Short scripted games

[Jeffrey Miller]

How viable, in your esteemed opinions, is a game that is rather limited in focus, perhaps even so limited in scope as to be scripted?

I had this killer idea for a mechanic that (hopefully, of course) promotes a certain aspect of the horror genre, but its so tied to a certain premise and story-script that I'm having trouble justifying spending any amount of effort on it.  

-jeffrey-

[Mike Holmes]

What do you mean by scripted, exactly? I mean, do the players simply read scripts, and have no other input? I assume it's less rigid than that.

Mike

[Jeffrey Miller]

What do you mean by scripted, exactly? I mean, do the players simply read scripts, and have no other input? I assume it's less rigid than that.

Ah! No, I mean that the game itself has one specific plot-line.  The mechanics I've got bouncing follow a fairly specific set of events to their logic conclusion.  While it would be entertaining for a group once, it feels a bit too limiting to me to spend time developing a full product.  

That said.. its a cool idea ^_^

-J-

[rafael]

What do you mean by scripted, exactly? I mean, do the players simply read scripts, and have no other input? I assume it's less rigid than that.

Ah! No, I mean that the game itself has one specific plot-line.  The mechanics I've got bouncing follow a fairly specific set of events to their logic conclusion.  While it would be entertaining for a group once, it feels a bit too limiting to me to spend time developing a full product.  

That said.. its a cool idea ^_^

-J-

Nah, man.  That's what I did with Dread.  Straight to the point.  Every game's pretty much the same.  Like a cop show.  The plot-line's scripted pretty much in advance -- you got your victims, your menacing demon, your extras (sullen informants, mafia thugs, crooked cops, lecherous judges), and you got your heroes.  Plug variables into equation, and enjoy a couple hours of carnage.

Sometimes, that's just what a gaming group needs, in my opinion.  So go for it.  Throw out your idea, see what happens.  Hell, I'd like to hear more.

-- Rafael

[iago]

Ah! No, I mean that the game itself has one specific plot-line.  The mechanics I've got bouncing follow a fairly specific set of events to their logic conclusion.  While it would be entertaining for a group once, it feels a bit too limiting to me to spend time developing a full product.

I ran a session of my Fate Buffy game when not all of the "required" players could attend, that focused on one PC and a bunch of NPCs played by the usual players who could attend, that was basically set up like a horror movie.  So all the NPC players knew they were likely to be "offed" over the course of the session, while the PC player had a reasonable feeling that he was going to be "the survivor".

One of the things I do in my Fate Buffy game, where I discard all Fate points accumulated at the end of each session, is deal out a hand of cards to my players that list things they can opt to do (such as 'Don't take no for an answer', or 'Get into an argument', or 'Develop a love interest') or lines they can say (like 'It's not my fault my wardrobe is the wardrobe of evil!' for the Goth character) that, when done/said, they are "cashed in" for FP's they can then use during that session.

In the case of this particular session, the NPCs each got a couple cards that were appropriate to their character, and then a card that was their "exit scene", where they basically chose the time they were to leave the stage (dying), which gave a Fate Point to the survivor (the PC).

In all, the method worked very nicely to guide play according to a particular plotline, without necessarily working out the specifics of the plotline (i.e., exact times and methods of the deaths of the victims).

I am certain that these notions could easily be adapted to a "scripted" horror game, and I'm equally certain that a game that was "scripted" makes a whole bunch of sense.  In some ways, that sort of game almost occupies a middle ground between, say, a board game (because board games have pretty strictly defined things that are going on) and a "normal" RPG.

I think this sounds like a great seed idea to use when taking on a 24 Hour RPG challenge.

[Julian Kelsey]

Could give you good control of timing which would make a very cool convention piece.

More generally, there's a good deal of creative endevour that works by limiting variables, concentrating creative effort on just a few things, and doing those few things very well. Once you get away from the glare of the big winners, the small success are often like that.

[Mike Holmes]

I get what you're saying. Dread is sorta "scripted" in terms of episodes. But your game would be a single "story arc" scripted from one end to the other. I've been theorizing about stuff like this for a while now. Even games where you play the same characters every game, in some cases even for non-one-shot play.

I was talking about this sort of idea to Paul Czege, Danielle, and even mentioned in to John Wick one night at GenCon. The idea that, basically, a game doesn't have to be presented as replayable. Look at it this way. An "adventure" supplement is not really replayable with the same group, is it? Yet the better ones go for $10 or $15 or more. So why can't you just do an entire game as a one-shot module. Also think of it in terms of the "Host a murder Mystery" products. These cost even more, and are one-shot items as well.

How many game products are purchased just to sit on a shelf, unused entirely? How much of that is due to the fact that the product expects you to dedicate to about 100 hours of play or more?

I think it's an idea who's time has come.

That all said, I think that such beasties are prone to their own design problems. But I'm also sure that they can be worked out. So I guess I'm saying that I think you ought to go for it.

Mike

[ethan_greer]

I concur.  Do it.  If nothing else, you'll learn something from the experience.

[Jeffrey Miller]

I concur.  Do it.  If nothing else, you'll learn something from the experience.

True.. which is why I was awake until 2am last night trying to get it down on 'paper' - I'll post something in a couple days.

-j-

[Ron Edwards]

Hey Jeffrey,

See if Scott Knipe will email you a copy of his Human Wreckage game. It was in an alpha-alpha state when I played and reviewed it, but it did do exactly what you're talking about.

Also, check out the various scenarios in Pantheon, from Hogshead. Despite appearances, Pantheon is not a Narrativist-facilitating game, in my view - it relies on pastiche-style loyalty to a given set of tropes in order to be played, as a chassis for competition.

Best,
Ron