MMO Weekly: The Sick, Sweet Temptations of Style

03 Aug 2010 at 11:46:09 by Jeff Hollis

Hello there, my dear gamebois and gamegurls, and welcome to the latest, greatest edition of MMO Weekly.  In this week's episode, we'll discuss a trend that is occurring in the offline version of MMOs (otherwise known as tabletop RPGs) and how it may influence MMOs overall.  And believe me, this isn't looking like a good development.  Read on....

I recently downloaded and read through the rules to a very trendy, very hip, and very popular steampunk-themed, tabletop RPG.  RPGers are, evidently, liking this game.  In fact, judging by the way some people reacted to this game, you'd think it was the second coming. 

My reaction wasn't quite the same.  In fact, I thought it was downright terrible. 

Let me tell you why.  The first thing that strikes you about the game is the artwork.  It's stunning.  The game is simply beautiful.  Every page is in perfect tune with the steampunk theme, and simply reading the rules and scenario really puts you in the mood to play.

Beyond the art, there is the setting.  The entire story takes place in a very imaginative steampunk universe, and that universe is utterly compelling.  Again, just reading about it makes you want to play the game.

Last, there are the NPCs.  They, too, are some of the most interesting I've encountered in years.  Maybe, at this point, I was drunk with enthusiasm from reading the setting and seeing the art, but I was riveted.

Then I encountered the problem.  It seems, at least to me, that there isn't a game here.  This is a story.  Quite frankly, this is really just the first six or eight paragraphs of a story, when the storyteller suddenly and inexplicably stopped telling the rest of their tale.  There were no more pages to read.  There were no more rules.  In fact, there were almost no rules whatsoever.  There was the art, the setting, the overarching story, the characters and....well, nothing else.

Now I did a bunch of research regarding this kind of RPG, and this trend in general.  It thrives on minimalism, and it seems to be meant for experienced gamers.  It's also much more of a module than a complete game, though this is also extremely confusing and debatable.  The game/module/whatever includes various skills, dynamics and rules, but they are incomplete beyond anything I've encountered before.  There is no larger system of rules to refer to; players (and presumably, a GM, though this also is unclear) are required to figure out this vague mess as they go along.  I wish them the best of luck.

It was clear that the game expected characters to role-play, extensively, in order to flesh out the game and the story.  The game starts out with characters trapped aboard a skyship.  They need to escape, but there are no maps, no descriptions of the jail, no clues to help them to even know where or how to begin. Nothing.  Should they try to get to the skyship's landing bay, and free their own captured vessel?  Come to think of it, is there even a landing bay on this skyship?  Maybe they could escape in lifeboats...but are there any?  How far away is the brig from the nearest lifeboat?  What are the guards armed with?  How many guards are there?  None of these questions are answerable from the game rules. 

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