[Fight FGRPG] Help with Premise

[drkrash]

So I asked a while ago about writing an Introduction for my new game, Fight! The Fighting Game RPG.  I received direction about establishing Premise to distinguish the game from other games that might be deemed similar.

This is what I've got and I'm looking to see if I've hit it or not.  This is the beginning of the Introduction (please note that this is pretty unedited text!):

Introduction
   
Welcome to the worlds of Fight! The Fighting Game RPG! In this game, players will have the opportunity to create characters of epic proportions with fighting skills rivaled by few others in history.  Their adventures will cross time, space, and sub-genre, as such fighters might be found in stories of modern supernatural conspiracies, globe-spanning terrorist plots, urban crime drama, historical fantasy, near-future techno-thriller espionage, and even fantastic space operas.

Rather than present a specific style of story to tell, the rules for Fight! allow players to emulate the conventions and story tropes of the video game genre known as fighting games.  While the play style of these video games almost exclusively focuses on a series of one-on-one combats utilizing colorful characters, each with their own distinctive fighting styles and special moves, the stories that provide the backdrop for these combats constitutes a genre of its own.  It is this genre that this game seeks to emulate in both its tone and its rules.  Thus, in order to make the most of Fight!, one must clearly understand what the fighting game genre is.
 
What is the Fighting Game Genre?

The fighting game genre is a set of thematic elements that cross over into several other more common forms of adventure role-playing.  In many ways, it is a filter for interpreting a particular genre, with specific characteristics that make it distinctive.  For example, there have been fighting video games that have occurred in fantasy versions of historical Japan, the modern world, across several planets in the far future, and even in wars over multiple dimensions.  However, the fighting game genre is neither fantasy, nor modern, nor science fiction.  It is not even wholly accurate to describe it as the "martial arts genre," for while it shares certain common story elements with traditional understandings of that genre, it maintains a hyper-stylized context of its own.  Here are some of the distinctive elements that constitute the fighting game genre. 

After this, I spend 2 ½ pages articulating the following elements:

One in a Million
The Human Body is the Most Powerful Weapon in the Universe
Superpowered
The Supernatural and Super Science
Drama and Melodrama
Fighting is Life
Glory and Ego Matter
Combat is Unavoidable

Then I conclude the Introduction with a basic rundown of the chapters of the book.

Did I hit it? Is the genre info overkill that belongs in a GM chapter? Or is this still an unclear premise? Thanks for your help!

Christopher

[whiteknife]

You got the point across well, although I thought it may have been a bit text-book-y in parts.

That list of elements you're going to articulate makes me highly intrigued though. I really like the sound of all those things- perhaps that lists should figure into yuor intro somewhere, or just a brief description of what each of those means?

Just a thought.

[Catelf]

Ir wouldn't suprise me if some would still define it as "insufficient" and "yet another Game with Dragonball Powers".
To me however, it would've been enough with "Hyperfighting in a Multi-genred World" ......   (feel free to use it as a description, or even a subtitle, if you think it fits.)
That said, it is better if you look at the suggestions you get here as advices, that is, there is no "must" in following them, because some may not fit.

I'd say, i think it is overworked, but do not change it now, or maybe not at all, because it can still be a good part of the "Introduction Chapter", or something similar.
When/if you decide to change it, see to that at least You think it looks good, ok?

I think i read your earlier description of your game, and i understood what kind of Game you meant already then,(but i've also gotten comments like "what do you mean" over and over, and so has others, that were perfectly clear to Me what they ment,) and really .... just go with it! That is, continue to the next stage with it, so to speak.

[drkrash]

Catelf, Thanks for the comments and the encouragement.  Aside from a little tweaking, I think I will move on.  The rules are written already and it's not a short book.  I usually write intros last.

Which brings me to...

whiteknife, I'll look into the textbook tone thing.  I'm an academic in my dayjob - it sometimes comes with the territory! In general, I personally prefer the rules in a rulebook be textbooky - I don't like to have sift through flourishes to get the rule I need.  But I agree that an intro is a different thing.

As for the list of 8 points, perhaps you missed it: I spend the next 2.5 pages beyond the part I posted explaining all 8 of them.

Thanks for your responses! I appreciate them!

[MacLeod]

Maybe I'm a little biased towards the genre so I don't count... but the intro makes me excited to dive right into the game!!! =)
I have to agree about the list of elements. I understand that you do go about describing each element in detail but does that list actually appear in the book? If not, I would include it directly before you begin describing them... Simply because the list alone draws in a lot of attention and creates a bunch of enthusiasm (at least, it did for me!).

Either way... You nailed it. =D

[drkrash]

Thanks a lot, man!

[BTW, I think I still owe you a reply.]

[David Berg]

Hey Christopher,

The one big question I'd have:

When I play this game, do I spend most of my time playing through fights?  So the story is really just enough background to build up the fight with stakes and context? 

Or, do I spend a lot of my play time on terrorist plots, crime dramas, etc., with fights happening whenever those genres would seem to dictate (i.e., rarely in some cases)?

If it's the former, then I think I get your game concept, and would advise you to tell players, "It's mostly about the fights.  We just need to spend a little time on other fiction to set them up well."  If it's the latter, then I don't think I get your game concept.

Ps,
-David

[drkrash]

Thanks, David.

Honestly, I think I'd like to find something a LITTLE in between your two...

But honestly, if I have to pick, it's definitely the former, and I think the subsequent description of the listed bullet points articulates that.

Thanks for the reflections.  This thing was a b*tch to write compared to the other 200+ pages.

[David Berg]

Hey, if your vision is in between, go for in between!

I'm just thinking, as a prospective player or buyer, that if I pick up a game called Fight! and then see some key content relating to story, I'd better be reassured that:

a) The game provides for good stories (rather than just providing for good fights and leaving the stories to me)

b) The story element ties into and enhances the fight element

I don't see why any of this wouldn't be doable.  Just more work and a tougher pitch, perhaps.

Ps,
-David

[MacLeod]

Thanks a lot, man!
[BTW, I think I still owe you a reply.]

No problem. =)
Take your time, out of the two of us... you are the only who actually plans on publishing anything so I think your own project takes priority!

[dindenver]

Christopher,
  Well, the problem is, when you describe a game as "it can be anything to anyone" you don't know what actually it is.

  So, for instance, let's focus on Street Fighter. If I were to make a Street Fighter game, I could slice it different ways.
1) An almost boardgame-like fight system, with a little role playing thrown in to explain why the characters are fighting. To be honest, this is pretty true to the video game.
2) A quest-driven RPG where the tournament is the end of each scenario/campaign. The characters that are there to "find the real killer" their search leads them to the tournament. The characters that need enough money to pay for their grandma's medicine, their journey ends at the tournament, etc.
3) A competitive RPG, where everyone is the rival of the character to their right. they compete and cross swords until they settle the score at the final tournament.
  The point is, for the mechanics to support one of these well, it will have to support the other less well. If the quest is the most fun part of the game, the fighting parts have to naturally be less fun. If the tournament fighting is the funnest part, of the game, then logically, the quests will be less fun.
  Obviously, you want to make both parts as fun as possible, but in the end, you have to make a design decision, which is your highest priority and focus on that.

  Typically, that is what the "premise" question is meant to evoke. What are your priorities for the intended play of your game?

  Anyways, after reading what you wrote, the character I would make would be a street fighter style character. He would be a Capoeira martial artist who needs the prize money from the tournament to protect the Brazilian rain forests from industrialization. I wouldn't expect more than 5-10 minutes of RP between fights or for that RP to affect the fights. I would expect the fights to be really fun and to take full advantage of my character's style and tactics.

  Is that the kind of game you have in mind?

[drkrash]

Hey, everyone!

Thanks for all the responses! I'm still interested in hearing what people have to say, but I have since moved on from this part of the project.  I did revise the original material I posted here, though it is still fundamentally the same: everyone who I'd consider a "target fan" for the game has gotten the premise instantaneously and that works for me.

Peace,
C