Is there any genre or theme that the TTRPG medium does not work for?

Reynard · 2024-07-14T13:27:49+0100

If history as an academic area of study is a "genre" in this context, so is calculus and TTRPGs probably aren't good at that either.

On musicals: it never came off, but I planned a post apocalyptic battle of the bands one shot for a convention game where the "final battle" was actually to be done via Rock Band (back when that was a thing). I'm still sad it didn't work out.

Professor Murder · 2024-07-14T14:09:44+0100

Reynard said:
If history as an academic area of study is a "genre" in this context, so is calculus and TTRPGs probably aren't good at that either.

On musicals: it never came off, but I planned a post apocalyptic battle of the bands one shot for a convention game where the "final battle" was actually to be done via Rock Band (back when that was a thing). I'm still sad it didn't work out.

Roleplay as an exercise definitely has applications to help students learn about history.

Umbran · 2024-07-14T15:14:30+0100

MichaelSomething said:
Never heard of Golden Sky Stories???

No. But reading the kickstarter page, it very much doesn't fit the bill. In this game you are playing magical animals, not just plain folks in a just plain drama.

payn · 2024-07-14T15:19:51+0100

Bedrockgames said:
I don't think my opinion of a person has ever changed so much after seeing one movie they directed. Up until 2003, the only thing I knew about her was her role in Godfather III. Then I saw Lost in Translation in the theater and was totally captivated by it.

It was The Virgin Suicides for me.

Committed Hero · 2024-07-14T15:31:59+0100

Bedrockgames said:
But if a GM says they want to run a historical campaign, I take that to mean they want to run a campaign that is based as much as possible on real history and their research into the time period.

99.9% of gamers would understand and agree with this inference.

Reynard · 2024-07-14T15:35:20+0100

Professor Murder said:
Roleplay as an exercise definitely has applications to help students learn about history.

Sure, but that wasn't the question.

MGibster · 2024-07-14T15:40:46+0100

Reynard said:
On musicals: it never came off, but I planned a post apocalyptic battle of the bands one shot for a convention game where the "final battle" was actually to be done via Rock Band (back when that was a thing). I'm still sad it didn't work out.

When I ran my first 5th edition game, the party came across members of their guild and it was forbidden for them to fight one another. They engaged in a rap battle instead. Or at least they tried. The PCs just cast fireball once the other side finished their rap.

Faolyn · 2024-07-14T16:19:45+0100

Umbran said:
Sure. Let's think of one: Low stakes mundane drama.

I'm thinking Driving Miss Daisy. Or Leaving Las Vegas. Or Little House on the Prairie. Basically, just daily unremarkable life, "Papers & Paychecks, the RPG".

These works can be astonishing, emotionally moving dramas. But they achieve that by being scripted, and having highly skilled actors depict events that, even if they aren't epic in scale, are emotionally meaningful to human beings.

I think it would be difficult to make this into a game because we are not highly skilled writers, directors, or actors. We're just folks at a table. Making a game of this that isn't either boring or corny and awkward, would be difficult.

I wouldn't say impossible - in the scope of a single table, with the right people, almost anything might happen. But, in the scope of a published game? Not much chance of that working out.

But then you have games like Wanderhome, which is almost entirely, from what I've seen and read (haven't actually played it yet), is practically meant for daily, unremarkable life. The game even says that while the places you visit have problems, it's not really up to you to try to solve those problems.

I think here the key is realizing that the unremarkable is, in fact, remarkable. Just on a much smaller scale than in most games. It's little successes that only affect a handful of people.

Bedrockgames · 2024-07-14T16:27:08+0100

Professor Murder said:
Roleplay as an exercise definitely has applications to help students learn about history.

That would almost be a good thread on its own. I do think there are applications, but I also don't know how good RPGs are in general for edutainment. Where I think they can be helpful is 1) Sparking Interest in history or a particular historical topic (my interest in Rome started with the green book for 2E for instance), 2) Encouraging players and GMs to do research for their characters, the campaign and the setting. But one thing you quickly find out if you do historical campaigns, the questions historians are interested in, are often not the questions GMs are looking to answer when setting up a history campaign. One thing I always find helpful when I am running historical settings: start with the resources you know you have and build around that (i.e. if you have the floor plans of a particular historical building, use that in your campaign, that is ten times easier then deciding you want something first then finding the resources on it)

Faolyn · 2024-07-14T16:34:02+0100

Theory of Games said:
Oh yeah I forgot: Sports the RPG.

Nobody's roleplaying the Superbowl.

I've actually seen a few sports-related RPGs in Itch bundles I've bought. Like, with literal rules for playing the sport, not just using the sport as a way to tie the players together. I saw a basketball one and one around a sci-fi sport. I haven't kept any of them because I'm not interested in that genre, and I have no idea how well they would play, but sports RPGs definitely do exist.

Is there any genre or theme that the TTRPG medium does not work for?

Reynard

Legend

Professor Murder

Hero

Umbran

Mod Squad

payn

I don't believe in the no-win scenario

Committed Hero

Adventurer

Reynard

Legend

MGibster

Legend

Faolyn

(she/her)

Bedrockgames

Legend

Faolyn

(she/her)

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