Who loves you and who do you love??

Behind the Screen

KILLIAN!!!

I've been thinking about games recently (Duh!) and came up with this interesting little time waster while sitting about wasting time. The idea is a quick to begin, simple to play, roleplaying game to play 'off the cuff' if something happens on a regularly scheduled gaming night (Such as the GM running late, multiple people forgot their characters, etc. etc.). The concept is based (torn savagely/plagiarized/stolen, borrowed heavily) from THE RUNNING MAN, a most excellent and awesome Arnold Swartzeneggar movie from the 80's written by Stephen King(!). The story is as follows (From ImDB): 
 The year is 2017. The world economy has collapsed. The United States has sealed off it's borders and has become a military controlled police state which controls TV, movies, art, books, communication and censorship. In the police state America has become, criminals have a choice. They can serve their sentences in prison or they can take part in "The Running Man" a government owned violent game-show where contestants running for freedom are pursued by "Stalkers" wrestler-like bounty hunters. "The Running Man" is the top rating show on network TV and Damon Killian, the creator and host is the most popular entertainer in the US. But one man has yet to play... Former L.A. police officer Ben Richards, framed for the massacre of innocent people, when disobeyed orders is recaptured, after escaping from prison. Ben is forced to appear on "The Running Man", joined by resistance fighters William Laughlin and Harold Weiss and Amber Mendez, (a network employee who Richards took hostage and she turned Richards into the authorities) are chased by The Stalkers, as they search for the secret base of the resistance, as they bid to broadcast the truth about the government and prove Ben's innocence.

TAKE ALL THE MONEY

Damn you Forge World. Just damn you to hell.... And take my Wallet with you....

Movie Magic and the Modern Gamer.

Saturday Potpourri

Welcome to the first installment of Saturday Potpourri, where i delve deep into.. well... whatever the hell I feel like today!
Seriously though, thanks for dropping in. Today i want to talk a little about Movies as inspiration for gaming. I think I can safely say that everyone loves movies. Everyone. They take us to places we never thought about before, they make us laugh, they make some cry, but inevitably they make us forget about whatever is bothering us and whisk us away to somewhere else for 90 minutes or more.
So, i figure, if they are doing something right... then we should straight up jack their ideas for our games!
Think about it. How many Roleplaying sessions have you attended that seemed terrifyingly familiar, but you couldn't put your finger on it? Or even realized you were playing a scene pulled word for word straight from the silver screen (I'm terribly guilty for this when i GM)? Well it's said that imitation is the most earnest form of flattery, so lets be earnest (Verne can stay at home... wow.. i bet that comment dated me a bit) and discuss a few great movie  scenes and see how we can adapt them to some of my favorite game systems.

But what movies should we steal adapts scenes from? (glad you asked Mr.Strawman) How about:

1. Heat (1995, starring Al Pachino, Robert Deniro, Val Kilmer).
    Scene: The bank heist/major shootout at the climax of the movie

2. The 13th Warrior (1999, starring Antonio Banderas, Vladimir Kulich)
    Scene: The journey to the besieged North-man hold

3. Aliens (1986, starring Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton)
    Scene: The last stand of the USMC Marines inside the complex.

And now, to choose the Game Systems:

1. Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition
2. Star Wars Saga Edition
3. Dead Lands
4. Mutant Chronicles
5. Rifts Rpg
6. Deathwatch Rpg

So let's get started!