Shock value games?

Sosthenes · September 27, 2006, 10:59:01 AM

Fake swear words often have their roots in writers getting around censorship, but they often contribute a bit to some kind of "corporate identity". Farscape and Battlestar Galactica with their "frell" and "frag" come to mind. Actually, I'd like to see more of that. Any genre that doesn't playe in the here and now is likely to have its own form of cussin', and if the players participate in this particular lingo, the mood certainly doesn't suffer from it.

Then again, if the swear words aren't in a special box but in the introductory game fiction, I probably won't notice them anyway...

dsivis · September 27, 2006, 11:38:05 AM

How is Kill Puppies for Satan anyway? A lot of my friends here are interested in it...

Can someone provide the thread link to where the Satanis writer curses his critics? I love reading whiny writers bitch out.

And yes, Americans are damn easy to offend, but it's become easier for them to express their offense. Something like 99% of all FCC complaints come from a single mailing-list source, and I doubt that the people who respond to that mailing list actually watch the show.

Coming from Texas, here's the attitude I see: "I don't want to understand it, so I might as well condemn it!"

The Yann Waters · September 27, 2006, 11:50:42 AM

Quote from: dsivisCan someone provide the thread link to where the Satanis writer curses his critics?

Here you go: http://forum.rpg.net/showpost.php?p=4787147&postcount=29

Mr. Analytical · September 27, 2006, 11:55:40 AM

Quote from: SosthenesFake swear words often have their roots in writers getting around censorship, but they often contribute a bit to some kind of "corporate identity". Farscape and Battlestar Galactica with their "frell" and "frag" come to mind. Actually, I'd like to see more of that. Any genre that doesn't playe in the here and now is likely to have its own form of cussin', and if the players participate in this particular lingo, the mood certainly doesn't suffer from it.

Firefly handled that quite nicely by having the characters reflect a fashion for swearing in Chinese. My problem with these imaginary swear words (FTANJ! was another and Drek) is that they are utterly fake. They're basically nonsense synonyms for existing words, completely ignoring the fact that our modern swear words actually pre-date english.

I mean fuck is anglo-saxon and cunt is derrived from Latin. Why would we suddenly start saying "frell"?

To me, using imaginary swear words is an immediate sign that you're either a coward or you're aimed at kids.

Sosthenes · September 27, 2006, 12:07:42 PM

Swear words certainly have their fashions, as does most slang. It's been a while since I heard someone on TV use "swounds" outside a period piece. "Shiny" isn't any more unlikely than "cool" or "phat". And we got quite some mileage out of Shadowrun's "chummer" and "so ka".

Then again, maybe it's just a regional thing. German doesn't have an equivalent to "fuck" that's as versatile, so I don't notice its absence as much. And I've been mostly playing high fantasy in the past few years, where it's much more likely that you speak on a level way beyond your social class than swearing 'til divine wrath occurs...
("Hi guys, this week we're playing Quentin Tarantino's Dying Earth...")

flyingmice · September 27, 2006, 12:08:20 PM

Quote from: Mr. AnalyticalFirefly handled that quite nicely by having the characters reflect a fashion for swearing in Chinese. My problem with these imaginary swear words (FTANJ! was another and Drek) is that they are utterly fake. They're basically nonsense synonyms for existing words, completely ignoring the fact that our modern swear words actually pre-date english.

I mean fuck is anglo-saxon and cunt is derrived from Latin. Why would we suddenly start saying "frell"?

To me, using imaginary swear words is an immediate sign that you're either a coward or you're aimed at kids.

Larry Niven's TANJ and Robert Heinlein's TANSTAAFL are acronyms of phrases - "There Ain't No Justice" and "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch" respectively. I liked those. Using them as a substitute is like saying "Dang" or "Freaking" or the like, which I use myself, usually for comic effect. My opinion on those who use the same swear words a lot in common conversation - or when I read it in dialog - is that the speaker sounds dull, repetitive, and ill educated. A good swear word loses its punch if over-used. There are so many marvellous adjectives, adverbs and phrases in the English language, that the blandness of "fucking this" and "fucking that" gets to me. When I say "fuck" I generally mean it.

-clash

-clash

Nicephorus · September 27, 2006, 12:56:33 PM

Quote from: flyingmiceWhen I say "fuck" I generally mean it.

I'll keep that in mind should we ever meet at a con.

flyingmice · September 27, 2006, 01:17:17 PM

Quote from: NicephorusI'll keep that in mind should we ever meet at a con.

Ha! I'm expecting to be at the next Gencon, so if you're there and hear me yell that out, dive for cover!

-clash

droog · September 27, 2006, 07:30:27 PM

Quote from: dsivisHow is Kill Puppies for Satan anyway? A lot of my friends here are interested in it...

kpfs is a pretty straightforward, rules-lite game with an enormous load of satire. It's probably worth it for the read, especially if you like to laugh at WoD fans.

Whether you want to play it will depend on how much you want to explore pathetic scumbaggery. All AP accounts I've seen have sounded hilarious, but Vincent Baker talks about a con game in which they all stopped laughing.

Yamo · September 27, 2006, 09:10:33 PM

Quote from: Mr. AnalyticalFirefly handled that quite nicely by having the characters reflect a fashion for swearing in Chinese. My problem with these imaginary swear words (FTANJ! was another and Drek) is that they are utterly fake. They're basically nonsense synonyms for existing words, completely ignoring the fact that our modern swear words actually pre-date english.

I mean fuck is anglo-saxon and cunt is derrived from Latin. Why would we suddenly start saying "frell"?

To me, using imaginary swear words is an immediate sign that you're either a coward or you're aimed at kids.

"Dreck" is real cursing. Yiddish.

Hastur T. Fannon · September 28, 2006, 05:23:49 AM

Writing for YotZ has effected my fucking vocabulary. I'm going to have to give my parents a warning before sending them a link to it because their little boy who was brought up to believe that swearing was a sign of limited vocabulary has grown up into the sort of writer that uses phrases like "All-You-Can-Fuck Buffet"

And then there's a section that could be seen as an attempt to justify necrophilia. But none of it's gratuitious - I swear!

Mr. Analytical · September 28, 2006, 05:27:01 AM

Ooooooh... "All you can fuck buffet" I like that.

Hastur T. Fannon · September 28, 2006, 07:35:33 AM

Quote from: Mr. AnalyticalOoooooh... "All you can fuck buffet" I like that.

Thanks. It's from flavour text for a section about post-Rising sexual politics, particularly in communities with a seriously skewed sex ratio (which will be practically all of them)

Quote from: BeckaI've stopped hanging out with the men that haven't been with us from the beginning and I don't let myself be alone with any man that I don't consider part of my family. It's not a fear thing. I just don't like being stared at like I'm an All-You-Can-Fuck Buffet and I don't like killing anyone unless I have to.