Treasure Tables is in reruns from November 1st through December 9th. I’m writing a novel as part of National Novel Writing Month, and there’s no way I can write posts here while retaining my (questionable) sanity. In the meantime, enjoy this post from our archives.
– – – – –
One of my favorite things about GURPS books is that they nearly always have great bibliographies — and one of the best parts of those bibliographies is the section that lists TV shows and movies that can serve as inspiration for your game.
Movies and TV shows can serve not only as sources of inspiration with a very low “buy-in,” but as easy handles to describe your game.
By “low buy-in,” I mean that watching a TV show or a movie requires a much smaller investment of time than reading a book does — which is handy when you’re trying to get your group pumped up for a session, a whole campaign or a new RPG. (This is not to disparage books as a source of inspiration for roleplaying games — not at all! I could open a library with the books I have at home, but asking your gaming group to read a book for the game is an entirely different proposition than asking them to watch a movie!)
Whether you’re trying to set the mood for an individual session or establish the tone for your whole campaign, movies and TV shows make a great starting point. Want to make it clear that the derelict spaceship the party is about to board is a creepy place? Get together before the next session and watch Aliens or Event Horizon, and everyone will know exactly what you’re getting at. Are the investigators are about to uncover evidence of the conspiracy at last? Watch a couple of choice episodes of The X-Files — you get the idea.
On a larger scale, let’s say you’re running a D&D Eberron campaign, and you want to give the players a framework for that setting’s tropes — pulp action, flashing blades, political intrigue, etc. What better way to convey this than to mention (or better yet, watch) the Indiana Jones trilogy? (If you want to focus on a particular trope — politics, let’s say — you could also screen an episode or two of HBO’s new series, Rome.)
At the same time, if you’re looking for a way to tell someone what your game is like, pointing to a movie or TV show is a great way to do so. Think of it as a form of shorthand: “My game is like a combination of Alias, 24 and the movie Tomorrow Never Dies.” In other words, high-action espionage with Bond-esque gadgets — but also character-driven drama with plenty of nail-biting cliffhangers.
Not only is this easier to get a handle on, but it has the added benefit that players who want to get more immersed in the game can just watch some of the titles that you used to describe it. And if you’re trying to drum up interest, it’s much better to say, “My game is like these cool movies” than, “My game is cool.”
So what TV shows and movies inspire your current game (or past games)? If you had to describe your game in terms of a few titles, which ones would they be?
– – – – –
Normally there’d be a discussion going on in the comments below, but due to time constraints I’ve turned off all comments during reruns — sorry about that! You can read the comments on the first-run version of this post, and if you need a GMing discussion fix, why not head on over to our GMing forums?
