I have been open about my current game's storyline, drawing inspiration heavily from the Final Fantasy series. Kingdoms are names after summons, magical items drawn directly from in-game content, and a storyline that will certainly unfold similar to many of the games. After his rant, which was far from baseless (quite genuine, in fact), I wondered if I should reconsider where the story should go.
One of the coolest crossovers I've ever seen actually came from my best friend. He created a game around the entire game design and concept of the MegaMan series. His players could only play the Warforged race, or simply robots/ constructs. The idea was we had to take down eight robot masters, each of which had a power we could take from them upon defeating them. The actual gameplay had platforming, puzzle rooms with insta-death consequences, and we players functioned on a 3-life system. Despite his three players (me included) not having much background in hardcore MegaMan'ing, it was easy to see that the essence of the game was a complete rendition of the video game. In fact, I would bet the ending, had we finished, would have had a classic the enemy is defeated, or is he? scene.
I have included the drawing I did of my Warforged character for the MegaMan game. It was a Warforged Tattooed Monk (etched, I guess). Let me know what you think. :)
In my opinion, utilizing any of these is in a way paying homage to storying-telling that has had stood the test of time. If told/ experienced in compelling ways, or even in new complex ways, these storylines can still be thought provoking/ dramatic/ tear jerking, and all that jazz. I'll certainly revisit the drawing board, if I aim to impress with this current game I am DM'ing. Perhaps I will find ways to retell what I have always loved about the FF series, but his time, in ways even new to myself.
Anyone who is trying to do anything creative borrows from somewhere. No one is totally original. When I DM, I usually stick to classic themes, heroes saving a village from a dragon and ect. The reason I DM those stories is simply because I like those kinds of stories. Snow's game has worked well in his "Final Fantasy" world because he is passionate about Final Fantasy. That's how you have to be if you are borrowing content. Don't use it cause it may work for a story, use it because you are going to have fun with it. And lastly, be confident in the choices you are making. Players can smell fear...
ReplyDeleteOne has to be careful when borrowing story ideas from other media. Using it wholesale is a terrible crutch that won't hold up the campaign for long (Especially if the players have decent knowledge of the source). I feel that when adopting a piece a media into a table top game, a DM needs to look at it as a challenge in mechanics. Skinning the game is easy enough: You can name drop here and there or have an encounter visually mirror a scene from the source. However, all the exposition in the world will not provide depth (the content is only "skin-deep", as it were). Getting the mechanics of the game to invoke the core concepts of the source material is a rich undertaking. Players will appreciate the amount of effort a DM puts behind shaping the mechanics of the game to put over this familiar/borrowed world and, if established competently, enjoy engaging with the mechanics; especially if it gets players thinking creatively during character creation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the above statement. I played in a game with a DM that thought "fantasy" began and ended with wold of warcraft. Personally I can't stand the game. The DM more or less put us in his WOW campaign, only changing certain character names. By the third game the group was done with his giggle fest with all the inside WoW jargon that he was throwing at us.
ReplyDeleteThe single most important part of setting up a game is knowing your material, and understanding why it works. If you borrow/steal from someone else, you better be damn sure you not only understand the source, but also why you interpret it the way that you do.
ReplyDeleteI am madly in love with several worlds and several authors works, and naturally their stuff bleeds into my adventure creating. But I refuse to use anything just as mental short hand. When I use another creator's work in my settings and planning, I do so with the full intention of using that to the fullest.
Generally, anyway: in the ongoing campaign I am running, some things were stuck in literal years ago as I was regaining my feet and developing the world along with the players and they are beginning to wear at the seams. This, however, fits the story we have developed over the years: The world itself is coming undone at the seams. So our poor borrowing has served our purposes.
I agree with Mr. Rodriguez: The 'trick' at the end of the day is a lot of hard work and real understanding of the sources only the invested DM can create. The biggest challenge is bringing the players on board to what you are so passionate about, especially if they share your knowledge. It is easier to introduce players to a completely 'new' world than it is to introduce players to one they are, at least outside of game, familiar with. Players who are familiar with a setting bring their own interpretations, often deeply rooted, which can be difficult to unseat.