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Why Do We Love Games Based on Movies, TV and Books?
Whenever I see an announcement for a game based on a movie, TV show or book I love, I sit up and take notice. Most of you do too, admit it.
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- Erik Twice
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I must admit I like that boardgames are mostly franchise-free. Big media franchises, remakes and clones have a massive influence on the gaming landscape. There's something tiring about yet another Star Wars/Chutlhu/Sherlock Holmes version of something and I'm happy I don't have to think about external "media franchises" when playing a game, that it's self-contained and designed purporsedly.
Of course, if EON took another franchise and made another Dune-level game, I would play it.
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Intersting thoughts. Sometimes designers do innovate in order to create some aspect of a specific IP, like The Lords of the Rings game. Although sometimes they innovate and totally miss the boat, like that old Marvel Heroes game. And other times they just slap the IP on something and try and make it work (like I don't have high hopes for Batman Talisman).
Perhaps you are right, that what people are looking for is to be able to create more stories in a favorite setting with much loved characters, like fan-fic, or even just change the outcome of a familiar story. Perhaps the ability to do that is our measure of a game's success of failure.
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But I agree that sometimes the IP theme/setting is a thin and cynical cash grab that makes for a poor game. Or sometimes the game is okay but just doesn't bring the theme to life, like the Buffy game from a few years ago that had pretty components and dry, boring gameplay.
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I agree with you about having no excitement at about over used IPs. I've gotten to the point that I can't even distinguih between all the FFG Star Wars games. When I get news from them I can't even tell anymore if it is a pre-release notice for a new game or just their regular newsletter promoting existing games.
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Shellhead wrote: I'm not even a big fan of Star Wars, as I completely skipped seeing the prequel trilogy...
You did yourself a favor there; those movies are f'in horrible.
To not stray too far from the thread, Star Wars: Rebellion is a game that uses its setting to enhance its gameplay. It would be a decent game without its setting, but I'd always be wondering what its deal was with all its chrome. But with its setting it tells stories that make it that much more fun.
Does it work all the time? Sons of Anarchy is an example of a mixed success. It's a pretty good game, making pretty good use of a property that a) isn't ubiquitous, and that b) some folks find distasteful. "I'm a biker running whorehouses and selling drugs and guns? Can't we play Agricola again?"
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Firefly: pickup-and-deliver game with a strong push-your-luck element. Making skill checks a core element kept the focus on the characters, just like the show.
Spartacus: a combination of gambling, bidding, combat, and take-that cardplay. As on the show, gameplay put an emphasis on both your noble house's relative stature and the ability of your gladiators.
Sons of Anarchy: here I think GF9 missed the mark a bit. The game is good, actually, and even euro-gamers seem to like it once they get past the theme. But the essence of the show is less about the brutal competition to exploit locations and more about a dysfunctional organization that is undermined by the personal agendas and secrets of the individual members. A more appropriate game model might have been a semi-cooperative game where each player is trying to win an individual victory with a hidden victory condition, while the whole group must cooperate to avoid a group loss to a publicly-known threat.
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Shellhead wrote: For a few years, Galeforce Nine was the best in the industry at translating an IP into a game. They had remarkable insight in identifying core elements of a show that could be translated into a game. Some examples:
Firefly: pickup-and-deliver game with a strong push-your-luck element. Making skill checks a core element kept the focus on the characters, just like the show.
Spartacus: a combination of gambling, bidding, combat, and take-that cardplay. As on the show, gameplay put an emphasis on both your noble house's relative stature and the ability of your gladiators.
Sons of Anarchy: here I think GF9 missed the mark a bit. The game is good, actually, and even euro-gamers seem to like it once they get past the theme. But the essence of the show is less about the brutal competition to exploit locations and more about a dysfunctional organization that is undermined by the personal agendas and secrets of the individual members. A more appropriate game model might have been a semi-cooperative game where each player is trying to win an individual victory with a hidden victory condition, while the whole group must cooperate to avoid a group loss to a publicly-known threat.
I know there's been plenty of Firefly talk on here, but just wanted to add, I think one of the main themes of the show is about the blurry line between morality and survival/making ends meet. The game does a great job of bringing that out, with the way that your crew, and the jobs you take, can be moral/immoral, with certain repercussions about those combinations.
I never watched much of Sons of Anarchy, and I haven't played the game, but from your description, yes, they missed the mark on it, because it sounds like they missed the underlying theme.
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- Michael Barnes
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Now we are pas the golden age and we have all of these bargain basement IP games, too many SW games, and still not enough Star Trek games worth playing. And only half a decent Doctor Who game. The definitive LOTR games are 20 and 15 years old and have never been bettered.
But we have games for Die Hard, Bill and Ted, and Labyrinth. And a $500 Batman game.
Look, I love all that IP. But I no longer care a whit about playing games based on them. Because board games really kind of suck at telling stories and depicting characters...and it’s those stories and characters I love. Not their pictures and names.
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I like how IP is implemented in War of the Ring and Rebellion. But I like the idea of Imperial Assault so much more than Journeys in Middle Earth, because of the player characters choice.
I like the Alien IP, but a tactical game would miss the point completely, and I'm not really into social who-dun-it games, so I actually prefer that one not being gamed. Even Nemesis seems to be unnecessarily complex.
I'm more susceptible to IP originating from games, since their universes/worlds are designed for gaming. However, I've also come to the realization that some games are best played on PC/consoles.
So a board game with an IP I love will get more scrutiny for me, instead of an easy pass.
EDIT 1: Designers, forget getting "horror/tension" in board game. I breeze to the scariest pc games. Your pile of cardboards, plastic and wood will do nothing.
EDIT 2: Wacky Races is absolutely something I'd be into as board game. The cartoon itself is almost like a game, and even every week they do the same thing (like a game!).
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There aren’t too many, off the top of my head there’s AEG’s Tempest and Fantasy Flight’s Arkham Horror Files, Terrinoth, Android and Twilight Imperium universes. Plaid Hat’s Mice & Mystics and Summoner Wars had spin-offs. Possibly Sentinels of the Multiverse as it had a miniatures implementation. I guess Warhammer could be a board game universe, too. Of course there’s Magic and all it’s planeswalkers. It’s even getting a Netflix release of some sort.
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