HyveMynd
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Posts: 2,273
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Post by HyveMynd on Oct 5, 2015 23:01:14 GMT -8
Does anyone actually play Apocalypse World itself? Is there something about the licence that is encouraging the proliferation of derivatives? It seems like it's getting pretty saturated to me..... Lots of kickstarters for "new" games turning out to be PbtA. HyveMynd 's comment about Spirit of '77 would seem to confirm this... There essentially is no licence for PbtA games maxinstuff. All you have to do is slap that "Powered by the Apocalypse" logo on your book, provide credit where credit is due by saying what games you were inspired by, and presto. You've got yourself a PbtA game. There are a lot of them, but the thing about PbtA games is that a well crafted one will provide a completely different play experience from other PbtA games. Because moves are triggered by specific narrations and then create specific fictional outcomes, well crafted PbtA games will have moves that reinforce and create specific types of narratives. A game about hunting monsters will have completely different moves from a game about being a professional wrestler because the game focuses on vastly different things. That's why I say "a well crafted" PbtA game. It takes, in my experience, a lot of time and effort to write moves that support and create narrations specific to your game's genre. A game about 4-color supers, another about a gritty cop drama, and a third about being a cartoon character might all have move about punching a bad guy in the face. But they should all be different. The move in the 4-color supers might have something about knocking your opponent back, not inflicting collateral damage, or putting them in a position where they can't use their super power. The move in the gritty cop drama probably doesn't have options for you to avoid taking damage and might allow you to accidentally kill people, because in that game, fighting is dangerous. The move in the cartoon game might allow you to knock your foe out of the frame and who knows what other wacky shenanigans. The point is that while PbtA games may have similar moves, a well crafted game will have moves that push the narrative in different directions, based on what the game is trying to do.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2015 0:12:32 GMT -8
Does anyone actually play Apocalypse World itself? I've played it but it didn't leave a good impression, partially as the GM was a novice GM and didn't really grok it (and was willing to admit that during the game). I'm party way through reading the book now and can instantly see why he didn't get it, there's a lot in they're that is poorly worded or not properly explained. Of the PbtA games I've read (I've yet to play many) it scores rather low personally. On the other hand if you can read between the lines it's easy to see why it has spawned a series of other games, especially with its focus on pushing genre through the mechanics and making failure interesting.
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Post by yeknom on Oct 6, 2015 7:03:52 GMT -8
There essentially is no licence for PbtA games maxinstuff. All you have to do is slap that "Powered by the Apocalypse" logo on your book, provide credit where credit is due by saying what games you were inspired by, and presto. You've got yourself a PbtA game. The original creator, D. Vincent Baker—who also wrote Dogs in the Vineyard, by the way—has actively encouraged the creation of Apocalypse World hacks. You can read his original forum post here.Does anyone actually play Apocalypse World itself? I would like to try it. I also would like to try MOTW and Monsterhearts.
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Post by chriton227 on Oct 6, 2015 7:18:14 GMT -8
That Conway/Corman moment at the end of the show was dangerously funny...as in I was laughing so hard I could barely see straight while driving home from work. Keep up the great work!
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willh
Journeyman Douchebag
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Post by willh on Oct 6, 2015 10:25:10 GMT -8
But, it turns it into a better Monster of the Week than the actual Monster of the Week. Really? I quite like Monster of the Week. It took a conversation with the author to wrap my head around one or two of the moves, but it's one of my favorite PbtA games. What don't you like? It has a bennie mechanic which I feel is is out of place in PbtA games. Also with MH you still have a game focused on the relationships, which to me was the more interesting part of Buffy.
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willh
Journeyman Douchebag
Posts: 220
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Post by willh on Oct 6, 2015 10:29:06 GMT -8
For the disaster at a game con game, a good random non con goer hotel guest would be an airline pilot on crew rest.
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tomes
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Hello madness
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Post by tomes on Oct 6, 2015 14:47:40 GMT -8
For the disaster at a game con game, a good random non con goer hotel guest would be an airline pilot on crew rest. and... A poor-English speaking tourist who can't figure out how to take transit from the isolated hotel into the tourist parts of town. They're goals all have to do with getting to the local amusement park and walk of stars. An accountant who thinks this is an accountant convention... turns out he's a week early. (oh my god, that'd be awesome; an accountant actually thinks the games are accountant role-playing exercises!) A tween who's at the hotel with his family, who sees the "RPG" sign and thinks they are video games EDIT: Oh wow it'd be great if these players all had props. Like the tween has a video game controller, and the accountant has a calculator and graph paper, and the tourist has a tourist map, or something... what are we talking about again?
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mrcj
Journeyman Douchebag
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Post by mrcj on Oct 6, 2015 16:52:43 GMT -8
Thanks for the mini info Jib.
I'll take a look at Reaper.
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maxinstuff
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Post by maxinstuff on Oct 6, 2015 17:14:21 GMT -8
Does anyone actually play Apocalypse World itself? I've played it but it didn't leave a good impression, partially as the GM was a novice GM and didn't really grok it (and was willing to admit that during the game). I'm party way through reading the book now and can instantly see why he didn't get it, there's a lot in they're that is poorly worded or not properly explained. I can see from the sample on drivethru that it's written in a kind of conversational tone that i'm not sure agrees with me as a reader.
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HyveMynd
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Dirty hippie, PbtA, Fate, & Cortex Prime <3er
Posts: 2,273
Preferred Game Systems: PbtA, Cortex Plus, Fate, Ubiquity
Currently Playing: Monsterhearts 2
Currently Running: The Sprawl
Favorite Species of Monkey: None
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Post by HyveMynd on Oct 6, 2015 17:27:47 GMT -8
I've played it but it didn't leave a good impression, partially as the GM was a novice GM and didn't really grok it (and was willing to admit that during the game). I'm party way through reading the book now and can instantly see why he didn't get it, there's a lot in they're that is poorly worded or not properly explained. I can see from the sample on drivethru that it's written in a kind of conversational tone that i'm not sure agrees with me as a reader. Apocalypse World seems to be a very divisive book. It is written in a conversational tone, somewhat in character by someone living in the apocalypse, and has a healthy (some would say excessive) dose of profanity. I love it, but I can totally see why people are turned off by it. You also can't use it to play anything other than a post-apocalyptic game. It's not like GURPS, Savage Worlds or other "setting agnostic" games. Because of how PbtA games work, you can't ignore the setting and just use the rules because the rules create the setting. Using Apocalypse World to play something else means taking the thing apart and rebuilding it from scratch, which is exactly what Dungeon World, Monsterhearts, Monster of the Week, Masks, Worlds in Peril, Saga of the Icelanders, The Sprawl, and every other PbtA game is.
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Post by jazzisblues on Oct 6, 2015 18:06:04 GMT -8
jazzisblues I always pictured Ueda as Fezzik from the Princess Bride. That's a good visual option as well. JiB
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Post by jazzisblues on Oct 6, 2015 18:12:11 GMT -8
I can see from the sample on drivethru that it's written in a kind of conversational tone that i'm not sure agrees with me as a reader. Apocalypse World seems to be a very divisive book. It is written in a conversational tone, somewhat in character by someone living in the apocalypse, and has a healthy (some would say excessive) dose of profanity. I love it, but I can totally see why people are turned off by it. You also can't use it to play anything other than a post-apocalyptic game. It's not like GURPS, Savage Worlds or other "setting agnostic" games. Because of how PbtA games work, you can't ignore the setting and just use the rules because the rules create the setting. Using Apocalypse World to play something else means taking the thing apart and rebuilding it from scratch, which is exactly what Dungeon World, Monsterhearts, Monster of the Week, Masks, Worlds in Peril, Saga of the Icelanders, The Sprawl, and every other PbtA game is. I very much like the Apocalypse World book as well. I have yet to play it, but I have played several PbtA games and have even started on a hack of my own just for the exercise of doing it. I very much like Dungeon World and the Sprawl, the two I've played the most, and have had a lot of fun with Monster Hearts. I haven't played Sagas yet though it's on my bookshelf and is very high on my list of games to play. Cheers, JiB
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HyveMynd
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Dirty hippie, PbtA, Fate, & Cortex Prime <3er
Posts: 2,273
Preferred Game Systems: PbtA, Cortex Plus, Fate, Ubiquity
Currently Playing: Monsterhearts 2
Currently Running: The Sprawl
Favorite Species of Monkey: None
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Post by HyveMynd on Oct 6, 2015 18:18:17 GMT -8
I very much like the Apocalypse World book as well. I have yet to play it, but I have played several PbtA games and have even started on a hack of my own just for the exercise of doing it. Well, don't leave us in suspense. I expect to see this hack, as WIP as it may be, posted up in the Apocalypse World subforum ASAP.
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Post by jazzisblues on Oct 6, 2015 18:21:08 GMT -8
I very much like the Apocalypse World book as well. I have yet to play it, but I have played several PbtA games and have even started on a hack of my own just for the exercise of doing it. Well, don't leave us in suspense. I expect to see this hack, as WIP as it may be, posted up in the Apocalypse World subforum ASAP. It needs to take a bit more shape, but if it ever gets rendered in anything resembling a coherent form I'll post it for people to play with. JiB
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HyveMynd
Supporter
Dirty hippie, PbtA, Fate, & Cortex Prime <3er
Posts: 2,273
Preferred Game Systems: PbtA, Cortex Plus, Fate, Ubiquity
Currently Playing: Monsterhearts 2
Currently Running: The Sprawl
Favorite Species of Monkey: None
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Post by HyveMynd on Oct 6, 2015 18:31:06 GMT -8
Boo jazzisblues. Boo. At least tell us what it's about, you tease.
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