GAME DEV: DRAGON SPARK
- Steve@NoreasterGames
- Jul 21
- 3 min read
So this is it, my first dev blog post for a game I've been developing for a few years now. It's gone through many mechanical changes and forms, but this is the version I've come to that I feel best reflects what I'm trying to achieve. The PDF I'm sharing is bare bones, but I wanted to share my development experience with you. As I continue to add to the document, I'll post about my choices, any feedback I've received from you all and, of course, the updated PDF.
HOW I CAME TO USE 2d20 WORLD BUILDING RULES FOR DRAGON SPARK
During an online game session, one of my friend's kids popped on the screen and asked if I could design a Pokemon game for him. My plate was pretty full, but with the way my mind works, I knew I'd be thinking about it, even if I said I couldn't. Sure enough, during a long drive back home, the gears started turning.
2d20 popped in my head. I'd played Conan, Fallout and read Star Trek and Dune and loved the combination of the two stats to form the Target Number (TN). Its a nice simple mechanic that allows players to know exactly what they're chances are before rolling and it keeps numbers are low and easy. The momentum system is lots of fun, building up a resource for players to use to affect the story, improve their rolls and deal more damage. One of the big features is the stats don't have to be the classic STRENGTH or CHARISMA. Nothing is stopping you from creating a set of affinities, like in the case of Pokemon, by Pokemon type. Is the trainer you want to make great with Ghost type Pokemon? Give them Ghost Affinity 6. That could also say a lot about their personality or even what they're good at. Maybe Ghost type trainers are scary or good at being unseen? That Ghost affinity can now double as a Skill check in the classic TTRPG sense. Exciting! But, what's Pokemon without having Pokemon and growing stats? This is where the shift happened that would transform my Pokemon 2d20 hack, into Dragon Spark.
JRPGs have big fat juicy numbers. ATTACK 255! Tension abilities that raise your Attack Power to devastating levels! I wanted that feeling, but I didnt want to bog players and GMs down with 9999 HP. Star Wars Saga edition had a mechanic for Damage Thresholds, where if X damage was dealt, 1 level of Condition Track was dealt, making your character suffer penalties. I thought, "okay, what if your Charmander's Attack is 77, no modifiers, lands a hit. Do they deal 77 damage - target Defense? Or do I compare 77 vs the target's Defense? If 77 exceeds their Defense once, they take 2 dice of damage. If it doesnt exceed their Defense, its only 1 die. If it exceeds it twice, 3 dice of damage, etc". This mode of thinking about damage allowed for some really big numbers, and when you compare them against each other, there's no die bloat. Attack 322 vs. Defense 206 is still only 2 dice of damage. Keep HP within a bandwidth and you're gold.
After playing a session of Pokemon 2d20 (had lots of fun!), I got to thinking about Dragon Ball Z. I've played the old 90s version from R. Talsorian, and as much as I appreciate that games existence, it didn't live long at my table. I tried making a Genesys brew once, that was fine, but always felt like it was missing something. After playing Pokemon 2d20, it hit me. This comparison based stat system would do it for Dragon Ball... And that's when my brain wouldn't let me think of anything but this. I've been writing this game now since February 2025. It is the culmination of several other projects I've worked on over the past 5 years, which I'll talk about another time. This game is my love letter to Akira Toriyama (RIP) and the JRPG genre. I'm thrilled to be able to share this game with you all, and I look forward to hearing about all your adventures. Cheers!
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