Build a Better World TTRPG Jam Solarpunk Workshop

Continuing research into the topic of game design from my previous overview post I was a positively surprised to find a Build a Better World TTRPG Jam:

“We live in capitalism,” said Le Guin, “Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings.” It’s up to us, as games makers, to help people envision alternatives to how we live now, how we can build a better world.

TTRPGs are a fantastic way to build community and bring solace in harrowing times. Many of us, all over the world, are going through difficult and anxious days. With the community at The Lost Bay server we’ve decided to host this jam as a space for the indie TTRPG scene to come together and imagine a better future.

Not being able to fully participate by creating a game, I decided to host a workshop titled "Solarpunk: better futures among the changing climate - and how to design them". It's available on YouTube and PeerTube, with slides on slides.com.

In my introduction I tried to outline not the basics of Solarpunk, but how we can take its most important themes - community, infrastructure, hope and healing in the face of acknowledged trauma - and see how we can encode them into narrative game mechanics.

After speaking with the participants, I think the two of our biggest finds were:

• Thinking about technology in context of its cultural effects really makes it click. It's not about having a single tool or a background set piece, but thinking about the long-term consequences. With no fast intercontinental flights any longer travel becomes much more important, a big cultural event in one's life.

• There is no "maximum amount of violence" in Solarpunk, it's more about what is its function. It cannot be presented as a solution to any problem, as it only inflames complicates it. We need to see systemic, cultural changes instead of just killing each other.

Huge thanks to the jam organizers and all the workshop participants!