Power 19: Genesys (the NRPRG?)

[mjbauer]

I think I've finally given up trying to hide the fact that I'm a power gamer. This is an honest look at the game I'm working on. It's called Genesys, and it's basically a "No Role-Playing Required Game". Feel free to tear it apart.

1] What is your game about?
Power armor, machine guns, kung-fu, terrorists, corporations, genetic engineering, knife fights, robots, explosions and cyborgs. 

2] What do the characters do?
As much cool stuff as possible. Participate in and effect the outcome of dangerous situations and things that are important on a large scale. Heroic (or perhaps a villainous) things.

3] What do the players (including the GM if there is one) do?
Decide what kind of game they want to play. Control their characters. Influence the direction of the story. Roll dice.

4] How does your setting (or lack thereof) reinforce what your game is about?
The setting is a world-wide futuristic version of feudal Japan. Players are former members of the military elite (Samurai) who have the choice of who to support in an era of technological city states, corporate rule and weakened governments. 

5] How does the Character Creation of your game reinforce what your game is about?
Fast, fun character creation that helps players prepare for the world and make decisions about how they want to play within the setting.

6] What types of behaviors/styles of play does your game reward (and punish if necessary)?
Cooperative strategic play. Role playing. It punishes the lone wolf mentality.

7] How are behaviors and styles of play rewarded or punished in your game?
Roleplay and good over all game play is rewarded with bennies. Experience can also be a reward, but it is given by the roll of the dice rather than by the GM.

8] How are the responsibilities of narration and credibility divided in your game?
Narration and credibility are the responsibility of the GM, but they can be supported by the players.

9] What does your game do to command the players' attention, engagement, and participation? (i.e. What does the game do to make them care?)
It puts them in a position to be able to effect the outcome of major events. It puts their characters in dangerous situations which require a high level of tactical and strategic gameplay, wrong decisions could easily end in a character's death. These events will hopefully catch the imaginations and convictions of the players.

10] What are the resolution mechanics of your game like?
Quick and decisive. Throw some dice and each die is either a "success" or "failure" the more successes the better the outcome.

11] How do the resolution mechanics reinforce what your game is about?
The resolution mechanics are quick like a fire-fight is quick.

12] Do characters in your game advance? If so, how?
Character advancement is slow, but the game is intended for fairly experienced characters, so character creation yields a more advanced character from the start. Advancement within the game will only improve the character's existing abilities, not add new ones. Character Attributes and Skills increase when they successfully perform an action enough times. This encourages the use of a character's abilities and rewards a player for being successful.

13] How does the character advancement (or lack thereof) reinforce what your game is about?
The game is about being viable force for change in the setting. This necessitates a fairly seasoned character, not a novice.

14] What sort of product or effect do you want your game to produce in or for the players?
I would like the players to be excited about the events of the game and interested in their roles as well as in the story that they are creating. I want them to want to come back for more.

15] What areas of your game receive extra attention and color? Why?
Combat, Weapons, Skills and Tactics receive the most attention because these are the areas that the character's will be primarily involved on a detailed level. These are also the areas that will differentiate one player from another.

16] Which part of your game are you most excited about or interested in? Why?
I'm excited about seeing the players getting involved whether it's the story or the system or just the act of playing.

17] Where does your game take the players that other games can't, don't, or won't?
Setting-wise the game allows players to explore and interact with a rich technological world. Game-wise this will allow for descriptive action sequences that are fast-paced and filled with tension. These sequences will be more similar to actual combat than other RPGs and hopefully set this game apart.

18] What are your publishing goals for your game?
I don't have any plans for publication beyond creating a workable version for a short campaign.

19] Who is your target audience?
My current gaming group, and hopefully a few of my non-roleplaying (FPS video game playing) friends.

[Daniel B]

Just my humble, inexperienced opinion .. (well maybe not humble but certainly inexperienced)..

aren't a few of those at odds with each other? I totally respect a game that favours the power-gamer in all of us, and it would be really cool to have an RPG that is stimulating enough for FPS video game players. In such a game, cooperative strategic play would be the most efficient means to victory, and lone-wolf style really wouldn't cut it.

However, I notice you then go on to say that 'roleplay and good overall game play' is rewarded, and that experience is given out at random so that it is really not a reward so much as a lucky bonus. If I'm in the middle of the game, how will I know how best to advance? Work with my team cohesively, or 'roleplay'? It just sounds too ambiguous for my taste. For the type of game you seem to be presenting, I'd rather just focus on the job at hand (i.e. working with my team on completing a mission) and letting the roleplay or character-immersion pop up emerge on it's own.

Sounds like a really interesting game X-)

Dan

[mjbauer]

Just my humble, inexperienced opinion .. (well maybe not humble but certainly inexperienced)..

aren't a few of those at odds with each other? I totally respect a game that favours the power-gamer in all of us, and it would be really cool to have an RPG that is stimulating enough for FPS video game players. In such a game, cooperative strategic play would be the most efficient means to victory, and lone-wolf style really wouldn't cut it.

However, I notice you then go on to say that 'roleplay and good overall game play' is rewarded, and that experience is given out at random so that it is really not a reward so much as a lucky bonus. If I'm in the middle of the game, how will I know how best to advance? Work with my team cohesively, or 'roleplay'? It just sounds too ambiguous for my taste. For the type of game you seem to be presenting, I'd rather just focus on the job at hand (i.e. working with my team on completing a mission) and letting the roleplay or character-immersion pop up emerge on it's own.

I agree. The inclusion of benefits for roleplaying was my last attempt at clinging to the idea that this was more than a dice-rolling video game. I do want players to roleplay if they want to, and I was thinking that rewarding players for doing so would encourage that, but you're right, it doesn't align with the intent and feel of the game. So I'm going to get rid of that aspect.

I still feel that my other method for distributing experience works. I don't think I explained it very well, so I'll give it another shot. Basically character advancement occurs when a player rolls a critical success when using a skill. Each skill will require a certain number of critical successes to advance to the next level, and each progressive level will require more successes to raise it. It's not as random as I made it sound. The reward is directly related to the repeated successful use of the skill, the way you would improve a skill in real life.

Your point does lead me to believe that I need something more in terms of rewards and advancement. I feel like there isn't enough of a reward system right now and that I need to think about what I want the players to do and to focus on so I can better reward and encourage that behavior. I like how you mentioned teamwork and objectives, it would be interesting to find a way reward cooperative play where the entire group is benefited by working together, maybe through some sort of Morale mechanic or Group Momentum. I'm going to play with that idea and see what comes of it.

Thanks for the advice. 

[Amadeo]

I really like this. I absolutely love the setting ideas you have going on.

I love your Skill Advancement rules, just another reason why I'd really like to see this game finished.

Finally, about what you said as far as Objectives, in my Biohazard Dawn game I currently give out rewards and benefits for making certain decisions in the course of a "quest" you could do the same for meeting certain requirements the Daimyo sets for the players.

If you want players to get a reward for working together in a certain way, maybe you could give out bonuses for operating under certain guidelines or in special formations. Reading about how the SWAT teams work might be a good place to get inspiration.

[mjbauer]

I really like this. I absolutely love the setting ideas you have going on.

I love your Skill Advancement rules, just another reason why I'd really like to see this game finished.

Thanks, it's been fun to work on.

Finally, about what you said as far as Objectives, in my Biohazard Dawn game I currently give out rewards and benefits for making certain decisions in the course of a "quest" you could do the same for meeting certain requirements the Daimyo sets for the players.

I think that's a good idea. I can reward players for completing objectives and missions.

If you want players to get a reward for working together in a certain way, maybe you could give out bonuses for operating under certain guidelines or in special formations. Reading about how the SWAT teams work might be a good place to get inspiration.

I like the SWAT formation idea, I'll have to look into that. Thanks for the input.