Malcolm Sheppard has put together an OGL system called “Opening The Dark,” which is very much like Storyteller with the serial numbers filed off and some changes to the chassis. I need to make time to digest it at some point, but the SRD is available here. I may end up using it for Catgirl: The Storytelling Game.
I’ve also made major progress with the new version of Raspberry Heaven. I’m much more confident about it now, and depending on how much I get done I may run a playtest in a week or two. The new game is even more of a not-quite-an-RPG scene building story game, and it should be pretty easy to tweak for other things. It uses a deck of regular playing cards, and players put down cards trying to get the highest value for each phase of a scene (Introduction, Development, Turning Point, Climax) to get narration rights, but suits, special cards, and certain combinations all affect the mood and such.
Hmm, could you elaborate on these mood affecting combinations?
First, each suit represents a general mood:
Hearts = Warm/Happy
Spades = Weird/Confused
Diamonds = Responsible/Frustrated
Clubs = Lazy/Bored
Then the Jokers, Aces, and face cards are going to have some kind of special effect (not sure exactly what just yet). Then in the final phase certain combinations have special effects, including giving someone the opportunity to create a Memory. Four Spades creates a dream sequence, four Clubs creates an idyllic resolution, etc.
I need to work out more of the details of how exactly, but Quirks and Memories are going to give certain advantages under specific circumstances, like letting you treat a certain range of cards as a wildcard, but only if, say, your klutzy character has a spill.
What does the mood mean in the game? Specifically, how does it affect the players experience?
It’s a guideline for narrating the phase of the scene that’s currently at hand. So for example, in Azumanga Daioh:
1: A plays a 6 of clubs, and says that it’s lunch time on a sunny day and the girls are eating on the roof.
2: B plays an 8 of spades and has Osaka deliver a perfect yawn, which will be the subject of the scene.
3: Riffing on that, C plays a 7 of Spades and the girls have a yawning contest.
4: A plays a 5 of diamonds, and it turns out that they’re late for class.