Creating a world, not just an RPG.

[Mekgames]

Ok I have been in the process of creating an RPG centered around a world my friends and I brainstormed one dark and stormy night (It's cheesy but amusingly enough it's the truth. And we were at Steak and Shake no less) and then I developed on my own for quite some time after that. I've been working passivly on it for a couple years and then over the past 10 months or so I brought one of the original brainstomers back in and we started work in earnest. Here's the thing. We built the system around the world. We want to create a world mostly. A friend of mine is going to do an ongoing web manga set in this world, which I will be developing most of the storyline for, and segments of this manga are going to be included in the game in the way that Werewolf second edition had it's little comic. Though since it's manga style it will be greyscale. Here's my question. Is anyone else taking this very world storyline centered approach. We have gobs of sourcebooks planned mostly centered around story with systems where there is story to support it. Most games I've seen seem to be a story thinly veiled upon a system. What do you think of this more world centric approach from a sales and marketing perspective? I'm just curious about some random opinions, thanks.

[AdrianChapman]

Personally I love the idea, but what would I know.... I'm a writer, albiet an unpublished one, heh, guess that means I'm unemployed.... But, I have done a lot of roleplaying (too much maybe), and what I've always liked most is where the company gives you the world and details about it, and lets you (the players and GM or St or whatever) just run with it..... I always liked making up NPCs to put in the world myself.... ANYWAY, I like the approach, as a RPG enthusiast (someone who purchases and plays TONS of this stuff) I like the approach you are talking about best.....
Just thought I would throw in my two cents