tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post1565869509971281376..comments2024-03-27T19:02:58.368-04:00Comments on BARKING ALIEN: Universes Versus SettingsAdam Dicksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840144928096089178noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-45153703668168843432019-06-27T19:33:04.275-04:002019-06-27T19:33:04.275-04:00Thanks Teresa! Great to hear from you. Thanks Teresa! Great to hear from you. Adam Dicksteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04840144928096089178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-87085851174137920742019-06-27T02:17:51.597-04:002019-06-27T02:17:51.597-04:00I've GMed Traveller a couple times. We all had...I've GMed Traveller a couple times. We all had fun with it. Tramp freighter adventures are great. <br />But to be honest, it was exhausting. Only two people had Traveller rpg knowledge. So there was a constant need to explain, define and clarify, but try not to overload the players with info. <br />Ive GMed the Firefly Universe using the old Deadland rules many times. Tramp freighter adventures in the 'Verse. Huge success! Beyond my wildest expectations. Everyone can visualize the feel, the tech and get on the same page instantly. <br /><br />I love Traveller as a concept. But the constant foot noting is a distraction to the players and GM. At least in our group. <br /> <br /><br />Also, I look at Rifts exactly the way you do. It boggles the mind, I cant find solid footing. <br /><br />Great post! Teresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01213481870704579199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-52302381251500808642019-06-25T19:55:39.184-04:002019-06-25T19:55:39.184-04:00I'd consider Fallout a Universe. It's fair...I'd consider Fallout a Universe. It's fairly well known and popular among the hard core and casual console gamer and it developed that popularity over time and multiple incarnations.<br /><br />Forgotten Realms is definitely a Universe within the RPG gaming community but I wouldn't place money on a bet that you could stop a random person on the street and they'd have heard of it (like you could for say Marvel Comics, Star Trek, or even Ghostbusters).Adam Dicksteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04840144928096089178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-41926152935994204612019-06-25T19:48:59.042-04:002019-06-25T19:48:59.042-04:00Thank you so much Miguel. If indeed my destiny is ...Thank you so much Miguel. If indeed my destiny is to produce fewer posts of higher quality, well there are certainly worse fates.<br /><br />It's funny though how right you are about tropes. I haven't thought of it quite this way since I am usually focused on making sure I embrace the tropes of a given IP but it's equally easy to turn them on their ear every once in a while. If people know a given Universe really well then even a minor twist (as long as it doesn't go too far against the grain of the setting) can really POP! Adam Dicksteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04840144928096089178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-86411282578835241782019-06-25T14:14:47.792-04:002019-06-25T14:14:47.792-04:00I think some settings can become well known enough...I think some settings can become well known enough that they have a "mind space" like a Universe. Forgotten Realms springs to mind, or something with a video game origin like Fallout. <br /><br />Properties which have movies/comics/books/video-games all have a sort of multi-media multi-spectrum awareness, which is a pretty hard advantage to overcome when compared to your original settings. (although that can be a reason to avoid them too!)Lasgunpackerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13529298072677726064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-39876928038456629272019-06-24T14:49:23.024-04:002019-06-24T14:49:23.024-04:00I wholly agree with you. It's not that much th...I wholly agree with you. It's not that much that I prefer to run games set in known IPs, it's that I think I am a lot better doing that. If I design my setting, it will be full of common tropes lifted from those universes I like. On the other hand, when I already know the details of the universe, I can explore new corners or import ideas from other sources. Does the Rebel Alliance have an intelligence section looking for Jedi knowledge and artifacts? Nobody said so, but yeah, probably (the Empire certainly does). Here you have your campaign concept.<br /><br />By the way, your posts may have been somewhat sparse lately, but they form a great streak, full of interest. Keep up writing!Miguel de Rojashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15762364029464337239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-58876549906208382572019-06-24T12:18:20.485-04:002019-06-24T12:18:20.485-04:00Well first, how dare she want to do that to Star T...Well first, how dare she want to do that to Star Trek. Of course people hated it. STD anyone? <br /><br />The thing is, if that's what you want to do that's awesome but why use Star Trek for that. That isn't what Star Trek is. Why buy Vanilla Fudge Ice Cream if you really wanted Strawberry? That doesn't make any sense to me. <br /><br />Generally, you choose a game based on it's setting because you really like that setting. It's not for what can be done with it if you changed it around but for what it is. Again, let me emphasize, IF you are buying a game for its world, IP or not, you are getting it because you enjoy that world. Otherwise, buy something else. There are a lot of games.<br /><br />Is going with the gme that fits what you want to do some bizarre, unheard of idea?<br /><br />Seem all too simple to me. Adam Dicksteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04840144928096089178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2465863144787683153.post-64628977449425515122019-06-24T10:19:06.083-04:002019-06-24T10:19:06.083-04:00I get the ease of buy-in, source materials, etc. b...I get the ease of buy-in, source materials, etc. but I actually feel the opposite. IP games feel restrictive to me, especially when gameplay doesn't match the genre. For example, a friend of mine wanted to run Star Trek, but wanted it to be *her* Star Trek, namely a bleak, deconstructive version of the Universe where the focus was on how the Federation wasn't the utopian society it claimed to be.<br /><br />People hated it. Because it didn't feel like Star Trek--it felt like badly written Mark Millar fan fiction. And I wondered if it would have gone better if she had filed the serial numbers off and just ran a sci-fi campaign in her own Setting.WQRobbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17436898737750581192noreply@blogger.com