Campaign trailers

Kyle Aaron · August 13, 2008, 08:46:10 PM

We've had threads about pitching your campaign by making a movie poster for it, but how many people have presented actual movie trailers for it? Either one they've made themselves, or just one swiped from a regular movie?

I just ask because I came across this one, for a postapocalyptic game. Me, I've never done it, but if I did I thought this one might be a good intro for a modern day pirate-hunting game.

Edit: and I've known a few players who would gladly sign up to be The Drill.

Aos · August 13, 2008, 08:50:27 PM

I've been thinking about doing a trailer for my setting, but I'd have to get someone else to do the voice over. I sound like Kermit the frog's adolescent brother. I rarely have any trouble "selling" my games though. I've been very lucky in that regard.

David R · August 13, 2008, 10:07:30 PM

I dig the fact that the guy referenced Van Damme's Cyborg in his campaign trailer - I realize it's wrong but to me this film is one of the coolest postapoc flicks.....

I must say I really like this concept. There's so much you could convey this way. Fuck it, makes me wanna make trailers for my upcoming games. If only someone pointed this out when I was prepping my Unknown Armies game. Who am I kidding I lack the relevent techfu.

I can just imagine scores of gamers not actually playing but creating campaign trailers. Kyle, we have got BNGs, Much Loved But Rarely Played, Collectors....what would you call these chaps ?

Regards,
David R

Jackalope · August 13, 2008, 10:49:18 PM

One of my friends just started a Pathfinder/Eberron campaign based on the music of Dragonforce (not half as lame as it sounds), and we started off the campaign by working together to describe what the intro to the "show" would look like...but man, we never even thought to try to make actual video of it.

Aos · August 13, 2008, 10:53:31 PM

I was going to come in here and say that making videos isn't that difficult, but then I stopped and thought about all the skills I had to pick up to be able to even do a half assed job at it, and how many years it took me to get those skills, and how much of a pain in the ass it is to put something together, and how hard it is just to make something that sucks. Well, anyway, never mind.

Kyle Aaron · August 14, 2008, 02:06:05 AM

Quote from: David R;235272I can just imagine scores of gamers not actually playing but creating campaign trailers. Kyle, we have got BNGs, Much Loved But Rarely Played, Collectors....what would you call these chaps ?

"Typical GMs".

Creating a trailer then never running the campaign, writing up detailed world notes then never runnning it, same thing.

Quote from: AosI was going to come in here and say that making videos isn't that difficult, but -

Which is what we have plagiarism for. I think it'd be quite acceptable for a GM to swipe the trailer of a real movie or game and use that. As in two of my three examples above.

Now of course you must go to YouTube and find us some examples. Ideally it's not a trailer focusing on one particular famous actor or actress, it has to be more focused on the situation than that, so that would-be players can imagine themselves in it...

Dirk Remmecke · August 14, 2008, 05:31:48 AM

The only "kind-of trailer" for an RPG campaign that I have ever seen before is this for the PTA campaign The Line.

wulfgar · August 14, 2008, 07:44:00 AM

Never done a video, but I've done a couple powerpoint "trailers" for games, that I send out ahead of time to the players.

Aos · August 14, 2008, 08:01:05 AM

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;235309Now of course you must go to YouTube and find us some examples. Ideally it's not a trailer focusing on one particular famous actor or actress, it has to be more focused on the situation than that, so that would-be players can imagine themselves in it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pIW5gz8WUU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECkH8UTIdoo&feature=related

grownups need not apply.

John Morrow · August 14, 2008, 10:59:28 PM

One of the people in my group did a trailer once, done back in the days of VCRs so not nearly as sophisticated as some of your examples. He used to compose soundtrack music for games, too.

It really doesn't take too much to do a custom movie these days if you have software that can splice scenes together. You can get away with quite a bit if you just replace the audio with a piece of music like the examples did. I did that years ago (again on video tape), putting that friend's music to anime videos. He liked some of them using Dagger of Kamui and Akira but wasn't too happy about me putting a piece he had imagined as dragon riders going into battle over the big battle scene from Project A-Ko.

droog · August 15, 2008, 11:11:09 PM

Great idea, but that trailer is a bit long.

Here's a Flash video some guys made of their DitV game:

http://www.browserbeware.com/images/dogs.html

The Good Assyrian · August 16, 2008, 09:28:47 AM

Quote from: droog;235707Great idea, but that trailer is a bit long.

Here's a Flash video some guys made of their DitV game:

http://www.browserbeware.com/images/dogs.html

That was pretty fucking cool...

Makes me wish that I had a shred of artistic talent some days.

TGA

David R · August 16, 2008, 11:29:52 AM

Quote from: droog;235707Great idea, but that trailer is a bit long.

Here's a Flash video some guys made of their DitV game:

http://www.browserbeware.com/images/dogs.html

This is one of the most fun APs I've seen

Regards,
David R