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Games and Gaming: In X, you play people who Y

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      CommentAuthorRobert Bohl
    • CommentTimeOct 10th 2009 edited
     # 1
    In the current episode of Oo! Let's Make a Game! we talk about some feedback Vincent gave us on the game we're working on for the show. I'll quote him from that thread.

    Posted By: Vincent BakerWell, in Misspent Youth you play idealistic kids who fight against the stomping boot of authority. In Dogs in the Vineyard you play God's Watchdogs, holding the Faith together in the face of sin, hate and murder. In Shadowrun you play violent operatives taking on gangs, corporations, and rival operatives. In Under the Bed you play a child's beloved toys helping the child through a difficult time in her life. What about this game?

    So what about X game?

    Tell me, in (name of game), you play (whatever). Doesn't have to be your game, but it can be.
    • CommentAuthorwhiteknife
    • CommentTimeOct 10th 2009
     # 2
    In Lacuna you play mysterious agents who fight for a cause they know little about in a city full of mysteries.
    In 3:16 you play space marines who kill aliens and find out about themselves.
    In Paranoia you play commie mutant traitors, who kill each other and are killed while screwing up a mission.
    In D&D you play adventurers who kill things and take their stuff
    In Sea Dracula you play dancing animal lawyers! You dance and practice law AT THE SAME TIME!
    In Super Action Now! You play someone funny and get into hilarious adventures.
    In Violence the RPG you play criminals who kill things and take their stuff.
    In Kill Puppies for Satan you play someone who kills puppies. For Satan.
    •  
      CommentAuthorccreitz
    • CommentTimeOct 10th 2009
     # 3
    In Power Kill you play sociopaths who play adventurers who kill things and take their stuff.
    In My Life With Master, you play desperate, lonely people. Including the Master.
    In Call of Cthulhu, you play people who are fated to be destroyed.
    In Fiasco, you play "ordinary people with powerful ambitions and poor impulse control." Says so on the box!
    In A Penny For My Thoughts, you forget who you're playing.
    In Mouse Guard, you play heroic mice with swords and capes, which is AWESOME!
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      CommentAuthorGB Steve
    • CommentTimeOct 10th 2009
     # 4
    In Call of Cthulhu you play heroes standing against something that no one should know.
    In Violence you play players whose characters do bad things.
    In My Life with Master you play characters striving against evil with evil.
    In Dark Continent you play to expose the violent past of a continent.
    •  
      CommentAuthorbevedog
    • CommentTimeOct 10th 2009
     # 5
    In How to Host a Dungeon you play with yourself.
    •  
      CommentAuthorBen Lehman
    • CommentTimeOct 11th 2009
     # 6
    I feel like this is the right message for you guys to hear about the thing you're doing. It's not a universal metric for all games.

    Or, if it is, it's not necessarily the right metric for all games. For instance, you could measure a continent in board-feet, but it wouldn't be particularly useful or insightful. See How to Host a Dungeon, above.

    yrs--
    --Ben
    • CommentAuthorSuna
    • CommentTimeOct 11th 2009
     # 7
    In D&D4ed you play heroes who mercilessly slaughter monster in a genocidal pursue of experience points
    In Shock: you play people who relate themselves to something that has changed their world forever and the issues it causes
    In Primetime Adventures you play tv-series characters
    In Steamdance you play spies who compete in order to steal inventions and discoveries for your ruthless employer
    In Annalise you play potential victims of a lurking evil, generally a vampire
    In Don't Rest your Head you play sleepless desperate people who find themselves in a nightmarish reality
    In Agon you play heroes striving to have their name remembered forever
  8.  # 8
    Respectfully Ben, it may not be THE universal metric for all games, it may not be the only thing to consider, but I can't see any reason why a designer honestly and concisely identifying what the players do in a given game wouldn't be a universally good idea.

    For me, pondering this question over the past couple of days actually got me to get off my butt and work harder to hone my elevator speech about what my game is about and what the players do in it. I'm grateful.

    And Tazio, thanks to you also, because your DRYH response helped me frame my response in a slightly more concise way:

    In Vegas After Midnight, you play desperate people who have awakened to the fact that they are pawns in a mad cosmic game being played for control of reality.
  9.  # 9
    Posted By: MickBradleyFor me, pondering this question over the past couple of days actually got me to get off my butt and work harder to hone my elevator speech about what my game is about and what the players do in it. I'm grateful.

    I'm really glad this was helpful to you, Mick.
    •  
      CommentAuthorBen Lehman
    • CommentTimeOct 12th 2009 edited
     # 10
    Hey, Mick. Differentiate between players and characters. Also, if you're going to defend the exercise, at least do it correctly.

    Posted By: MickBradley
    In Vegas After Midnight, you play desperate people who have awakened to the fact that they are pawns in a mad cosmic game being played for control of reality.


    You're dodging the question, here. Note the complete lack of active verbs in your sentence (have awakened, being played.) Your "desperate people" don't do anything. They just sit around. Being aware of shit.

    yrs--
    --Ben
    •  
      CommentAuthorMickBradley
    • CommentTimeOct 12th 2009 edited
     # 11
    Posted By: Ben Lehman
    You're dodging the question, here. Note the complete lack of active verbs in your sentence (have awakened, being played.) Your "desperate people" don't do anything. They just sit around. Being aware of shit.

    yrs--
    --Ben


    Oh, shit. You're right Ben. Thanks for pointing that out. Back to the lab with that one. Fuckstockings!

    EDIT - wrong format the first time.
    •  
      CommentAuthorPaul B
    • CommentTimeOct 12th 2009
     # 12
    So many games could have avoided an awful strangling death if only they'd asked this question sooner. I'm looking at you, Nephilim.
    •  
      CommentAuthorsage
    • CommentTimeOct 12th 2009
     # 13
    In Danger Patrol you play Robot Detectives and Atomic Daredevils who get into DANGER.
    In Burning Wheel, you play people who believe in things, which is seriously more awesome then it sounds.
    In Kagematsu, you play village women convincing a ronin to save their village.
    In Revolucion, you play people who want to change to world, and you see who they'll burn to get it.
  14.  # 14
    In Vegas After Midnight you play awakened desperados struggling to survive a cosmic game of Madness in a neon nightmare version of Vegas.

    Yeah, still tinkering. I'll continue this elsewhere so as to avoid threadnapping. But really, the idea AND the criticism have been helpful.
    • CommentAuthorJumanji83
    • CommentTimeOct 12th 2009
     # 15
    In Capes, superheroes enjoy their power and strive to prove they are worthy of them.
    In Primetime Adventures, TV protaginists tackle their own personnal issues.
    In Hero's Banner, young nobles come to a crossroad and decide what to do with their lives.
    In Dust Devils, gunslingers struggle with their inner demons.
    • CommentAuthorPaul Czege
    • CommentTimeOct 12th 2009
     # 16
    Hey Mick,

    Posted By: MickBradleyIn Vegas After Midnight you play awakened desperados struggling to survive a cosmic game of Madness in a neon nightmare version of Vegas.


    Ask Rich what Jared's response is whenever someone says their game is about struggling to survive.

    Paul
    •  
      CommentAuthororklord
    • CommentTimeOct 12th 2009
     # 17
    Posted By: Paul CzegeHey Mick,

    Posted By: MickBradleyIn Vegas After Midnight you play awakened desperados struggling to survive a cosmic game of Madness in a neon nightmare version of Vegas.


    Ask Rich what Jared's response is whenever someone says their game is about struggling to survive.

    Paul


    I'm still chortling at the use of the word "fuckstockings" from earlier.

    I think Jared or Luke would say something like "all games are about struggling to survive" and then something like "Next!"

    Don't feel bad, Mick. I just tried to do this for Making the Bigs and hosed it.
    • CommentAuthorJudd
    • CommentTimeOct 12th 2009
     # 18
    Rich,

    In Making the Bigs characters are minor league ball players who are trying to overcome their own personal issues while making it to the Majors.

    Right?
    •  
      CommentAuthororklord
    • CommentTimeOct 13th 2009
     # 19
    Posted By: JuddRich,

    In Making the Bigs characters are minor league ball players who are trying to overcome their own personal issues while making it to the Majors.

    Right?


    Yes, that's right. I kept trying to make it into a run-on sentence and bringing in too much. You boiled it down nicely. Thanks, Judd!
  20.  # 20
    In DragonGrace, you play heroes who ultimately seek to become legendary beings, that on the way discuss life, religion, and adversity.
    • CommentAuthorHiQKid
    • CommentTimeOct 13th 2009
     # 21
    In Houses of the Holy, you play ordinary people trapped in mansions of madness - you must find your way back to the door, but will anything remain for you when you get home?

    In Grigori, you play the bastard children of angels which lurk on the edge of the mortal world and make war amongst themselves - with the world of man being the stakes.
  22.  # 22
    (pssst... people who are pimping your own games, you seriously need to link that shit up)
    •  
      CommentAuthorsage
    • CommentTimeOct 13th 2009
     # 23
    Fixing a few things from my earlier post:

    In Burning Wheel, you play people who believe in things, and then your beliefs are tested.
    In Revolucion, you play people who want to change to world, and you see who they'll burn to get it.
  24.  # 24
    • CommentAuthorMark W
    • CommentTimeOct 13th 2009
     # 25
    Okey dokey.

    In O * <3 ( you play bad girls, trying to save the world from terminal dullness.
    • CommentAuthorHiQKid
    • CommentTimeOct 13th 2009
     # 26
    (I was (and am) pimping my own games, but cannot link them, as they do not yet exist. I could probably blog post about them if anyone were terribly interested, though, come to think of it.)

    In Wandering Hearts, you play destined children fighting off the darkness and trying to find a way home.
    In Duels, you play with a gimmicky dice mechanic. You also play escaped pit gladiators, dashing swordsmen, and mystical martial artists vying for honor, glory, money, or vengeance.
  27.  # 27
    In Storygames you wank each other off until someone explodes in a shower of "AWESOME."

    Seriously, what is this thread about? How is it about it?

    The answer to the third question is quite clear.
  28.  # 28
    Jared,

    AWESOME!

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