#RPGaday2017 What is an RPG genre-mashup you would most like to see?
I don’t like genre mashups.
No-fun Mark is no fun. While there is no doubt that there are some combos I enjoy — Firefly is probably the best example, though I dunno if it really counts — I generally find high-concept genre-mashing to be off-putting. My likely gonna-offend-somebody opinion is that it’s usually something done when one is out of ideas or fundamentally doesn’t understand how stories work. You know, like when gamers inevitably add Cthulhu to just about everything and assume it gets cooler. Or zombies.
So, honestly, no more genre mashups, please. How about we focus on getting one genre right first?
You are the worst.
I can see someone has learned from my rpgaday posts
Wait I thought this was gonna be a post about Winnie the Pooh + Cthulhu.
Paul Beakley Isn’t it, though, Paul? Isn’t it?
Mark Delsing Paul Beakley Winnie the Cthu?
So you’re saying you want a game in which a precognitive Eeyore can tell which butterflies are going to create storms via chaos theory?
LOOK BEYOND THE POOH PEOPLE
But it’s so mashable!
Make-believe stuffie friends and Unknown Armies, say. Everyone has a “companion” only they can see and talk to.
Unknown Armies, say. Everyone has a “companion” only they can see and talk to.]]>
Paul Beakley Didn’t somebody do that already? I feel like I”ve seen it.
BECAUSE MASHUPS ARE DERIVATIVE AND LAZY.
I like to mashup things in my heart-brain.
This reminds me that I need to get my KitchenAid fixed.
Eeyog-Sothoth, Shub-Tiggurath… it works! I’m kickstarting this in October, people. Get ready to cough up some dough… Ia! Ia Poohthulhu!!!
The monstrous thing about ‘Thulus
Is ‘Thulus are monstrous things!
Their fronts have plenty of tentacles
Their backs have enormous wings!
youtube.com – The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers
youtube.com – The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers]]>
WHY DO YOU GAMERS HAVE TO RUIN EVERYTHING
FNRE
You are entitled to your opinion, even though it is factually incorrect.
The reason you think genre mashups are bad is because most genre mashups people have done are bad. This is not because genre mashups specifically are bad, but because genre mashups, like everything, fall under Sturgeon’s Law: 90% of Everything is Crap; therefore in any niche subgenre, where the sample size is vanishingly small, it’s often possible to never encounter the 10%. And even if you do, someone will disagree with you about which things are in the 10%.
I mean honestly most of the stuff you like is crap, just like most of the stuff I like, and most of the stuff everybody likes.
The trick is finding crap in common with people and hanging out with them. Fortunately, there are 7.2 billion people on Earth, and at least half of them have internet access, so if only .01% of that 50% significantly overlaps on your 10%, that’s still potentially 360,000 people to connect with. That’s fandom in a nutshell.
Sorry, somehow this post turned from basic snark to obnoxious pedantry. My bad.
like is crap, just like most of the stuff I like, and most of the stuff everybody likes. The trick is finding crap in common with people and hanging out with them. Fortunately, there are 7.2 billion people on Earth, and at least half of them have internet access, so if only .01% of that 50% significantly overlaps on your 10%, that’s still potentially 360,000 people to connect with. That’s fandom in a nutshell. Sorry, somehow this post turned from basic snark to obnoxious pedantry. My bad.]]>
You’re hilarious, Dave Michalak !
Also: wrong. XOXOXO
Blade Runner is an sf/noir mashup. As is the entire cyberpunk genre. Star Wars is an sf/western/samurai/war mashup. Masks is a supers/teen drama mashup.
The mashups you like, you just don’t think of as mashups because you can’t see the seams. It’s much harder to take Pirates vs Ninjas or Cowboys & Aliens seriously because it’s such an obvious kludge.
Dave Michalak None of those things are mash-ups.
Semantics.
What’s your definition, then?
Blade Runner is cyberpunk.
Star Wars is space opera.
Masks is superheroes.
Marvel and DC have arguably been doing “teen drama” since the creation of Spider-Man and Superboy. “Teen drama” is also not a genre. “Superheroes” is also arguably a meta-genre at this point.
A mash-up is where seeing the seams is intentional. This is why Firefly maybe doesn’t even count because it’s not “Cowboys & rocket ships” — it’s “Hey, the American West is a great metaphor to overlay on top of the colonization of space.”
Blade Runner is cyberpunk. Star Wars is space opera. Masks is superheroes. Marvel and DC have arguably been doing “teen drama” since the creation of Spider-Man and Superboy. “Teen drama” is also not a genre. “Superheroes” is also arguably a meta-genre at this point. A mash-up is where seeing the seams is intentional. This is why Firefly maybe doesn’t even count because it’s not “Cowboys & rocket ships” — it’s “Hey, the American West is a great metaphor to overlay on top of the colonization of space.”]]>
We reached the definition part! I love this part! Everyone is so committed to charitable reading, it warms my heart.
(I’m out!)
Yeah, this is the worst. Closing thread.