It's The End Of The World As We Know It...

[FruitSmack!]

Hi all!

I've been mulling over writing a Post-Apocolyptic game.  Now here is what I intend to do with this, if I write it (using some of my spiffy new knowlege of project proposals from work :)

1.)  Design a system that works well with all diffrent sorts of PA settings, stories, etc.

2.)  Use the system to drive home the theams of PA media.  I intend on doing this using some sort of mechanic to really bring out said theams in the way TRoS uses Spirtual Attributes.  The diffrence is that Id like them to focus less on the indivdual and more on the theam (i.e., Hope, Dispair, Joy, Failure, or Rememberance).  Id hope that this would be able to handle everything from Mad Max to The Postman, Planet of the Apes to The Omega Man.  All kinds of theams, you see?

3.)  Personally, I prefer Sim. games, so that's what it's going to be.  However, I still would like to keep a tiny bit of Narritivst in there, too.

4.)  Provide a "Tool Kit", so to speak, for GMs and Players to use to make there own unique setting that has all the good stuff that makes PA books and movies so cool.  Kind of have a whole "this is PA" section that really goes into what makes PA, well...PA!

5.)  Make it interesting enough to make it worth my time.  ;)

So?  Any comments?  Am I wasting my time?  Is this just a jumble of unitelligable garbage only I understand and your laughing at my idiocy?

I know that PA games arn't that popular, but dose anyone think that there would be any interest there?  If anyone kinda understands what Im talking about and has more questions, just ask away.  I've been thinking about this for awhile (mostly due in part to lack of good PA games, with the exception of octaNe).

Hmmmm...I just need a name...hows about octaNe...

Oh, wait... ;)

aaron

[Christoffer Lernö]

So a partially universal PA game? Sure, but there are already a few semi decent I could use if I wanted to play PA.

Since you're kind of saying "plug in a setting" it seems that you might be sacrificing detail for universalness which makes it even less likely to beat a cutomized version of a semi-functional PA game gutted and rebuilt around the world one wanted to play.

As it stands your idea looks very much out of focus. Can you give a little more flesh to it? Otherwise this might be more suitable for RPG Theory under the subject of "how does one make a PA game usable for many settings"

[Mike Holmes]

Sounds like a more Narrativist Aftermath!. A very simulationist game with notes on how to affect most of your more "realistic" PA environments. What I'd like to see from a game like this is mechanics that encouraged setting exploration that linked into the SAs.

See this thread:

http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1296

for ideas from myself and others on how this sort of thing can be accomplished.

Mike

[FruitSmack!]

So a partially universal PA game? Sure, but there are already a few semi decent I could use if I wanted to play PA.

Since you're kind of saying "plug in a setting" it seems that you might be sacrificing detail for universalness which makes it even less likely to beat a cutomized version of a semi-functional PA game gutted and rebuilt around the world one wanted to play.

As it stands your idea looks very much out of focus. Can you give a little more flesh to it? Otherwise this might be more suitable for RPG Theory under the subject of "how does one make a PA game usable for many settings"

Pale Fire,

Thanks for the feedback!

One thing to add, however, is that while I am sacrificing the detail of things like setting and such for the generic, I wouldn't want to get rid of all the stuff that identifies with PA media.

Sure you could go out and play GURPs, FUDGE, or a host of other generic games, and Im sure they would work fine, but this game is specific for PA due to the reliance of all the things that make PA what it is.

Did that make sense?  Im not very good at actually getting my thoughs into things others understand.

aaron

[FruitSmack!]

Sounds like a more Narrativist Aftermath!. A very simulationist game with notes on how to affect most of your more "realistic" PA environments. What I'd like to see from a game like this is mechanics that encouraged setting exploration that linked into the SAs.

See this thread:

http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1296

for ideas from myself and others on how this sort of thing can be accomplished.

Mike

Mike,

Yah, yah!  That's what I'm talking about!  Thanks for the link.  It's given me some fine ideas.

I've never gotten a chance to actually play Aftermath! so I cannot make a good comparison, but from what I've heard from people who have played, I'd like to make a game that has that "Generic PA"-ness to it and give the theams there in the kind of attention to them that Aftermath! gave to realism.

I guess that dose make my idea pretty Narrativist...

aaron

[Christoffer Lernö]

So what exactly are "all the things that make PA what it is"? Sounds like a subjective thing. BUT you don't need to answer that. Better if you just go and write a sketch of how approximately the game would work (no need to get into die rolling details) and how it could be played (play examples?).

I think that would be the best to let people know how you intend it to be run.

[FruitSmack!]

So what exactly are "all the things that make PA what it is"? Sounds like a subjective thing. BUT you don't need to answer that. Better if you just go and write a sketch of how approximately the game would work (no need to get into die rolling details) and how it could be played (play examples?).

I think that would be the best to let people know how you intend it to be run.

Pale Fire,

No problem.  I'll post something when I get off work.  Im just glad that people are interested enough to let me babble on about this.

Thanks!

[Kester Pelagius]

Greetings FruitSmack,

Only just discovered this thread.  I used to have way more links before my HD crashed, but I might have some interesting sites for you to look at and get ideas from.

I know that PA games arn't that popular, but dose
anyone think that there would be any interest there?  If anyone kinda understands what Im talking about and has more questions, just ask away.  I've been thinking about this for awhile (mostly due in part to lack of good PA games, with the exception of octaNe).

While I can't speak for everyone here I think post-Apocalypse games are popular, just with a narrow audience.  Then again I only ever played Gamma World, have Twilight 2000 in a box somewhere.  ANYhow, here are the links I think you might find of interest...

A site called Post Apocalypse Media which covers a bit. (Has a links page.)

Here's a not too bad Gamma World page.

Another fun one Gamma World Adventures in the New West

There used to be a ton more, probably still are, haven't done a search on them in a while.

Hope the above links help you with ideas.


Kind Regards,

Kester Pelagius

[Christoffer Lernö]

Fruit, just so you understand how it should look like I provide a link to my old write-up for my game. This is not the original. The approach was pioneered earlier, but I forget by whom. Could anyone fill in here and link to the original article?

[Mike Holmes]

Is this what you're looking for?

http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1871

Mike

[Christoffer Lernö]

Nope. It was that thing about writing games going game-example first.