'Bling' as a term, as well as use in RPGs.

[Tobias]

I was wondering - we have a bunch of 'bling' and 'pimp my ...' tv and commercial things now swamping the Netherlands.

I was wondering whether the term/concept is used the same way in the States (I presume so, since it's US tv that's drifting over), and if (and where) it has been used in  RPGs yet.

(An example might be the importance of 'chrome' to flash in cyberpunkish games).

Thanks!
Tobias

[Valamir]

I don't follow.

Are you asking if there've been games which have some mechanical representation for festooning ones self with an ostentatious show of baubles and frippery?

Or if there are games which have actually used the word "bling" (I don't have it in front of me, but I'd bet "bling" appears in some fashion in Wyrd is Bond)

[Tobias]

Both.

Games which have the mechanical representation you mention - or which have the meaning of bling as premise.

As well as games that use 'bling' or 'pimp my' as oft-ocurring words.

I'll check out Wyrd is Bond.

[Adam Dray]

Dude, I totally have to change "Gear" traits to "Bling" traits in my cyberpunk game, Verge. ;)

[Josh Roby]

"Gear" is just as urban as "Bling" -- it's just that Bling is a show of wealth, whereas Gear has a purpose and use.  I could see Bling being a Gear trait, however, giving you bonus (ie, mad props) with other street-level folks (ie, peeps) in your immediate area (ie, the hizouse).

[Chris Peterson]

Donjon distinquishes between a character's Wealth and Equipment. Sounds like Bling and Gear to me.

[Clinton R. Nixon]

Donjon distinquishes between a character's Wealth and Equipment. Sounds like Bling and Gear to me.

Which all, historically in the Donjon game, were under a super-category called Scrilla.

[Andrew Morris]

Which all, historically in the Donjon game, were under a super-category called Scrilla.

Scrilla for you, maybe, from all the bank you're pulling in from games. Scrilla from Manilla, kid!

Or...wait...was that a serious comment? I haven't bought Donjon yet, so I can't be sure.

Back to topic....Tobias, why are you interested? Is this for a game that's dealing with street lingo or something?

[Tobias]

Sure, take bling as a term. :)

Why do I ask? Because it has re-ocurred to me that 'popular color' sells (goth, punk, etc.) a game well.

And (Dutch) tv-land has been swamped with Extreme Makeover, Paradise hotel, pimp my ride/room/house, House Invaders, etc. programs. So I'm wondering how much that is happening, and how much it's being (or has been) incorporated into games.

It's for another fledgeling game design, yes, but my brain's already veered to a related 'pimp my' game - Pimp My Prehistory.

And I've still gotta overhaul Schrodinger's War and Golem vs. Dragon, I know, but perhaps doing some stuff right in this one will help the others (and I'm waiting on Ronnies feedback on the GvsD anyway).

[Adam Cerling]

I came here after reading your [Pimp my Prehistory] thread. It might just be me, but I think the terms don't fit your game idea well.

"Pimp" and "bling" came out of the urban American hip-hop dialect. Their connotations lie with rap music and with popular ideas of the gang-member lifestyle.

The terms have nothing to do with reality TV. Some reality TV uses the terms, yes, but only in an attempt to target the hip-hop youth market (which is really comprised mostly of middle-class suburban kids, just like the hip-hop music market). Most reality TV never utters those terms in any significant way.

So when I read those terms in your game, they say to me "this game has an urban hip-hop aesthetic." Wyrd is Bond has that aesthetic. Pimp My Prehistory, so far, does not. It has a satirical reality TV aesthetic, which is a different thing entirely.

So in short I think you should try different terms; to my ear, "Bling" and "Pimp" have absolutely nothing in common with prehistoric alien reality TV.

That must be the strangest sentence I've written all week...

[Andrew Morris]

Yeah, I'm with Adam on this. The terms don't really seem to fit the game.

[Tobias]

Thanks for that feedback - that's exactly what I was looking for.

Because I think the flavor, if you will, of the terms pimp and bling are slightly different over here. Sure, I realise what 'pimp' used to mean (and still does), hooker-wise, and bling is definately associated with a certain music/youth culture - but over in the Netherlands, 'pimp my...' is more associated with "make it cool and over-the-top" than with the urban culture you mention (because 'pimp' is just a foreign word, even if 80% speaks English over here). That, and we've had a huge wave of 'pimp my...' / makeover / reality tv / idols-esque shows, which for purposes of satire I roll into one big lump and make fun of. One telecom provider sells 'blinged' phones (faux jewelry) in a somewhat satirical manner (at least, that's my perception, perhaps kids nowadays really don't see any satire in it), for instance.

So would it be fair to say that there's a difference in perception between me (a representative of NL) and you (representative of - where?) in the meaning of 'pimp' and 'bling'? If I target my game to a EU crowd, they might see it more in the way I do, if I target for a US crowd, it'll be found more inappropriate?

As to the actual game - in your opinion, dropping the terms entirely would be a good plan? Renaming to 'Extreme Planet Makeover' would be better in that case? (Perhaps that part of the discussion should be moved over to that thread).

[rrr]

So would it be fair to say that there's a difference in perception between me (a representative of NL) and you (representative of - where?) in the meaning of 'pimp' and 'bling'? If I target my game to a EU crowd, they might see it more in the way I do, if I target for a US crowd, it'll be found more inappropriate?

Just so you know, both the word "bling" and the phrase "pimp my X" definitely have connotations of contemporary urban American hip-hop culture in the UK. 

Perhaps less so in non-english speaking parts of Europe, but the phrases will have that feel in Britain at least.

I would be careful using the terms unless you want that kind of flava, as it were.

Drew

(man, I love "Pimp My Ride", but why did the UK version have to be so lame compared to the US one?)

[Tobias]

Drew,

Thanks for that. So, to the US/UK/Downunders - is there a another hip modern term out there like 'pimp' or 'bling' that I could use in your necks of the woods the way I would use 'pimp' or 'bling' over here in NL?

[contracycle]

I think these would all be classed as Reality TV, the pimps and blings etc being a subset.  So I would suggest, for your history game, something multiply redundant on the fact that its real, like "real historical reality"