"Harnessing Farmville" And Single Location Campaigns
I've talked before about running a Castle Greyhawk-esque megadungeon, a campaign ultimately set around a single location. (Or coming back to the same location time and again.) That, coupled with some of the issues in my (otherwise fun) Justice League game and a discussions with Ailsa, Matthew et al at the weekend about "harnessing the Farmville love for an RPG" has brought about this post.
The train of thought went that games such as Animal Crossing, Farmville, Harvest Moon etc are quite popular with people including my beloved girlfriend. Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon certainly have some RPG-friendly traits - characters who must be befriended, time-sensitive missions to complete and no real end goal beyond enjoying yourself. There are a lot of tasks to do with building and expansion - not quite the normal RPG "kill people and take their stuff".
Actual RPGs do exist which build on these tropes - classic D&D used to have a healthy amount of stronghold building, Bunnies & Burrows has the collection and adaptation of berries into useful items and Pendragon's sub-game of manor management could appeal to the Farmville player. (Especially with the expanded version in Book of the Manor.) I quite like the idea of making that sort of administration and experimentation part of the game.
Many MMORPGs manage to include elements of these game concepts without losing classic genre tropes. What if all magic-item-crafting in your fantasy game or even spellcasting explicitly required specific ingredients rather than just quick GP cost simplification? Having to look after your herb garden to keep the Cure Light Wound potions coming has a certain charm even in more high magic settings, and making acquiring a flaming sword require a trip to a volcano would be cool in a low magic game. (That level of D&D would probably collapse a core rules 3rd/4th Ed D&D game, though.) Or what if similar ore-mining and processing or maintenance was part of a sci-fi game - emphasising the repair and advancement of your crew's vessel, or the logistic needs of the crew or your ship/station so that the hydroponics areas must be maintained?
What also struck me as interesting is the narrow game location. My Justice League game is a huge world-hopping game, but Animal Crossing is a computer game mainly set in one town and one or two dozen recurring characters. What if a game took that more as a model: not just the building & collecting, but the idea that there's a very narrow game environment you're expanding? Rather than next sessions adventure involve travelling to a new town/country/planet/dimension to justify new plot hooks, what if a single city, small region or even building is the primary focus?
Some examples might include:
After a wad of games with a strong travelling motif (Star Trek and Justice League, and to some extent D&D as well) it'd be interesting to focus more on a single location and a solid-ish cast. (Like some of the Phratil City/Asica parts of my D&D campaign.)
The train of thought went that games such as Animal Crossing, Farmville, Harvest Moon etc are quite popular with people including my beloved girlfriend. Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon certainly have some RPG-friendly traits - characters who must be befriended, time-sensitive missions to complete and no real end goal beyond enjoying yourself. There are a lot of tasks to do with building and expansion - not quite the normal RPG "kill people and take their stuff".
Actual RPGs do exist which build on these tropes - classic D&D used to have a healthy amount of stronghold building, Bunnies & Burrows has the collection and adaptation of berries into useful items and Pendragon's sub-game of manor management could appeal to the Farmville player. (Especially with the expanded version in Book of the Manor.) I quite like the idea of making that sort of administration and experimentation part of the game.
Many MMORPGs manage to include elements of these game concepts without losing classic genre tropes. What if all magic-item-crafting in your fantasy game or even spellcasting explicitly required specific ingredients rather than just quick GP cost simplification? Having to look after your herb garden to keep the Cure Light Wound potions coming has a certain charm even in more high magic settings, and making acquiring a flaming sword require a trip to a volcano would be cool in a low magic game. (That level of D&D would probably collapse a core rules 3rd/4th Ed D&D game, though.) Or what if similar ore-mining and processing or maintenance was part of a sci-fi game - emphasising the repair and advancement of your crew's vessel, or the logistic needs of the crew or your ship/station so that the hydroponics areas must be maintained?
What also struck me as interesting is the narrow game location. My Justice League game is a huge world-hopping game, but Animal Crossing is a computer game mainly set in one town and one or two dozen recurring characters. What if a game took that more as a model: not just the building & collecting, but the idea that there's a very narrow game environment you're expanding? Rather than next sessions adventure involve travelling to a new town/country/planet/dimension to justify new plot hooks, what if a single city, small region or even building is the primary focus?
Some examples might include:
- An exploration & settlement game on an island, moon or similar small location. Players would have to map it out and try to build up the environment, establishing towns, military bases, fortifications etc. There might be trips back to "civilization" but the one wilderness location is the heart of the game.
- A game set in a school would be a perfect example too, since it would have a single main building and a core, rarely changing cast. You could do something genre themed (Hogwarts or X-Men providing examples) but I've mentioned before using Alma Mater to play a straightish school game in the Grease, American Graffiti or Animal House vein.
- A classic sitcom-esque model with just a handful of "sets" representing a workplace or similar. Perhaps a Primetime Adventures game styled after The Office, set around a workplace?
After a wad of games with a strong travelling motif (Star Trek and Justice League, and to some extent D&D as well) it'd be interesting to focus more on a single location and a solid-ish cast. (Like some of the Phratil City/Asica parts of my D&D campaign.)