What kind of weird RPG genres that maybe should not be could you envision? And how would you do them?
I'm thinking, for example: an RPG based on French Art Films. How would that work?
Or could one do an RPG that was inspired by Wes Anderson films?
An RPG based on the early French art films of Godard and Truffaut may work as they played a lot with noir and gangster films. A rules light approach to those genres with the ability to add mildly surreal effects could work. Which makes me think that a hack of Over the Edge may be the best fit.
Soap Operas. Ordinary world soap operas like Coronation Street, Neighbours, Eastenders or Shortland Street.
The set up is simple really, but could be based upon families (a la Pendragon) and/or multi character troupe style play (like Ars Magica). You need to base the interaction on a central location and stories based on events and the rivalries and pressures placed upon the characters accordingly. If it was set in a hospital, for example, then you have a ready supply of events based upon casualties and so on.
Quote from: RPGPundit;1005769What kind of weird RPG genres that maybe should not be could you envision? And how would you do them?
I'm thinking, for example: an RPG based on French Art Films. How would that work?
Or could one do an RPG that was inspired by Wes Anderson films?
I am the undisputed king of RPGs from unlikely genres, so you don't have to guess!
Preachy children's books like the Bearenstien Bears are overdue for a story game treatment with a narrative currency mechanic that forces brother to do something bad and forces sister to tell the parents and forces father to mess up the solution and gives full moral authority to whatever solution mother comes up with. But it's not really an rpg, so maybe it should use some kind of bidding mechanic where whoever sends me the most money gets to win.
Quote from: flyingmice;1005788I am the undisputed king of RPGs from unlikely genres, so you don't have to guess!
Still waiting for you to release
Primetime Soap Opera: The RPG. I call dibs on playing amoral tech mogul/womanizer J.R. Carrington.
Seriously, that's a game I would enjoy if it were done well and not too loosey-goosey, that is, I don't want to sit in a circle where each player just tells us what happened next in the story. I have no idea how you'd make it work right. Have at it, Mr. Bowley!
(Also, I own Dallas, but I'm damned if anyone is ever willing to play it.)
Quote from: David Johansen;1005802Preachy children's books like the Bearenstien Bears are overdue for a story game treatment with a narrative currency mechanic that forces brother to do something bad and forces sister to tell the parents and forces father to mess up the solution and gives full moral authority to whatever solution mother comes up with. But it's not really an rpg, so maybe it should use some kind of bidding mechanic where whoever sends me the most money gets to win.
Awesome! I once designed a game using fistfuls of cereal as the random mechanic - http://iflybynight.blogspot.de/2014/07/yer-after-me-lucky-charms-rpg.html - maybe you can use that idea?
Quote from: Voros;1005773An RPG based on the early French art films of Godard and Truffaut may work as they played a lot with noir and gangster films. A rules light approach to those genres with the ability to add mildly surreal effects could work. Which makes me think that a hack of Over the Edge may be the best fit.
I was going to say, a lot of the examples aren't actual genres but rather interpretations of other genres. I mean, I can play "Cheesy Low-Budget Italian Sci Fi Movie" with any decent system; the part preceding "sci fi movie" depends mainly upon the ref and players agreeing to adhere to certain tropes. Same with "French art film about a bank robber on the run" or "Wes Anderson movie about a family of nerds raising unresolved issues at a holiday gathering." Although the latter would require some novel rules to prevent it from being people telling stories to each other.
Quote from: RPGPundit;1005769What kind of weird RPG genres that maybe should not be could you envision? And how would you do them?
I'm thinking, for example: an RPG based on French Art Films. How would that work?
Or could one do an RPG that was inspired by Wes Anderson films?
If it hasnt been done as a straightup standalone RPG or expansion then in all likelyhood it can be done with any of the existing toolbox RPGs like Gurps, Mythic, FU, and many others. I mean we have an RPG about zombie cyborg schoolgirls, an RPG about rabbits, an RPG about crawdads being the inheritors of a post apocalyptic earth, an RPG and so on.
I guess the better question might be. "Does there need to be a targeted RPG for so-n-so when it could be done as an expansion or using an existing system?"
Fusion and BESM did a good job of adapting their system to various shows, or handing the players a toolkit that could do so.
Quote from: David Johansen;1005802Preachy children's books like the Bearenstien Bears are overdue for a story game treatment with a narrative currency mechanic that forces brother to do something bad and forces sister to tell the parents and forces father to mess up the solution and gives full moral authority to whatever solution mother comes up with. But it's not really an rpg, so maybe it should use some kind of bidding mechanic where whoever sends me the most money gets to win.
Berenstain. You're thinking of the parallel universe, the one where the portrait of Henry VIII is holding a drumstick.
An rpg based on newspaper comics. Broom Hilda, Apartment 3G, Beetle Bailey, Garfield, Cathy (ACK!)
I wouldn't do any of them.
Quote from: RunningLaser;1005832An rpg based on newspaper comics. Broom Hilda, Apartment 3G, Beetle Bailey, Garfield, Cathy (ACK!)
I wouldn't do any of them.
Bloom County. Then you can use the Grandfather Clause to make jokes about a certain leader who looks like someone transplanted the brain of a billionaire into Bill the Cat. :D
Quote from: Krimson;1005827Berenstain. You're thinking of the parallel universe, the one where the portrait of Henry VIII is holding a drumstick.
Since I mentioned the Berenstein Universe, this usually goes hand in hand with the Mandela Effect, the phenomenon where people could swear Nelson Mandela died shortly after being released from prison. The same universe as the Berenstein Bears and the painting of Henry VIII with the drumstick.
So imagine this as a premise. You're playing in the real world, and the players are encouraged to tap real world knowledge. Only the things they remember aren't always right. Maybe Curious George has a tail, or Kit Kat has a dash in the spelling, or the Queen from Snow White really said "Mirror Mirror on the wall.." or Darth Vader really said, "Luke, I am your father." and then slowly gaslight them around whatever thing you come up with to use as plot.
Quote from: Dumarest;1005813Still waiting for you to release Primetime Soap Opera: The RPG. I call dibs on playing amoral tech mogul/womanizer J.R. Carrington.
Seriously, that's a game I would enjoy if it were done well and not too loosey-goosey, that is, I don't want to sit in a circle where each player just tells us what happened next in the story. I have no idea how you'd make it work right. Have at it, Mr. Bowley!
(Also, I own Dallas, but I'm damned if anyone is ever willing to play it.)
Smallville is supposed to have an interesting soap opera structure and mechanic.
There was an actual published game about high-school dating. I never owned a copy and it sank like a stone but it was out there.
Do you mean Alma Mater with the 'infamous' Otus art or another game?
Quote from: Voros;1005943Smallville is supposed to have an interesting soap opera structure and mechanic.
It's
supposed to . I have it. It doesn't. :p
Quote from: Voros;1005949Do you mean Alma Mater with the 'infamous' Otus art or another game?
That's probably it; it was out in the early Eighties as Alma Mater was. The two guys I knew who had played it described it pretty much like what I see online when I look it up, although they claimed that male characters got experience points for sexual conquests and lost points for doing things like asking a girl to go steady or spending money on dates and female characters got points for marriage proposals, being asked to go steady and not putting out. Probably a local variant.
As a teen in the early 80s I bought Call of Cthulhu in large part out of sheer curiosity just to how they turned H.P. Lovecraft's work into a game. Depressing stories with one bookish guy alone, who often dies or goes mad?... how do you do that? I guess I had a very narrow view of what a Lovecraftian story was.
Prison & concentration camp. Could range from Hogan's Heroes to horrible deathcamps, Turkish prisons, modern US for-profit prisons, etc. I would skip Hogan and go for high grit, realism, and difficulty, to give a real picture of what it's like. But it also sounds terribly grim, so I probably wouldn't do it.
I think The Dunwich Horror pretty much set the course for Call of Cthulhu gameplay. Group of bookish investigators come across mystery, solve it using magic/scholarship.
Anyway, I've always wanted to see an RPG based around break dancing and reputation. Either 80s style (like the Breakin' movies) or the mores recent "You Got Served" ones (which is more like 2000s).
Bodice-ripping Historical romance, and I have no 'effin' clue how to make that work...
I'd love to play a jeeves-and-wooster style farce game some time.
Or a slasher horror game (you know, friday the 13th style) where you kind of have a chance to take the slasher down but it's a slim one unless you're lucky or very smart.
Or a game where you play as spiders. Not, like, fantasy spiders or anything. Just real spiders in, like, a garden somewhere coping with the weather and the weird shit humans make happen.
Quote from: Christopher Brady;1006036Bodice-ripping Historical romance, and I have no 'effin' clue how to make that work...
Get the "Naughty & Dice" supplement.
Quote from: cavegirl;1006053I'd love to play a jeeves-and-wooster style farce game some time.
Well damn. Brilliant idea. If you could make it work, that could be a riot.
Dostoevsky novels.
The moral philosophy stuff I can leave to the players, but I feel like the rules for hammer combat with elderly landladies need to be spot on.
Quote from: Dumarest;1005813Still waiting for you to release Primetime Soap Opera: The RPG. I call dibs on playing amoral tech mogul/womanizer J.R. Carrington.
Seriously, that's a game I would enjoy if it were done well and not too loosey-goosey, that is, I don't want to sit in a circle where each player just tells us what happened next in the story. I have no idea how you'd make it work right. Have at it, Mr. Bowley!
(Also, I own Dallas, but I'm damned if anyone is ever willing to play it.)
Since my Sunday IRC game which has been running without a stop since 2003 is essentially a prime time soap opera in space, I should be able to do this. :D
Quote from: cavegirl;1006053...
Or a slasher horror game (you know, friday the 13th style) where you kind of have a chance to take the slasher down but it's a slim one unless you're lucky or very smart...
Final Girl is a great slasher game, uses standard deck of cards.
Quote from: JeremyR;1006033...
Anyway, I've always wanted to see an RPG based around break dancing and reputation. Either 80s style (like the Breakin' movies) or the mores recent "You Got Served" ones (which is more like 2000s).
One guy did a hack Breakdancing game but never really finished it. Also probably not trad enough for some.
Quote from: Christopher Brady;1006036Bodice-ripping Historical romance, and I have no 'effin' clue how to make that work...
Reinterpretations (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwigyq2uxKzXAhUk34MKHdwpB1AQtwIILTAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D91_jymgH8QY&usg=AOvVaw0LoI5ZwUtgH1jSNGhV3WR6) of that genre have historically been very good watching.
The Mutant Chronicles Capitol source book suggested a dynastic epic for campaign play. So that would be prime time soap opera with massive guns, shoulder pads, and monsters. It's like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
That's probably the way to go for the bodice ripper too.
But if you wanted a straight up bodice ripper I suggest you have lust points and self control as damage resistance. Character traits match up and generate additional lust levels as do minor actions, a caress, a longing gaze returned. Random encounters would include things like ex lovers and the object of affection in the tool shed or behind the bushes.
Quote from: David Johansen;1006276So that would be prime time soap opera with massive guns, shoulder pads, and monsters. It's like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
Or season five of Dynasty. The 'Moldavian Massacre' plot arc basically
was 'prime time soap opera with massive guns, shoulder pads, and monsters,' or maybe ' prime time soap opera with guns, massive shoulder pads, and monsters.' :p
Quote from: Skarg;1005981Prison & concentration camp. Could range from Hogan's Heroes to horrible deathcamps, Turkish prisons, modern US for-profit prisons, etc. I would skip Hogan and go for high grit, realism, and difficulty, to give a real picture of what it's like. But it also sounds terribly grim, so I probably wouldn't do it.
I just saw
Brawl in Cell Block 99 and an RPG in that vein would be fucking hardcore awesome.
I'd be most interested in unusual genres that people have actually played - or that there are games about. I'll toss in a few of mine...
Quote from: cavegirl;1006053I'd love to play a jeeves-and-wooster style farce game some time.
Or a slasher horror game (you know, friday the 13th style) where you kind of have a chance to take the slasher down but it's a slim one unless you're lucky or very smart.
Or a game where you play as spiders. Not, like, fantasy spiders or anything. Just real spiders in, like, a garden somewhere coping with the weather and the weird shit humans make happen.
I've played and run a few one-shot larps based on P.G. Wodehouse. (sample (http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/larp/wodehouse-mm/)) It was a lot of fun in a one-shot fashion, with the common larp convention of having a bunch of crossing goals between PCs and various secrets - such as trying to collect winning flowers for an upcoming county competition, or trying to mess with the prize pig. In principle, there was a very funny love mechanic - which was if a compatible character used a pre-defined word in conversation with you, then you fell in love with them. It didn't work that great in practice, though. With all of this, I'm not sure how I'd translate it into an ongoing tabletop campaign, but it seems vaguely possible to attempt.
For slasher horror, I've played and run a few one-shots of Dead of Night. (ref (http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/deadofnight/)) I can't completely recommend it, but it was worth trying. I think that really doesn't translate well into a campaign, for obvious reasons. I've also heard some good things about The Final Girl, but I haven't tried it personally.
For the spiders thing, it sounds similar to Michael Desing's Army Ants RPG - where you play ants in a back yard. The map in play is supposed to be based on someone's actual back yard. I haven't tried it myself, though. cf. http://www.rpgnow.com/product/117688/Michael-T-Desings-Army-Ants-RPG-Legacy-Edition
Quote from: TrippyHippy;1005776Soap Operas. Ordinary world soap operas like Coronation Street, Neighbours, Eastenders or Shortland Street.
Aside from having fantasy/sci-fi themes and combat, a surprising number of my campaigns were basically like soap operas.
Shit, my Legion of Superheroes campaign was so much like a Teen Drama, it could have aired on the CW.
Quote from: RPGPundit;1006736Aside from having fantasy/sci-fi themes and combat, a surprising number of my campaigns were basically like soap operas.
Shit, my Legion of Superheroes campaign was so much like a Teen Drama, it could have aired on the CW.
Exactly. The model of play is there, so it's remarkable that nobody seems to want to do a straight/no magic soap opera rpg.
Quote from: TrippyHippy;1006739Exactly. The model of play is there, so it's remarkable that nobody seems to want to do a straight/no magic soap opera rpg.
Dallas casts a looong shadow...
Quote from: cavegirl;1006053I'd love to play a jeeves-and-wooster style farce game some time.
Space 1889 explores this with the Adventuress template: The PC is a woman of uncertain morals but terrifying determination, paired with a hopeless twit NPC that she must cajole or work around to get anything done. It wouldn't be too hard to do something similar as a servant or having both characters being PCs.
Quote from: cavegirl;1006053Or a slasher horror game (you know, friday the 13th style) where you kind of have a chance to take the slasher down but it's a slim one unless you're lucky or very smart.
The problem is the tropes. You'd need either something like the SAN mechanism (Save vs INT or do something idiotic), or a "take a bennie for doing something stupid" set up.
OTOH, genre savvy players could use the tropes: "Here's how we catch the slasher! Harmony, go take a leisurely shower. The rest of us will hide nearby and be there instantly when the slasher shows up!"
Quote from: Crawford Tillinghast;1006785OTOH, genre savvy players could use the tropes: "Here's how we catch the slasher! Harmony, go take a leisurely shower. The rest of us will hide nearby and be there instantly when the slasher shows up!"
Well if the players metagame, so too shall the GM. The original slasher is still out there, but a new slasher instantly materializes to fill this role. Since there's no xp per defeated monster, this is just a resource draining distraction. :p
Quote from: TrippyHippy;1006739Exactly. The model of play is there, so it's remarkable that nobody seems to want to do a straight/no magic soap opera rpg.
Hillfolk/Dramasystem does exactly this, no?
Quote from: TrippyHippy;1006739Exactly. The model of play is there, so it's remarkable that nobody seems to want to do a straight/no magic soap opera rpg.
I don't think it's that surprising. Gamers aren't the typical demographic of soap opera viewers.
Quote from: Itachi;1006901Hillfolk/Dramasystem does exactly this, no?
Not particularly well, flatly.
Quote from: RPGPundit;1007144I don't think it's that surprising. Gamers aren't the typical demographic of soap opera viewers.
True, but think of the untapped broader market of casual/non-gamers.
Quote from: TrippyHippy;1007226True, but think of the untapped broader market of casual/non-gamers.
That trick never works.
Quote from: RPGPundit;1007462That trick never works.
"And now here's something we hope you REALLY like!"
Quote from: RPGPundit;1007144I don't think it's that surprising. Gamers aren't the typical demographic of soap opera viewers.
Gamers love soap operas, they just want them dressed up in outer space, with zombies or high schoolers fighting vampires.
Quote from: flyingmice;1007556"And now here's something we hope you REALLY like!"
Narrator: And so we come to the end of another fun filled episode of Rocky and Bullwinkle!
Bullwinkle J. Moose: You know Rock He sure got some funny ideas about fun.
Quote from: Voros;1007596Gamers love soap operas, they just want them dressed up in outer space, with zombies or high schoolers fighting vampires.
Or outer space zombie high schoolers fighting vampires.
Quote from: Christopher Brady;1007690Narrator: And so we come to the end of another fun filled episode of Rocky and Bullwinkle!
Bullwinkle J. Moose: You know Rock He sure got some funny ideas about fun.
"Don't know my own strength!"
Quote from: Voros;1007596Gamers love soap operas, they just want them dressed up in outer space, with zombies or high schoolers fighting vampires.
And fighting. That's the main thing most soap operas don't have.
Not fighting per se but they do have a lot of murder.
Quote from: RPGPundit;1008049And fighting. That's the main thing most soap operas don't have.
You don't watch 'Professional Wrestling' or read American comic books. Those are soap operas for men.
Quote from: TrippyHippy;1005776Soap Operas. Ordinary world soap operas like Coronation Street, Neighbours, Eastenders or Shortland Street.
The set up is simple really, but could be based upon families (a la Pendragon) and/or multi character troupe style play (like Ars Magica). You need to base the interaction on a central location and stories based on events and the rivalries and pressures placed upon the characters accordingly. If it was set in a hospital, for example, then you have a ready supply of events based upon casualties and so on.
Quite a few TV soap eras of the 1950s and 1960s started as more of 'mystery soap' or 'crime drama' shows. The soap opera "The Edge of Night" was originally a court room and cop drama - so you might do the RPG aspect as Cops, criminals, lawyers with a bit of romance thrown in the campaign story every once in a while.
Living in what was once the capital of radio and TV soaps - the HQ city of Procter & Gamble this topic actually gets talked about a lot locally.
- Ed C.
P.S.: the city skyline used in the opening credits of "The Edge of Night" in the 1970s was actually a silhouette of the Cincinnati skyline.
Quote from: Christopher Brady;1008187You don't watch 'Professional Wrestling' or read American comic books. Those are soap operas for men.
Yeah, I thought the genius of Claremont's X-Men was to combine superheroes with the romance comics aimed at girls. I think the soap opera elements of the X-Men ended up being as attractive to boys as to girls. One of the reasons X-Men was a 'crossover' comic that attracted girl readers.
Quote from: Voros;1008227Yeah, I thought the genius of Claremont's X-Men was to combine superheroes with the romance comics aimed at girls. I think the soap opera elements of the X-Men ended up being as attractive to boys as to girls. One of the reasons X-Men was a 'crossover' comic that attracted girl readers.
Same thing applies to the Young Justice cartoon. As bad as the plot and villains were, the hero interaction was what made the show really interesting and pulled in a large female demographic (which sadly is what got it canned originally)
Quote from: cavegirl;1006053Or a slasher horror game (you know, friday the 13th style) where you kind of have a chance to take the slasher down but it's a slim one unless you're lucky or very smart.
This is exactly what the
Shriek 1PG from Deep7 is written for. http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/18189/Shriek?it=1&filters=0_0_10111_0_0 (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/18189/Shriek?it=1&filters=0_0_10111_0_0)
Also
Crawlspace 13 from Peryton Publishing, in which your character is a horror movie actor and teh scenario is the movie.
Quote from: Voros;1008227Yeah, I thought the genius of Claremont's X-Men was to combine superheroes with the romance comics aimed at girls. I think the soap opera elements of the X-Men ended up being as attractive to boys as to girls. One of the reasons X-Men was a 'crossover' comic that attracted girl readers.
Chris Claremont invented that, eh? Don't tell Stan Lee.
What about Jack?
Quote from: Dumarest;1008459Chris Claremont invented that, eh? Don't tell Stan Lee.
I didn't say he invented it. He did push it further than Lee though with memorable women characters, I recall Bryne once said that if Claremont had his way entire comics would have been the 'superheroes' talking to each other in their everyday clothes.
Quote from: Voros;1008486I didn't say he invented it. He did push it further than Lee though with memorable women characters, I recall Bryne once said that if Claremont had his way entire comics would have been the 'superheroes' talking to each other in their everyday clothes.
OK, this is seriously off topic: Chris Claremont was both the BEST and WORST thing for the X-Men.
The Best Part: He upped the female power level in terms of either raw power, or personality, making them relevant and enjoyable.
The Worst Part: His inability or maybe lack of desire to write men, ended up killing quite a few characters, without removing them. For example, he wanted to get rid of Scott Summers because he had no idea what to do with him, how to make him interesting (A good writer would see that as a challenge.) So he created Madeline Pryor to give him a 'happy ending'. (Marvel said No, and the Dark Phoenix Saga was born!)
Quote from: Christopher Brady;1008187You don't watch 'Professional Wrestling' or read American comic books. Those are soap operas for men.
Well, I don't watch wrestling, but I do agree with you about that, and comics. I think I mentioned earlier that the Legion of Super-heroes was a soap opera. The difference being, though, that there's also lots of adventure and combat.
Quote from: RPGPundit;1008898Well, I don't watch wrestling, but I do agree with you about that, and comics. I think I mentioned earlier that the Legion of Super-heroes was a soap opera. The difference being, though, that there's also lots of adventure and combat.
My point was that there are soap operas for men, they might be more action-y in general, but they exist.
Quote from: RPGPundit;1008898Well, I don't watch wrestling, but I do agree with you about that, and comics. I think I mentioned earlier that the Legion of Super-heroes was a soap opera. The difference being, though, that there's also lots of adventure and combat.
I think with Soap Operas, you can take some of the core features and add them into something that serves well for gaming purposes. Soap Opera+Adventure can be a lot of fun. The writers on 24 used to say all the time that it was basically a soap opera (and I think that is probably true, though I have to admit, I am no soap opera expert). I think it could work in a game if done well, but I can also see some GMs just using it as an excuse to retcon all the time. I think those kinds of soap opera twists work better in a game if they are planted from the start so they feel more air tight. I occasionally inject soap-opera-like turns into my sessions, but I've learned to think them through because these are the kinds of developments I find players most critical of if they are done poorly.
I certainly agree you can use elements from Soap Opera to infuse into campaigns. Every Amber/LoO game I've ever run was part soap-opera; and so was my Legion campaign.
My current reading of Lincoln in the Bardo and the history of Russian Bolsheviks House of Government has got me thinking about unlikely games based on them. Any suggested systems that would handle them (not Fate or Gurps pls)?
1. A game about spirits moving through the Bardo and speaking/interacting with each other?
2. A game about the Russian revolutionaries, probably not only Bolsheviks as I find their fanaticism and readiness to commit violence off-putting. Perhaps a group of friends from school and the jails composed of SRs, moderates, Bolshies and Whites.
Quote from: Willie the Duck;1006272Reinterpretations (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwigyq2uxKzXAhUk34MKHdwpB1AQtwIILTAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D91_jymgH8QY&usg=AOvVaw0LoI5ZwUtgH1jSNGhV3WR6) of that genre have historically been very good watching.
A Ghastly Affair rpg is very nice and plays gothic romance straight.
Quote from: Voros;10094481. A game about spirits moving through the Bardo and speaking/interacting with each other?
That could be interesting. Especially if it was done with some degree of accuracy.
Yeah I think it could be cool. I'm enjoying Lincoln in the Bardo enough that I picked up a translation of the Bardo Thodol.
Quote from: Voros;1009927Yeah I think it could be cool. I'm enjoying Lincoln in the Bardo enough that I picked up a translation of the Bardo Thodol.
I still feel that there isn't any translation of that which is truly good.
I remember reading somewhere that in Japan, there was a hack of Call of Cthulhu that turned the game into a high school romance style game. Even kept the sanity mechanic.
I would just about kill for a copy and translation.
Quote from: remial;1012193I remember reading somewhere that in Japan, there was a hack of Call of Cthulhu that turned the game into a high school romance style game. Even kept the sanity mechanic.
I would just about kill for a copy and translation.
I would bet this is urban myth, but then, it is Japan...
I love strategy and simulation games, something like Crusader Kings 2 or Mount & Blade. I know there are some RPG systems which make things like dynasty and nation/city building possible, but I never played in one and I don't think there is a big demand for it.
I would like to once be in a campaign where I can start out as a lesser noble/baron with a village/town, and try to make it prosper, try to get greater titles, try to marry into important or wealthy families, maybe one of the descendants of the dynasty having a chance at the throne, or carving out their own as the Norse did in Britain during the Viking Conquests. (or even the Saxons, Angles, and Jutes earlier)
I'm also a huge Coat of Arms nerd, I made most of the CoA for the CK2 Game of Thrones mod, but while those were more or less already canon I also like to make new, ahistorical ones. While you can describe your CoA as knight or paladin in most games, or even a banner, they don't usually mean anything and you can't 'imbue' a meaning to it for your family (let's face it: most games don't even have an idea on how to handle noble dynasties)
As a bonus to explain my interest in nobility, I have noble ancestry myself. Among Hungarians from Transylvania, a Saxon/Swabian German branch, and some frontier/border lord on the Scottish/English border. However, even before knowing this I loved fairytales with nobles, knights, the history of Hungary being at war with Muslims and Mongols, games like Lords of the Realm or Knights of Honor.
Quote from: RPGPundit;1012968I would bet this is urban myth, but then, it is Japan...
On the Gauntlet podcast they interviewed the translator of a number of Japanese RPGs into English and he says that a series of light novels based on CoC games became very popular with young Japanese and so CoC has caught on with them. I didn't get the impression it is a different version of CoC, although perhaps played differently based on the source of the inspiration.
Quote from: Voros;1013184On the Gauntlet podcast they interviewed the translator of a number of Japanese RPGs into English and he says that a series of light novels based on CoC games became very popular with young Japanese and so CoC has caught on with them. I didn't get the impression it is a different version of CoC, although perhaps played differently based on the source of the inspiration.
There is an actual romantic comedy manga/anime(which I like btw) that is very popular and based on CoC,
Haiyore! Nyaruko-san.
You don't really need to know anything about CoC for it though and the connection is something like that between Hetalia characters and actual nations. I assume you speak of the same series.
Quote from: joriandrake;1013230There is an actual romantic comedy manga/anime(which I like btw) that is very popular and based on CoC, Haiyore! Nyaruko-san.
You don't really need to know anything about CoC for it though and the connection is something like that between Hetalia characters and actual nations. I assume you speak of the same series.
Nyarko-san was hilarious and they did put in jokes that only Lovecraft fans would understand.
Quote from: Krimson;1013278Nyarko-san was hilarious and they did put in jokes that only Lovecraft fans would understand.
That is true, I enjoyed it a lot, but it was fun even without the knowledge of CoC. Interestingly it also created a boom in CoC related sales as fans of it went to purchase the actual source for their parody/RomCom and many liked it. So I think it was all great for both the typical anime fans and the CoC fanbase.
Quote from: joriandrake;1013230There is an actual romantic comedy manga/anime(which I like btw) that is very popular and based on CoC, Haiyore! Nyaruko-san.
You don't really need to know anything about CoC for it though and the connection is something like that between Hetalia characters and actual nations. I assume you speak of the same series.
That must be part of it but as I recall this wasn't anime or manga but a specific genre form that combined actual play report, light novel (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_novel) and primitive animation. Can't recall the name for this sub-genre/form. Here is the podcast with Andy Kitkowski. (http://www.gauntlet-rpg.com/the-gauntlet-podcast/episode-99-japanese-tabletop-rpgs-with-andy-kitkowski)