Friday, April 2, 2021

No RPG No Life

First and foremost I want to thank everyone who came by to view the blog last month and participated in my deep dive into Japanese Anime and Manga related gaming. I would like to especially thank those who commented as I rarely get the kind of feedback I am hoping for when doing something like this. The discourse is very much appreciated.

Views here on Barking Alien have hung around the 5,000 to 6,000 mark per month for the past few months - almost the past year actually - but this month I have over 8000 views!

Since I didn't manage to work on my new game Mecha System Variant / MSV game very much this month (hardly at all), that is still going to be considered a work in progress. What I mean to say is that you will definitely see entries on it pop up from time to time going forward until its completed. 

As noted in the previous post, I have some very solid RPG ideas that I am very passionate about. I might even get to run them.

The issue is I am not sure which individuals out of my current crop of players would be as into any of these ideas as I am. These aren't your run-of-the-mill campaigns, though I don't think any of them are so off beat and avant garde that people couldn't wrap their heads around them. Rather, the idea may be too out of the ordinary to evoke a clear understanding and strong investment in them. 

That's a shame. Here's hoping the current pandemic situation improves to the point where enough people have their vaccinations and maybe, just maybe, I can get a group together in person this summer. Selling people on an idea in person is considerably easier than doing it over the internet for some reason.

Coming up I've got some alternative ideas - one of which might be even weirder than those and one that might be easier to digest...maybe kinda. I will be writing up the second idea first and I think it will surprise you.

Before I go, here's a guide to the titles from last month's posts. All of them were parodies of Japanese Anime and Manga titles, save one which was a book/RPG parody, though Anime was still involved.

Japan's Bizarre Adventures is a reference to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

Full Metal Milieu and Full Metal Milieu: Neighborhood is a reference to Fullmetal Alchemist and Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

Things from the Second Impact is the only title that is not an Anime/Manga title parody. Instead it is a reference to Things from the Flood, the book and RPG sequel to Tales from the Loop. The Second Impact is a key event in Neon Genesis Evangelion.

MSV - The Origin is a reference to Mobile Suit Gundam - The Origin, while MSV - Dice in the Pocket references Gundam:0080 - War in the Pocket

A Certain Animated Role-Playing Game is a reference to A Certain Scientific Railgun

Is It Wrong to Try and Put Anime in Dungeons and Dragons? is a reference to Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?

Project A-Game is a reference to the classic Project A-Ko

No RPG No Life, the title of this final post for March of 2021, is a reference to No Game No Life, which funny enough is actually an Anime focused on board games. 

Wait'll ya see what's coming up...Onward to adventure!

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Barking Alien






5 comments:

  1. As always, I find your pontifications and theorising on the tricky subject of "what makes a good RPG" fascinating reading, even if our ideas don't always gel and some of your 'attacks' on Dungeons & Dragons occasionally come across as "wrong fun" arguments, I welcome the challenges you throw out.

    I always find your writing inspirational, not always in their overt subject matter but they invariably get me to take a second look at, and think about, the numerous gaming plates I have spinning.

    Thank you! Keep it up!

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    1. I know I can comes off that way but in all honestly the only thing I think is 'wrong fun' in gaming is not giving other games or ideas on how to game a chance. Know people try one game, stick with only that game and never even try something else simultaneously gets my goat and makes me sad.

      D&D does, for various reasons, rub me the wrong way but that's me. It need not rub you or anyone else the wrong way and there is nothing wrong with anyone's love of it. To each there own of course.

      All that said, wait'll you see the next post... (Anime Sweat Drop)

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    2. Thank you for taking my comments in the spirit in which they were intended. And, after all, the great thing about blogging is that this is YOUR blog and you're free to say what you like.

      I wouldn't say D&D rubs me the wrong way, but every iteration of that particular system, to a greater or lesser extent, is definitely flawed in my opinion, which is what sent me down the rules hacking rabbit hole several decades ago.

      But I also don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, which is why I welcome your pieces on different systems, that open my eyes to games and genres I have less (or no) hands-on experience with.

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    3. In my next post I go into some of the specific reasons I don't care for D&D, not to disparage it out of spite or dump on it for no reason but rather to quantify what would need to change for me to like it.

      The goal is to figure out how I - or anyone else who might be likewise frustrated with Dungeons & Dragons - can focus in on the kind of game they are looking for.

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