and being able to teach these rules to players.
6. Assumes the role of referee, resolves player disputes, enforces the game mechanics, and makes rulings about game situations and effects based on the decisions made by the players. Act as the arbiter of all rules and ultimately determines the line between creative utilization of resources and the exploitation of the required ambiguity within the game’s rules.
7. It is expected that the narrator will improvise, modify, remove, or create entirely new rules in order to fit the rules to the current campaign. And to freely ignore the rules as needed.
Spectrum is a cooperative story telling game in which the players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting using a system of rules and guidelines where players make choices that affect and change the evolving story plot. So the quick answer is that, no, Spectrum does not require a digital medium to play. But allow me to clarify.
Video game “RPGs” are super fun, and I love to play them. But, calling any video game an RPG is like calling a platypus a bird because they both have bills and lay eggs.
Video game “RPGs” use the illusion of choice for pre-generated stories and they usually incorporate some amount of character advancement of skills and abilities. When done well, these mechanics allow a player to feel like they are engaged in creating a story but without actually doing so.
If video games are like choose your own adventure books, then Spectrum is like a group of people writing a novel together.
No. But I will say that it does share elements with charades, active participation, the desire to enjoy each others company, creative problem solving, open communication, and very often wild and exaggerated gesturing.