Posts Tagged by genre
| July 24, 2012 | Posted by Kurt "Telas" Schneider |
Have you ever had your knowledge of reality interfere with your acceptance of genre conventions? Gamers are usually pretty nerdy, and tend to know quite a bit about gamer-ish topics, sometimes down to a very granular level. RPGs usually emulate genres better than they emulate reality. A GM’s detailed knowledge of reality can conflict with a game that is based on a genre that may only barely resemble reality. Take the Katana (please!) In reality, the katana was the best sword that could be made…
| May 10, 2011 | Posted by Matthew J. Neagley |
Steampunk is all the rage these days, but have you ever considered the etymology of the word? The term Steampunk is clearly derived from Cyberpunk, with the major difference being one features ubiquitous steam tech, the other ubiquitous cyber tech. Aside from that, the titles say they’re not supposed to be all that different. Which is to say that they share the “punk” aspect, which carries the entire flavor of the Cyberpunk genre: the dystopian, filthy cities, the squalor for the common man, the abject poverty and overcrowding despite…
| May 6, 2011 | Posted by Patrick Benson |
My wife is a neat freak. Spring cleaning never truly ends for her, but when the seasons change suddenly the house is redecorated right under my nose. Winter themed knick-knacks are replaced with spring themed knick-knacks. Artwork changes, colors change, and everything seems to change ever so slightly. My utilitarian mind cannot comprehend why she does this. Do we really need a little banner in the garden that changes with each month? It is not like the rest of the neighborhood is dependent upon us…
| March 16, 2011 | Posted by Matthew J. Neagley |
The supers genre seems fairly straightforward. Discussions of themes and ages aside, most supers games and campaigns follow a fairly standardized set of plot structures. Oddly though, in the unassuming supers game lies some potent forms of player narrative control. Chief among these is the PC origin story. In the supers origin story, the player generally gets to dictate the way in which the PC gained or discovered their exceptional abilities. More so than any other standard genre, supers origins allow players to completely ignore…
| January 31, 2011 | Posted by Walt Ciechanowski |
Mashing genres can be a fun way to put a fresh spin on a new campaign. It allows you to to draw upon tropes and plots from one genre and give them a new “desktop theme.” When I started this series of articles I planned on keeping to the hypothetical, but as it turns out I began a new campaign last weekend that is a genre mash-up. At the risk of Kurt accusing me of “let me tell you about my campaign,” well…let me tell you…
| August 26, 2010 | Posted by Walt Ciechanowski |
More and more recently I’ve heard the term “genre mash-up” used to describe RPGs that heavily draw on two sources of inspiration that, on first glance, don’t seem to go together. While the term is new, the idea is not. The novel Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus is a 19th century example of mashing science with horror, while the Shadowrun RPG mashed traditional fantasy tropes with cyberpunk. And who amongst us “mature” gamers don’t remember stomping through the crashed spaceship in the Barrier Peaks? Taking inspiration…
| August 26, 2008 | Posted by Walt Ciechanowski |
For those of us playing Advanced Dungeons & Dragons back in the early 1980s, the Expedition to the Barrier Peaks module was a big surprise. Our intrepid adventurers disovered a crashed starship and, after defeating strange monsters and robots, came out with interesting loot. During the next few adventures, it was not uncommon for a paladin to be toting a laser pistol or a fighter wearing power armor. That notwithstanding, I’ve met many players and game masters over the years that get upset when obvious futuristic…
