I Blogged about some games we are interested in publishing.
Both these games are good for stand alone settings. Yet, they also contain mechanics and ideas that would be a worthy addition to any Sci Fi game you may be running already.
As far as we can tell the Star Master game began as a campaign in 1973 thus making it the oldest existing Sci Fi RPG. Arneson made a small blurb on it in his fanzine Corner of the Tabletop in 1973 referring to it as Stellar 7. The Blackmoor Bunch call it, The Space Game, or Campaign.
More here:
https://www.secretsofblackmoor.com/blog/the-lost-sci-fi-rpgs-by-the-snider-brothers
Metamorphosis Alpha is based on the generation-ship concept, which you can find in Heinlein's Universe/Common Sense, both published in Astounding in 1941 (later combined into the novel Orphans of the Sky in 1963). Although I've read that the concept didn't originate with him, this was the biggest initial splash in science fiction. If you read it you can easily see the similarities to MA. Then of course there was the 1958 Aldiss novel Non-Stop (published as Starship in the US). As for Gamma World, even the first edition references Bakshi's Wizards, an obvious forbear.
The reason Hollywood generally doesn't accept non-solicited work is to avoid situations such as your post, alleging that TSR "may have been" "stealing the idea." As we all know, you can't "steal" an idea. Legally. Only its execution.
I'll end by asking what the point is to stoking the whole Gygax vs Arneson thing again (or rather still), fifty years later. How about we just concentrate on having fun?
PS: My own blog post on MA et al:
https://themichlinguide.wordpress.com/2022/09/15/gamma-world-metamorphosis-alpha-orphans-of-the-sky-non-stop/ (https://themichlinguide.wordpress.com/2022/09/15/gamma-world-metamorphosis-alpha-orphans-of-the-sky-non-stop/)
Quote from: Secrets of Blackmoor on January 12, 2023, 03:12:14 PM
I Blogged about some games we are interested in publishing.
From what I've seen, Richard Snider games are math heavy. At least judging by Adventures in Fantasy and Power & Peril. Are these other sci-fi games like that? If so, will there be an effort to revise them? For example, Adventures in Fantasy has some great rules but the Body Type vs Body Type table is bizarre in it's lack of playability combined with a lack of realism.
If computer space RPGs count, it's worth checking out "Star Control 2", described as "the best Star Trek game ever without actually being a licensed Trek game". It was remade by fans as "The Ur-Quan Masters" with improved graphics (partly from its 3DO console port) and optional remixed music. Known for its sandbox setting and the feel of setting out into unknown space to encounter alien races and piece together why a war is happening and what to do about it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEEUQ7kbBNQ
No mention of Alternity?
I'd have to see actual documents before I'd buy any claims of TSR ripping off Metamorphasis Alpha and Star Frontiers. Secrets of Blackmoor might be holding a grudge ;)
Other forgotten games might include Stargard which has been around at least as long as Dungeons & Dragons, though as a miniatures game not an rpg.
While I'm at it, The Sentry Box used to have a rack of books for a game called Intruder V. Anyone ever heard of it?