Random Game-Design Challange

[The Incredible Hatboy]

Okay. This is a *real* challange - it's one I'm not even sure is possible.

The basis behind many games is "I have great power, but must keep it secret". Many of White Wolf's games use this basis, as do most conspiracy games ("power" being "knowledge" in that case). I'm not levelling judgement on its validity or quality, just stating a fact here.

Other games - Exalted and most supers games, frex - involve great power that is used openly. (Setting aside secret identites, which arguably don't count)

Real life, it could be argued, generally consists of people with little power who aren't publicly known.

Can the fourth combination be made into a good game? Something about characters with no real power but whose actions are public? Or does the power inherent in publicity turn this into a variant on the second combination I listed?

[Jared A. Sorensen]

I wrote a superheroes game (The Code) with almost this exact premise: normal people doing extraordinary thing who are in the public eye. It's on my website.

FWIW, the two games you've described (as well as countless others) both heavily factor the concept of non-accountability. In Vampire's case, the PC's have supernatural powers and are part of a world-wide shadow conspiracy -- they don't have to answer to anyone except their superiors (which is a handy way for a GM to rope them and railroad them into doing stuff). In Exalted, the PC's have supernatural powers and exist in a kind of lawless limbo, where might makes right. One part of the appeal of these kinds of games (in other words, the majority) is the appeal of not being accountable for one's actions. Look at your typical teenager caught in the grip of angst and ennui and you'll find that desire -- to be free, to rebel, to not have to answer to authority.

On the plus side, you have RPGs -- creative outlets and opportunities for social growth. On the bad side, you have anti-authority outlets like neo-nazism, white supremacy, youth gangs and suicide (with or without Columbine-like murder sprees). Both stem from the same source -- the desire to be accepted and the rejection of authority and accountability.

Hmmm...that turned into a bit of a speech, didn't it?

[Steven Sweeney]

Originally posted by The Incredible Hatboy
Okay. This is a *real* challange - it's one I'm not even sure is possible.

...

Real life, it could be argued, generally consists of people with little power who aren't publicly known.

...

Actually, this could be fun.

SETTING: Modern-day America, mid-size cities, middle-class suburbs
SYSTEM: Doesn't really matter; something low-powered (GURPS w/ 25 pts...?)
CHARACTERS: Disaffected 20-somethings who are just starting to realize that they've been screwed. Something's not right out there, and they've lost their inheritence before they knew it was theirs to take.
SYNOPSIS: There are a lot of angry people out there, and it's true, one person can't make a differenece. But 10 can, if properly motivated.

<i>FREEDOM</i> describes a hidden war waged by normal men and women who want to fight back against a system that exists to hold them back, to keep them from reaching their full potential.

The warriors in <i>FREEDOM</i> have no super powers, no special abilities, no vast backing or corporate agenda. They are men and women lashing out against a world with what little power they have, and individually, they would be nothing.

Nothing. Thankfully, there exists a world-wide information source that is uncontrollable by any government, and using the Internet, these men and women tap into a network of people who think like themselves.

...etc. :-)

[Jared A. Sorensen]

Sinisa did something like you've described. It's here:
http://home.dencity.com/loveislove/jilted.html

[Andrew Martin]

The Incredible Hatboy wrote:
> Something about characters with no real power but whose actions are public?

Sounds like a RPG about supermodels, movie/TV actors and other celebrities.

Alternatively, with advances in computer and nanotechnology, one could take up the lifestyle of being 100% always in public view. Something like Jim Carey's movie recently, which I forget the name of.

[Mock]

There are a few avenues I can see; none of this is very fleshed out, of course, and some of it might not make a good game anyway.

First, there's the "Truman Show" angle that Andrew brought up--these are people who from their birth through life are watched by the rest of the world. Why, I don't know. They are mundane individuals, but they are in the public eye and they do, eventually, exert a tremendous amount of power over their viewers. Might be interesting as kind of a niche game, but I'm not sure it would hold players too much.

Second, there's the "freak" angle--something like in the game Jared mentioned. The characters are different unable to hide among the normal people. Day to day, they are invisible to the normal guy on the street, but if they screw up, the full force of public scrutiny lands on them, and they suffer for their differences. This could also be played from the angle that they are the creations of humanity (this is very like "Jilted") and humanity is expectantly waiting to see how they work out.

Third, there's the "representing humanity" angle: they are somehow selected and made to represent humanity in some challenge, some test, or in some endeavor. This idea isn't very solid, because it's inherently limited.

Finally, there's the idea that they are normal people who decide to defy the structure of authority, openly and publicly. They will suffer badly for this: jail time, loss of their loved ones, but still they take every opportunity to get their face on the screen, their words out in the open, and they aren't ashamed to say who they are. It's a strange idea, but I find something interesting in it: a person who is willing to say "I am John Doe. I deny the power that Government X or Organization Y has over me. I have lost everything I loved, but I refuse to give in." It's a heroic rebel angle, but without the secrecy. Unfortunately, the PC's will probably end up being a bunch of martyrs.

That's all I've got. Got to give this some more thought, though.

[Menchi]

American Pie the RPG anyone?

Actually, I wouldn't mind seeing a comedy RPG based on the premise that the players are ordinary people having to deal with extraordinary events - but with good tips for how to play it up for comic effect.

To be honest, not many RPG writers or designers seem to be able to carry this over. I think Paranoia is the only truly comedic game I have played. Although Stooper Powers looks promising...

Basically it's a field that Indie game writers have done okay in, but I'd like to see something a little more slicker than a single HTML page dedicated to the project...

Conan

[Desperado]

The concept of Freedom really intrigues me, hmmm . . . A group of young women and men cought up in a world that would not let them be. When I began reading it I instantly thought of Shadowrun. But of course Shadowrunners survive on their secrecy, in the shadows. So characters in Freedom would essentially become martyrs, I agree. But it does have wonderful potential. The next question. Does it have to be held in our modern time? Could it be possible to use the concept of sci-fi or fantasy in our characters? Why not just take the more imaginative aspects such as nanotechnology, cybernetic equipment, and advanced weaponry and distribute evenly among our 'contestants'? Yeah we have a somewhat sci-fi shift and the characters can carry around some interesting things but the government still holds all the cards. Because these items aren't unique to the characters they'll still have to face public ridicule, or worse.

Who cares if a character can now get their hands on a rocket launcher. Rottary plasma cannons are going to raise out of every orrafice of a street corner before they finish pulling it out of their gym bag. The same goes for political speech, and maybe even more. You're not violent, you rally in front of the judicial building and speak your mind against the things you don't like. But now more than ever technology has given people a chance to mute you. Just by letting the nanobots in their ears configure sound, they've been able to destroy your specific speech patterns and all that fancy stuff. Marvelous Potential here, just marvelous.

[Tim Gray]

Damn forum ate my message. Now you get the shortened version, after waiting for the thread to reappear on the new machine and after other people have posted.

There's a bit of a terminology tangle here. Are you using well-known vs unknown or open vs secret? Does power include all ability to shape events (as suggested by including knowledge), or do you just want it to be direct personal power, with influence as something separate?

Politicians are people with little direct personal power, who have great influence because of their public profile. Such a profile is itself a form of power in the wider sense (the question of individuals' ability to use their power hasn't come up).

On a different interpretation, ordinary people have little power but make no effort to keep their actions secret. Then the fourth position could be filled by low level vigilantes, Mulder wannabes, etc.


=============

Thought sparked by some of the above: which of the combinations would amount to Big Brother the RPG? How hard do we have to stamp to make sure it never, ever shows its face again?

And someone knowledgeable should now talk about 'Soap', I think.

[Mock]

In a way, this is beginning to sound a bit like it might be "Survivor" -- except that they really mean survivor. Who gets killed this week? What alliances are formed and broken?

It would be kind of a nifty game, though--either the players are a "team" facing multiple opponents, or all of the conflict occurs within the team. Or both--players making alliances with other players and the NPCs.

[Starchild]

The game that's currently condensing out of the nebula in my head (see "Suburban Horror," below--or above, I don't know) works like this. The characters would all be high-school students. You don't get much more powerless than that. But, being in a typical vapid suburb, they can do almost anything and no one cares...of course, this would be a "weird" suburb, so thoughts of Columbine-type disasters never crosses the demented minds of the adults.

[Alka-Seltzer]

Intergalactic Survivor: would be a great con game. A team of randomly selected humans must compete with teams of other alien species in tests of strength, wits, and endurance on a strange planet while their every move is broadcsat throughout the universe. could be adapted in to a Running Man style game fir those combat junkies.

I once had a proposed CoC campaign based around the characters attempts to, for once, alert the world to the mythos threats and expose the real truths of reality. I mean otherwise wont the earth always be eventually doomed?

The Infinite Martyr: Speaking of which one of my favorite things in call of cthulhu is the concept of backup characters. Everyone brings one or two cops or barkeeps or homeless people for when their current pc bites it. I always wanted to do a game based around this sole concept. My original idea was to have a revaltionary group in a cyberpunk future fighting against a society split in to levels of aristocracy based on increasing cyberfications, ruled by brains in jars. the lowest social rung, the flesh bags, grossly out number all the other castes combined but are powerless against such high technology. Over a few thousand years the fleshbags of one particular planet have begun to evolve a telepathic massmind. Armed only with their guranteed replacements and total lakc of the fear of death they must wage war against the machine lords using their wits and strategy. Characters must walk a narrow line between being too inefective, after all there isn't an endless supply of massminds, and being to succesfull too quick, get the empire really scared and they'll just cut their loses and cause your sun to collapse. I realize that's not exactly like what you were talking about but I've typed to much to care about that now. What with the recent events involving terrorists (which the PCs would basicly be) I'm not sure if this would now be a bad idea or incredibly topical. Probably the former, but I guess it depends on how twisted/thick skinned your group is.