Potential Game / Temperature Read

[Auspice]

So I have a few game ideas bouncing around in my head, but obvs only going to work on one. I'd like to get a feel of what people might want to see, with the understanding that it's gonna be a fair while before it's open (between work and school, I have only limited time right at the moment).

1. The Magicians - this would be a blend of book/show. The elements chosen would be in support of the game environment. My pain point here is I don't know what system to use. The setting is more PvE. There's little combat magic to begin with. And if it's a system without ready-made code, I'd need a coder. (I could break FS3 to work and have theorized how I'd do so, but Faraday would probably cry a lot.) I've already done some work on this idea, as well. I have a metaplot, policies drafted, etc.

2. The Expanse - This is the game I'm sort of wanting right now. Partly because I am on a big sci-fi kick. It'd be set in the general 'universe,' but without the events of the show (no Scopuli, etc.). I'd set it on Ceres and focus on those elements. I have worked out how people could have ships and would, if the game got large enough, open up large (like 1-2 total) ship crews. I do, however, lack a solid metaplot so far, but I'm sure I could come up with one eventually. FS3 would work for this, easy, so code isn't an issue.

3. Original SciFi - So I have this scifi setting. It's sort of my personal 'masterwork' for school. I've used it for scripts, game concepts (video game), and short stories. I've fleshed out the historical timeline, one of the societies, and I have 6 plotlines that could be worked with / woven into a metaplot. I'd probably set the game on a station, to start with. FS3 would also work for this. (I'll also note it has a feel akin to Firefly in some ways, if that's your thing)

My worry about #3 is I know people sometimes have a really hard time latching onto original themes, due to the learning curve. I know #1 and #2 have books and shows already there that would allow people to dive in (as well as wikis to supplement knowledge).

I also know I'm opening myself up to being torn to shreds for shitty ideas, but... I'd rather put effort into a game people would be interested in.

[Arkandel]

@auspice I see The Magicians, I upvote.

Agreed about original settings.

Never watched The Expanse.

[Tempest]

I say this purely out of genuine curiosity.

What would a 'system' do in a Magicians game?

[Deleted]

I would only play if it was a My Little Pony/The Magicians crossover.

On a more serious note, I'd second The Expanse as an idea.

[Thenomain]

@auspice said in Potential Game / Temperature Read:

1. The Magicians - this would be a blend of book/show.

Your concern about original theme isn't reflected here as well? People who have only part the knowledge will have to catch up somehow, albeit it's far, far easier to catch up with most of the knowhow than with none.

2. The Expanse - This is the game I'm sort of wanting right now.

This is the hotness, and as described you could have read only the books.

3. Original SciFi - So I have this scifi setting. It's sort of my personal 'masterwork' for school. I've used it for scripts, game concepts (video game), and short stories. I've fleshed out the historical timeline, one of the societies, and I have 6 plotlines that could be worked with / woven into a metaplot. I'd probably set the game on a station, to start with. FS3 would also work for this. (I'll also note it has a feel akin to Firefly in some ways, if that's your thing)

The advantage of this is that the only source players need to know are those provided by you.

As you are a writer, you could write introductions for all three and make them well-presented for people unfamiliar with what you want to do with it. I think 2 or 3 are more approachable as sci-fi is mostly knowing things about space and learning the setting, while fantasy means learning the world's rules as well as the setting.

This is my view at least.

[Three-Eyed Crow]

Which one are you most passionate about? That's going to need to be what carries a person through the giant PITA that is running a game.

I think The Magicians and The Expanse are both decent settings for a MU, depending on the execution, though as you say The Expanse is a better natural fit for FS3 (not that I think The Magicians is un-doable, mind, if you don't want to get terribly crunchy with the magic stuff).

My only concern about the original sci-fi pitch is the "akin to Firefly" bit, because when I think Firefly I think small/tight-knit crew of a single ship, which I don't think is really replicate-able in a public game (I'm someone who found the world-building of Firefly very wonky and stuck with it for the crew dynamics). Even a small one. It is all about execution, though, and I think Arx demonstrates that original themes can attract an audience if they're done right (and that it frees you from certain canon expectations and allows you do make whatever the f changes you please).

[Arkandel]

@three-eyed-crow said in Potential Game / Temperature Read:

I think The Magicians and The Expanse are both decent settings for a MU, depending on the execution, though as you say The Expanse is a better natural fit for FS3 (not that I think The Magicians is un-doable, mind, if you don't want to get terribly crunchy with the magic stuff).

What I like about The Magicians is that there's an adult educational environment. That gives instant access to RP for people (teachers and experienced students teach newer students) but doesn't take options away.

There is also a modern world Out There, which is easier for most people to play around in than having to figure out the idiosyncrasies of futuristic/fantasy settings ("do toilets exist?").

Also the books and show are both kickass so.

[Lithium]

All three of these could be doable, but I think for the Magicians and the Expanse you have to figure out what you're going to do with the book/show characters. Either get rid of them entirely, at which point how do you feel the game would work without them, or do you allow them as FC's or NPC's only?

Personally, I would love to see an Original Sci-Fi written by you, and that intrigues me more than the other two.

[Auspice]

@tempest said in Potential Game / Temperature Read:

What would a 'system' do in a Magicians game?

In my case, it would help people balance what I see as the two 'scales' in Magicians. Intellectual genius vs. raw ability. Alice was more on the former, while Quentin was more on the latter.

And then you get into the 'schools.' Healer, psychic, physical, and so on.

@three-eyed-crow said in Potential Game / Temperature Read:

(not that I think The Magicians is un-doable, mind, if you don't want to get terribly crunchy with the magic stuff).

This is part of the issue: I know people would. The way I was thinking of doing it would be to have Attributes that focus on those two points above, then 'schools' of magic in Action skills, then Background skills to further 'specialize.' So you could have Psychic as an Action skill, then Meditation as a BG skill to give added bonus to your rolls.

It'd be a wholly different approach to FS3 and why Faraday would cry at me. >.>

@three-eyed-crow said in Potential Game / Temperature Read:

My only concern about the original sci-fi pitch is the "akin to Firefly" bit, because when I think Firefly I think small/tight-knit crew of a single ship

So, the 'akin to Firefly' is more because of the setting overall. It has a very 'us vs. them' feel. People having to work under the radar of the government and its military arm. What that'd mean for a game is a built-in antagonist to be used for plots.

@thenomain said in Potential Game / Temperature Read:

Your concern about original theme isn't reflected here as well? People who have only part the knowledge will have to catch up somehow, albeit it's far, far easier to catch up with most of the knowhow than with none.

Most of the ways I'd blend book/show are minor. The storylines of both don't matter; they wouldn't be used at all. But for example, in the book, a student stays in a dorm for their first year and moves to a 'house' during their 2nd. In the show, they get their house assignment almost immediately.

In the show, they went to Brakebills South in their first year: in the books, it's 3rd (which is probably when I'd do it). So the blending wouldn't be for story (where people usually have to catch up), but for more mechanics (which would require little to no 'I've had to have studied both').

[Auspice]

@lithium said in Potential Game / Temperature Read:

All three of these could be doable, but I think for the Magicians and the Expanse you have to figure out what you're going to do with the book/show characters. Either get rid of them entirely, at which point how do you feel the game would work without them, or do you allow them as FC's or NPC's only?

Personally, I would love to see an Original Sci-Fi written by you, and that intrigues me more than the other two.

In both cases, I'd get rid of the characters. For The Expanse, I might use some of the bigger background characters (Dawes, government officials, etc.) for plot purposes, but I think both settings can operate fine without those people as well.

I think my big worry for an original one is figuring out how much data I need to provide and how to present it.

[Auspice]

@three-eyed-crow said in Potential Game / Temperature Read:

Which one are you most passionate about? That's going to need to be what carries a person through the giant PITA that is running a game.

Right at the moment? The Expanse.
But every time I bring it up, I get more 'omg you should do Eclipse Phase instead' than any interest in an Expanse game.

And Eclipse Phase != Expanse.

[Misadventure]

For some awful reason people focus on system as how to kill one another, and resolve yes/no story gates. If you like skills so much, look at the mess that is combat, and social interaction. Look at he boredom that is research rolls. None of it is fun online.

Systems can do other things, like show how the story is affecting the character, challenging and changing them. They can suggest directions you wouldn't create or choose.

Y'all just want MU* In Space. Same stuff. Same play. Same baRP and dating sim. Annnnd system doesn't for into that either, so why care about the system?

[Thenomain]

@auspice said in Potential Game / Temperature Read:

Right at the moment? The Expanse.
But every time I bring it up, I get more 'omg you should do Eclipse Phase instead' than any interest in an Expanse game.

And Eclipse Phase != Expanse.

Or you could do what you're passionate about and let that passion help carry to the players and the game.

[Three-Eyed Crow]

@auspice
See, of everything you pitched, I feel like The Expanse would be the 'easiest.' In that it's a known but not exhaustively mythology-y property and it's a clear fit for the system you want to use. While I don't think 'easiest' is the best way to resolve what kind of game to make, if it's also the game you want to make? There ya go.

And tbh I suspect that the people who want an Eclipse Phase Expanse game just want some kind of Eclipse Phase game, which shouldn't impact anything you do or want to work in.

[Lithium]

@auspice As much as I like Eclipse Phase, I just don't think it translates very friendly to a MU. The concept of /losing/ memories, possibly long stretches of memories, does not make for a good MU time, cuz, how do you track when people last updated their persona, and what about forks, and the IC/OOC separation would be...

I love Eclipse Phase, but, on a MU* scale?

I say do the Expanse if you are feeling most passionate about it, getting rid of the 'FC's' is the right play imho.

[Auspice]

I don't think Eclipse Phase fits Expanse at all, personally. The requisite level of transhumanism just isn't there.

Now, Eclipse Phase + Dark Matter? You'd have something.

I do think putting together an Expanse game would be easy on the scale of 'how hard is a game to build.' My plans there are to set it on Ceres to start. Have the option for the 'I can only login a couple days a week at best' people to play those who work on / own ships (so hey, you can only be around a couple days a week, but here's a cool way to use that in your character/story). Make a big focus on Star Helix and the 'underground' (gangs, other criminals) types.

PCs could then have the strife/interaction they want there, but it's not necessary to force interaction (SH got paid off to look the other way a lot, after all... and there's always NPC crime).

But beyond those two 'major' groups, you'd also have dock workers, store owners, families, those coming/going on ships, etc...

And I thought, down the road, once the game is healthy, I could open up, say, an ice hauler. It'd be geared for alts, specifically, and it'd return to Ceres every X months and the rest of the time... PCs run ship-based plots. It'd prob. be more appealing to the sort of people that prefer interpersonal drama, but enough of those exist that I think it could work as a secondary char option vs. primary.

Unfortunately, I'm still sort of kicking at metaplot ideas and nothing stands out. Tho one is that I could go pre-books/show and focus some of the story on the forming of the OPA.

[Lotherio]

My vote, Magicians, sounds most entertaining. And there is this great wiki template you might be able to plug and play.

No, Magician, for what @Arkandel said, modern world, nothing new to learn and people can figure out other things to do when not Magician'ing.

[Auspice]

@lotherio said in Potential Game / Temperature Read:

No, Magician, for what @Arkandel said, modern world, nothing new to learn and people can figure out other things to do when not Magician'ing.

I will note that I plan to keep the focus on the school and only the school. If your character graduates (on 1:1, that's a long ways off), you'd be able to shift them into an instructor (or other support figure for the school) role.

Because opening up a 'city' or other Real World location leads to a mess of a grid, characters spread out, and then people wanting to play non-Magicians (like, no hedge witches will be allowed, for example).

Having the Neitherlands and countless portals to other worlds should satisfy peoples' needs for non-school RP (as it'd be part of the initial plot to discover the portal at the school and the Neitherlands).

The books/show already showed that the school itself has time travel devices (ones students had made), so people could even run plots to visit X points in history.

Eliott and Janet/Margo have a portal to their favorite pub in London.

So being able to "venture out" beyond the school is super easy in that setting.

[Wizz]

@auspice said in Potential Game / Temperature Read:

The Magicians - this would be a blend of book/show. The elements chosen would be in support of the game environment. My pain point here is I don't know what system to use. The setting is more PvE. There's little combat magic to begin with. And if it's a system without ready-made code, I'd need a coder. (I could break FS3 to work and have theorized how I'd do so, but Faraday would probably cry a lot.) I've already done some work on this idea, as well. I have a metaplot, policies drafted, etc.

WANT. WANT SO BAD.

I think system-wise the thing I would want the most is something that reflects how difficult magic is and how much it can just straight-up fuck with you.

My initial "Post-Coffee Slump Not A Super Ton Of Thought Gut Feeling" is that Awakening 2.0 with a cosmetic paint job would actually fit the magic system described in the books really well. The "Conditions" would translate really well into Yantras, the system for reaching really describes how you feel about Quentin's abilities versus Alice's, Paradox and the Abyss can be repainted as "fucking up your finger placement or whatever/intrusions from the Neitherlands," etc.

Please do not murder me

[Auspice]

@wizz

Awakening 2.0 makes Auspice's brain hurt. She is not a fan. >.>

I also feel I'd lose a lot of potential players if I just recolored nWoD.