ALONE AMONG THE DERELICTS
A downloadable tabletop game
ALONE AMONG THE DERELICTS is a game for one player about sifting through the past and selling any parts of it you can to stay alive as your starfighter flits between the empty husks of long dead ships, alone in the inky night.
you will need a six-sided die and a deck of standard playing cards. you are also contractually obligated to keep a detailed salvage log. for system compatibility reasons, the salvage corporation would prefer that you use holographic data cassettes and a licensed recorder, but if you have neither, you can make do with a notebook and pencil.
this game is based upon alone among the stars by takuma okada.
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- NOTES AND REVISIONSOct 29, 2020
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Heya, I just started playing a game of this today and have been enjoying flexing some creative writing muscles. I've got a quick question regarding the cards though: when do we shuffle? I'm imagining it's after every derelict, or else we'd inevitably end up as alien food, but I didn't see it anywhere.
That's how I'm going to handle, but let me know if there was any other intention!
Freaking awesome make other settings for" alone among please.
I'm really enjoying this one. I've done a write up of my first three days in the game over on my blog: https://www.fistfulofvalkyries.com/
Thank you for making such a fun game!
This is incredibly good and reading it was a blast!! Your house rules are perfect and add some extra gameplay depth that works really well with what's already there and your writing is excellent, I love it!
This is an excellent addition to the line of alone among-type games available. I may use this alongside the original game and another alone game set in space.
Would making changes affect the session of the game though? Mainly omitting the credit days and tweaking it to be more on worldbuilding rather than asking questions and surviving.
thanks for the review, i'm glad you like it !! by all means feel free to tweak the game to your taste - combining this game with other alone games sounds v cool. i just added the credit days mechanic and list of questions to flesh the game out a little, but by no means do you have to use them!
Watch me read through and write this review here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/693678624
Alone Among the Derelicts is a wonderful bleak space scrapping simulator It’s aesthetic drew me in very quickly, and the first few paragraphs that set the tone really sold me on the horribly depressing journey I may find myself in. A great approachable entry point into the Alone framework.
Something I really like is how it changes or adds to the Alone framework! The lose condition sets a precedent very early, even if your starting credit-days and first salvage go really well! It’s a good addition to a game framework that could be a little unapproachable to those who need a little reminder that this is a game.
Additionally, the questions add a lot of worldbuilding and introspection to your game. This also hits those points of being good nudges to help players jump right in and get that creative brain going! I love how it directs you into a world that the author creates, but is still entirely yours.
Totally worth the $7, please consider throwing a few bucks as you download the game! I will be taking some of the stuff here into my own design if I were to make an Alone game!
Small note: The text font is a little hard to read unless I zoom in a considerable amount. It works with the aesthetic, but it makes it hard to read, especially if I had printed it out.
hey, just wanted to say thank you for the awesome review !! this is the kind of thing that keeps me excited about making games, and i'm really glad you had fun with this one.
do you think the font issue is bad enough i should redo the layout and release an updated version? i'm pretty sure i have the original source file sitting around somewhere (i think anyway)
oops sorry for the really late reply but I think if you can you should!
It's just a bit too hard to parse without zooming in a lot, and I know it can be a problem for people with harder visual problems than me. The graphic on the side is great aesthetically, but if you need more space for a larger/less condensed font without too much work (or additional page count) then squish the space graphic to make room.
Otherwise like, yeah, everything rocks and I'm really glad you liked the review!
oh hey, great idea about squishing the graphic, i certainly don't want the design to be an accessibility obstacle ! hopefully i still have the original file somewhere...
Hey so, am I mistaken or do Playing Card ranks not have a "1"? Cause page two has a "1" in the options, but me and some others seem pretty sure that doesn't exist.
I really dig what this game does with the "Alone Among the Stars" style of tabletop RPG. It adds a layer of suspense and risk with each encounter, that can be rewarding and creates a greater sense of progression!
It captures my imagination in a really specific ways and sorta got me started on solo-rpgs, so thanks!
i'm so glad you like it! i'm honored to have introduced you to solo RPGs and takuma okada's work in general which is imho genius. also regarding your other comment re: do cards have a "1", i'm pretty sure you're right that they don't and i'm just a dumbass lmao
that said, you could determine if the airlock has been broken or not based on a coin flip or something else and use either 1 or A when you pull an ace depending on the situation!
Thank you for getting back to me! I'll definitely roll with the coin flip method. And hey, the only reason I noticed is because decided to use the "Alone" system for the Beyond the Super Game Jam, after I realized I wouldn't have enough time for my original idea, and ended up making the same exact mistake MYSELF lol.
great minds think alike, eh? it doesn't seem like cards SHOUDLN'T have a 1 until you really think about it...
just checked out your game, it looks awesome and i love the premise. i have it bookmarked to play ASAP :D
Thanks! Have mercy, it's my literal first attempt and I've had to revise a few things a few times (I made this in like 4 days and it was harder than it had any right to be lol) but also, I'd appreciate any feedback. Primarily anything that confuses you when you try to play, opinions on some syntax things, etc.
But anyway, thanks again and I wish you a lovely day!