Pretty simple. What are your favourite books/films/comics that you don't want to see turned into an rpg and why?
For me it was Gene Wolf's Books of the New Sun. I always thought that there was no way an rpg could ever capture the tone/concepts of those books. And IMO the rpg failed to do just that.
So, what are your "Please don't even think of turning this into an RPG" books/film/comics etc.
Regards,
David R
Agreed about New Sun. The GURPS version was a good case of completely missing the point.
I think Earthsea falls into that category, too. I can see mining it for ideas and approaching the tone in a game, but the setting itself is best served simply by enjoying the stories.
Roots, The Color Purple, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Amistad, etc.
Anything by Danielle Steele, Joan Collins or with a Harlequin imprint...
I could go on for days. I think I'll stop here...
EDIT: Oh! You said "favorites!"
Scratch the Danielle Steele, et al line, then... :o
Yeah, Earthsea is great for inspiration, but it'd be a tall undertaking for any company to get right.
Schindler's List.
Has there ever been any adaptation of a setting form a book/film where there were no rules, just the designers ideas as to the possible theme(s) of the book/film, examples of systems that would emulate said themes, suggestions as to how to turn the setting into a viable rpg etc.
Regards,
David R
Between my general disdain of feeling like I am not "living up" to the source material, and generally poor batting average of adaptations and selection of systems that I wouldn't care to play (coff*serenity*coff), it really don't care so much if my favorite shows never get adapted.
Y'know, I get the feeling that the best science fiction/fantasy literature and movies are going to have a large number of fans saying it would be impossible to adequately cover them with an RPG. It may be that less literary stuff makes for the best RPG fodder - stuff like Brian Daley's "Coramonde" books, Lawrence Watt-Evans's "Garth the Overman" books, etc.
David Eddings
Quote from: David RHas there ever been any adaptation of a setting form a book/film where there were no rules, just the designers ideas as to the possible theme(s) of the book/film, examples of systems that would emulate said themes, suggestions as to how to turn the setting into a viable rpg etc.
Regards,
David R
The Willow Sourcebook came close.
Lord of the Rings
Wheel of Time.
Oh, wait, you said, "...something we like..." ;)
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I can see that working out at least as poorly as it did coming to the silver screen. A pale immitation of the triology in five parts that was painfully predictable as such. :(
Quote from: blakkieHitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I can see that working out at least as poorly as it did coming to the silver screen. A pale immitation of the triology in five parts.
We homebrewed a "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" game. Never played it, but it was an interesting though experiment.
We even had an early version of player dramatic editing (this was mid 80s as I recall). We had "no way" points, which were there to represent the various bits of florid exposition in the books which end up having no bearing on the story.
Quote from: Caesar SlaadWe even had an early version of player dramatic editing (this was mid 80s as I recall). We had "no way" points, which were there to represent the various bits of florid exposition in the books which end up having no bearing on the story.
I must admit that particular part does sound intreging. If someone pulled off the whole game I'd be more than a little impressed. I assume anything you had has been lost to time with the only copy existing in your dusty memory?
Quote from: blakkieI assume anything you had has been lost to time with the only copy existing in your dusty memory?
Pretty much, yeah. It was only a notional/jokesy sort of thing.
In the "it should never be tried for the Almighty will curse you", I submit D20 Gor. Including the dreaded "save vs. slave orgasm".
*ducking*
Samarkand
Quote from: Zachary The FirstYeah, Earthsea is great for inspiration, but it'd be a tall undertaking for any company to get right.
Even LeGuin herself couldn't handle it anymore after the original trilogy ;)
Quote from: hgjsLord of the Rings
Actually, this is kind of what I'm talking about. I know a hell of a lot more folks who have converted this setting into a rpg using homebrewed or published systems, and were satisfied with the results
than gamers who have used and liked the official published adaptation.
A lot of stuff which I like, are a source of great ideas, but would make lousy rpgs. Comics like
Sandman and
Strike Force Morituri (sp) have concepts and themes which could provide the basis for really cool campaigns but the setting themselves don't IMO translate well to rpgs.
A lot of it has to do with rules, I think. It seems to me, that capturing certain elements of the source material and translating them into rules is a very dicey (;) ) proposition. Add to this, the whole subjectivity of those elements, and most times you have a recipe for disaster.
I mean, I really dig the vampire western
Near Dark, but I think it would make a lousy rpg. One of the reasons for this, is that any gamer could turn the concept of these vampires into a campaign without the need for a published setting - I think this goes for most other films/books/comics out there.
Regards,
David R
Quote from: SamarkandIn the "it should never be tried for the Almighty will curse you", I submit D20 Gor. Including the dreaded "save vs. slave orgasm".
*ducking*
Samarkand
I have to agree with you on this. I knew one person who liked Gor. He was an honest to god neonazi who took over every game he was in and kille dother PCs so he could be the absolute ruler of the game, as a player.
His favorite quote was "Everyone's gonna do what I say or I'm gonna shoot you, alright?"
As to products I wouldn't want to see done as games, Lexx would be on the top of the list, even tho I liked the show it's not really game material.
How about Anne Rice's vampire chronicles?
Quote from: JongWKSchindler's List.
You're too late. White Wolf did a Holocaust sourcebook for oWoD
Sandman would make an interesting setting for Nobilis or Amber. Heck, you could even run it with Primetime Adventures
Some of the complex hard SciFi settings (the Culture, Ken McCloud's books) would be tricky to make into a game that wasn't too complex for me, but I don't like the compexity in GURPS or Shadowrun. nWoD is about the limit for my gaming group and d20 is right out
Licensed RPGs need to die. If there's never another one, than there is truly a loving God up there in His Heaven.
Quote from: YamoLicensed RPGs need to die. If there's never another one, than there is truly a loving God up there in His Heaven.
Alas, when every breakfast cereal is composed of little lightning bolts and magic wands (i.e. Alphabits rejects), every bookshelf in every bookstore is suffused with the sheen from the covers of "The Art of Hogwarts: A Picturebook", and all toothpaste shows you the smiling face of Hermione or the scowling visage of Alan Rickman, then J.K. Rowling, at the end of her licensing rope, will turn towards a Harry Potter RPG. And it will likely suck arse....
Quote from: YamoLicensed RPGs need to die. If there's never another one, than there is truly a loving God up there in His Heaven.
I dunno. I'm willing to wade through all the stinkers to get to stuff like Conan and Babylon 5. Decipher's Lord of the Rings RPG was also pretty nifty, but they upped and abandoned that game without warning.
Quote from: David RActually, this is kind of what I'm talking about. I know a hell of a lot more folks who have converted this setting into a rpg using homebrewed or published systems, and were satisfied with the results than gamers who have used and liked the official published adaptation.
I've done both. Decipher's RPG I used for a campaign lasting a couple of months. I was pretty happy with it. There is a lot to like about that game.