I do not have the energy do do a full layout right now b/c it is kickstarter season and I am under water, but here's a prototype that can be solo-played (you can also have a friend just pick from the lists if you want that pvp feeling.)
Showrunner's Challenge
By Runawaymarbles
(also sorta by sprintingowl)
Begin writing a fanfic. It is a feature length television program being watched every week by thousands. There is no plan. The industry is in shambles. The writer's room is barely hanging on.
At the end of each chapter, roll a d12.
1 Everything at once. Roll twice, use both. If you get this again, keep rolling. Your only way out is to stop getting 1s.
2 Product placement! The next chapter must center (and subtly promote the features of) a product belonging to the most recent brand you've seen.
3 Fan favorite. Your most recently mentioned character (or named object) is now beloved by the audience. You must give it a bigger part in the story, a special destiny, or an important new romance or friendship. If you get this twice for the same character or object, the adoration cools and you must go back to treating the character or object normally.
4 Executive meddling. You must change to a different genre. You cannot go back to a genre until you have changed genres three times since then.
5 Audiences are craving more coziness. The next chapter must be completely low stakes and set you at ease.
6 Audiences are craving more suspense. The next chapter must take place entirely in a single location, ideally just a single room, and build tension with every exchange of dialog.
7 Audiences are craving more action. The next chapter needs to involve at least one extended fight scene, and the weapons must be the last three objects mentioned.
8 Audiences are craving more romance. The next chapter needs to involve a deep, sappy confession of either love or admiration between two characters that have not previously been romantically involved.
9 Go to the most recent line in your fic that references a brand. Due to ongoing legal action, that brand cannot be mentioned again, but you score 1 audience point every time you allude to it in a way that paints it in a negative light.
10 The two most recently mentioned characters' actors have, IRL, gone through a VERY messy divorce or friend breakup. You cannot put them in the same scene, but they must both remain relevant parts of the show. If you get this with the same two characters again, they reconcile.
11 The most recent negative event (stabbing, poisoning, banishment to jupiter) is now the center of a very real IRL news story. You must immediately pivot away from all plotlines involving it and, if possible, also find away to apologize for even thinking to include it without breaking character.
12 The most recently mentioned character's actor has decided to leave the show. You must write them out in the next chapter. If you are brave, also roll a d12. 1--6, they were well loved and their sendoff must be as flowery as possible. 7--12, they were despised by the cast and crew. Mulch them.
You win if you can complete the fic in a state of relative coherency.
Alternate Game Mode: TV Digest Version
Don't write full chapters, just summaries of what happens in each chapter.
Alternate Game Mode: Realism Edition
Start your fanfic with your own telling of the first episode of an existing show, then proceed from there.
