The Kiai-Megill Variant of the HoneyComb Engine

Attending PAX in Seattle this year was a delight that included many ‘firsts’ for me. It was my first time on the West Coast, my first time at any type of convention, gaming or otherwise, and my first time meeting many of the folks I talk to on a daily basis about games. Roaming the Expo floor and trying a few upcoming games was fun, but not nearly as exciting as spending time with people I’d previously only known by their words.

Another first for me was participating in a tabletop role-playing session. Corvus Elrod and Rachel Zakariasen, from the Zakelro! story studio, spent much of the weekend demonstrating the HoneyComb Engine, a storytelling system that “empowers the participants.” I have to admit I was fairly intimidated by the idea of trying a ‘pen and paper’ role-playing game, especially surrounded by hundreds of more experienced tabletop gamers. It’s one thing to fail miserably while trying out Uncharted 2 on the show floor, but the potential embarrassment that may occur during a game that actually requires imagination and creativity, as well as an understanding of a brand new set of rules, was almost too much.

After watching only a few minutes of the scenario that was ongoing when I arrived, however, I forgot my anxiety. The HCE rules are very intuitive, and with Corvus and Rachel present to guide the storytellers, became transparent enough to support creativity. As a framework for storytelling, the HoneyComb Engine worked fabulously to encourage each teller to add their mark to the story being developed.

Instead of repeating the details of our session, I’ll direct you to Corvus’s post on our session and just comment on my personal experience. Since I’m in the revision process for a collection of linked short stories, I was interested in the HoneyComb Engine’s ability to model scenarios without combat or even physical action of any kind that didn’t define a character in a literary sense. Could this system be used to model a conversation? Would the game function as a writing tool? So I asked (challenged?) Corvus, and he delivered!

Using the character prompts, each accompanied by a secret and a suspicion, we explored the situation the four family members were in, developing the relationships between the characters. I found myself emotionally involved in the story, and instead of being confused and hindered by the rules, which I expected as a first time player, they were motivating. While waiting for my character’s chance to speak, I thought about what my character would do in the situation, and then used the framework provided by the HCE to build my responses as part of the larger story being told by the other participants.

The conflict timing mechanic, in particular, seemed to work very well once the storytellers got the hang of it. Since we became emotionally involved in the characters, without the timing mechanic, our conversation would have lacked shape. We probably would have ended up shouting at each other, arguing our respective character’s position without thinking about how the character would express him or herself. The timing mechanic gave the entire experience dramatic tension. It also shaped the direction of the conversation, because my character’s opportunity to speak was governed by his previous actions and the effect other characters’ actions had on him. Though simple, the mechanic forced each storyteller to consider how his or her character would react instead of forcing his or her reactions on the character.

The Influences available to each character also shaped how the story played out. Since each character had strengths and weaknesses, the storyteller had some guidance as far as how the character would react. The guidance is subtle, though, so for example, my character may have been physically and emotionally intimidating, but not manipulative. The HoneyComb Engine suggests a range of possibility, but allows the storytellers to determine what works and what doesn’t.

From my perspective, HCE made the storytelling process both exciting and nearly effortless. Since multiple storytellers were working together to explore a story, I never felt frustrated like I sometimes do while developing my fiction. Instead, I let my character wait before speaking and allowed one of the other storytellers to step in and give me something to work with. Even used individually, however, I think the system provides a framework that would encourage the development of a story. I can’t wait to attempt to apply it to my own storytelling when the manual is released.

Thanks to Corvus and Rachel for helping us through the session, and to my fellow storytellers, Joe Tortuga, Deirdra Kiai, and Max Battcher. It was a great experience, and I can’t wait to see how others use the HoneyComb Engine for their own purposes. The possibilities are legion.