PICO Hogwild Playtest (+ Pre-Gens)
A downloadable game
THE PICO KICKSTARTER IS NOW LIVE!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mythworks/pico-tiny-bugs-big-world
Let me tell you a story.
There was a night, many, many years ago, when everything ended. Bugs aren’t that great at writing things down, so nobody really thought to record the particulars of the event, but the effects were lasting; no more pesticides, no more deforestation, no more fish hooks or bait boxes or flypaper. Pets ran free from newly-quiet houses, and roach motels showed nothing but vacancies.
There’s probably a lesson to be learned somewhere there. Something about the fleeting fragility of existence, a treatise on impermanence, and what we might leave behind.
But, as stated, bugs aren’t that great at writing things down. They’re even worse at existential musing, as a rule.
So the biggest change that most bugs noticed that night was that it suddenly got a lot quieter, especially near those black stone ribbons they’d learned not to cross, and the immense above-ground warrens full of beeping machines and smells so succulent they were almost impossible to resist.
The world hadn’t suddenly become safe - there were still stoats to contend with, and lizards, and snappy little plants. A bug might still meet their end on the beak of a bird, or (if they were particularly unlucky in the lottery of life) under the playful claws of a feline deity. But it had become safer, and though bugs may not be great at recording history, they’re pretty damn good at making the best of whatever situation they find themselves in.
So bugs, on the whole, flourished. And the world opened up to them in return.
PICO is a new Wild Words game from me - Felix Isaacs. You're on my itch page, so there's a good chance you know who I am, at least vaguely. It uses the same basic engine as the Wildsea, but in a far cuter way - to let you create tiny bugs and go on big adventures with them, possibly while riding a cat.
This version of PICO is a playtest document, coming with 99 pages of content - basic rules, hazards to face, locations to explore. It doesn't have character creation rules, as that comes later - instead we've added a suite of pre-gen characters for you to choose from, which will have to do until the next playtest comes out.
If you want to support the development of PICO, you can register your interest on kickstarter HERE- we'll be funding pretty soon!
But whether you do the whole kickstarter thing or not, I hope you enjoy the playtest. I certainly enjoyed making it!
Felix, out!
Status | In development |
Category | Physical game |
Rating | Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars (7 total ratings) |
Author | Felix Isaacs |
Tags | Cute, Tabletop role-playing game, wildsea, wild-words |
Download
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Development log
- PICO kickstarter is now live!32 days ago
- The PICO playtest release is live!71 days ago
Comments
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We played the quickstart and had a great time!
I played as Lit Von Chucker and heroically sacrificed myself at the end!
It was a blast! Can't wait for the full book! 🥰
Did someone say Wild Worlds?
I'm in.
wooowooo let's goooo! this looks great, i love wildsea so i'm already backing this. the only thing i'm curious about is the need for different types of cut when they all do the same thing, am i missing something about that?
also is character creation going to be part of the playtest soon or is that just for the full release?
The differentiation of cut comes from Wildsea feedback, where people wanted clearer rules on when and how to cut - splitting cut into a few sections is one of the clearest ways to do this (as it gives several clear categories of 'if you're facing this, you might be asked to cut'). As for the character creation, hopefully it'll be out in a week or two (before the end of the campaign)!
ahhh I getcha, top stuff
It looks great! I am mostly a solo player, do you think it would be playable solo, or would it betray the spirit of the game?
I don't think it would betray the spirit, but there isn't any solo advice in the book - if we hit high enough stretch goals that might be something to consider though :)
Thank you for the quick reply. I will experiment with the playtest for now and very much hope I can find a way to make it work, because.... so many cool ideas, such a lovely and wholesome universe!
Dreamy and charming, I love this design
Thank you so much!
Absolutely wholesome and stunning. Love my snappy plant companion. Can't wait for the full release to make a bug based around snapping and munching with a herd of carnivorous plants!
Aww, that's brilliant to hear! Thank you :)
Awesome project, everything is scaled to be epic.
Thanks bird dog! I'm looking forward to full release :)
Is PICO using a slimmed down version of Wild Words?
It is indeed - slightly simplified in some places, but expanded upon in others. Early playtests have gone well, which is a promising sign!
Lovely layout as always, Felix and team.
Aww, thanks Zerodan! Trying to go for something cute and bold this time around, hopefully achieved it (though it still needs some polishing)
This game is the worst thing that happened to me. Decided to play it with my son, now all he wants to do is play play play. I need some rest...
Jokes aside, me and my family are loving it! My son is 5 and he understood everything quite fast, with our guide of course, but I think that speak volumes about how well this game is designed!
That is so damn good to hear :)
Take The WildSea, go micro... and you'll have Pico 😁
Small and cute, that's the order of the day!