Ulfgeir
Hero
In the most anticipated rpg during 2021-thread, I noteds that my musings of various SF-properties migth be better suited for a separate thread so here it is.
OK, the two big ones that everyone knows about are of course Star Trek and Star Wars. They both already have their own games, and are quite popular (not sure how popular the Star Trek game is though, but the IP is very popular). They both fill different niches thematically. Star Wars, is more "good vs evil", and Star Trek is exploration. Both are very soft SF, as in filled with technobabble and very little basis in physics. They are adventure-stories.
I thought Stargate was the distant 3rd most well-known such IP from the mainstream, and that it filled mostly the same thematic role as Star Trek, but not being unique enough to really stand out. Again it is soft SF.
So what other "big" IP's do we have that comes from Film/TV/Games/Books? Some of these already have games, and some are really not suited for games..
2001-universe
It is thematically about exploration, and our role in the universe. However, I do not think you can make a good game based on the books/films. They are too narrow in scope.
Alien
We already have a game, which is doing quite well as far as I understand. If one goes by the cmoincs, then this also ties in to Predator. Here you have action/horror in space. It is a question of survival against unstoppable odds.
Altered Carbon
Here you have transhumanism, and what it means to be able to live forever (if you have the money). Also some cybertpunk in it. It is a dark and gritty world.
Babylon 5
A bit harder SF than Star Trek, but not by much. The theme here I would say is hard to describe. It started as political intrigues on a smaller scale (individuals) as well as the bigger one (the conflicts between various races), and went into war.
Battlestar Galactica
Survival against relentless enemies, and the question, what does it mean to be human. This would be good for drama, and action.
Buck Rogers
Cheesy adventures. This is one setting I don't think you would be able to do much with. Great for casual one-shots, but not for campaigns.
Dune
This is the great old granddaddy to the IP's. I would say the theme here is political intrigues on a grand scale. Game of Thrones is the fantasy-version of it. Is there a market for it? Oh yes.
Fallout-series
Postapocalyptic survival. This definitively fills a role.
Firefly/Serenity
Some exploration, but much more based on drama, where we try to find our place in society.
Flash Gordon
Exploration and cheesy adventures. I think this has much more potential for a good game than Buck Rogers has.
John Carter of Mars
Adventure, some political intrigues, and some exploration of old ruins. No idea how popular it is as a game.
Mad Max
More post-apocalyptic survival. This is a muich more unforgiving version than the Fall-out universe. Fall-out is retrofuturistic and based on a society that was trying to become a utopia, whereas this is pure dystopia.
Planet of the Apes
I don't think this would be a good game. Both because everyone knows the story already, and there's no good answer to the question "what do you do?" in the game. It is not a survival-story, and it doen't have good cheesy adventures, and not enough character-driven drama to make it interesting.
Terminator
War and survival against unstoppable enemies. The time-travel aspect is what makes the IP stand out, but will that be an option in the game? Is the future really fixed?
The Expanse
Don't know enough about this one to give any comments. Haven't seen it but it is as far as I understood the most hard SF of these properties.
Valerian
There is a French game. Not sure if it has come out yet, and it was sadly only in French afaik. The idea of being Space-Temporal agents has a good premise. It is high adventures, and you can send the characters everywhere. What are the consequences of your time-jumps? Is history something you can fix?
Probably forgetting tons of other "big" Science Fiction IP's. So what do you guys think of it?
OK, the two big ones that everyone knows about are of course Star Trek and Star Wars. They both already have their own games, and are quite popular (not sure how popular the Star Trek game is though, but the IP is very popular). They both fill different niches thematically. Star Wars, is more "good vs evil", and Star Trek is exploration. Both are very soft SF, as in filled with technobabble and very little basis in physics. They are adventure-stories.
I thought Stargate was the distant 3rd most well-known such IP from the mainstream, and that it filled mostly the same thematic role as Star Trek, but not being unique enough to really stand out. Again it is soft SF.
So what other "big" IP's do we have that comes from Film/TV/Games/Books? Some of these already have games, and some are really not suited for games..
2001-universe
It is thematically about exploration, and our role in the universe. However, I do not think you can make a good game based on the books/films. They are too narrow in scope.
Alien
We already have a game, which is doing quite well as far as I understand. If one goes by the cmoincs, then this also ties in to Predator. Here you have action/horror in space. It is a question of survival against unstoppable odds.
Altered Carbon
Here you have transhumanism, and what it means to be able to live forever (if you have the money). Also some cybertpunk in it. It is a dark and gritty world.
Babylon 5
A bit harder SF than Star Trek, but not by much. The theme here I would say is hard to describe. It started as political intrigues on a smaller scale (individuals) as well as the bigger one (the conflicts between various races), and went into war.
Battlestar Galactica
Survival against relentless enemies, and the question, what does it mean to be human. This would be good for drama, and action.
Buck Rogers
Cheesy adventures. This is one setting I don't think you would be able to do much with. Great for casual one-shots, but not for campaigns.
Dune
This is the great old granddaddy to the IP's. I would say the theme here is political intrigues on a grand scale. Game of Thrones is the fantasy-version of it. Is there a market for it? Oh yes.
Fallout-series
Postapocalyptic survival. This definitively fills a role.
Firefly/Serenity
Some exploration, but much more based on drama, where we try to find our place in society.
Flash Gordon
Exploration and cheesy adventures. I think this has much more potential for a good game than Buck Rogers has.
John Carter of Mars
Adventure, some political intrigues, and some exploration of old ruins. No idea how popular it is as a game.
Mad Max
More post-apocalyptic survival. This is a muich more unforgiving version than the Fall-out universe. Fall-out is retrofuturistic and based on a society that was trying to become a utopia, whereas this is pure dystopia.
Planet of the Apes
I don't think this would be a good game. Both because everyone knows the story already, and there's no good answer to the question "what do you do?" in the game. It is not a survival-story, and it doen't have good cheesy adventures, and not enough character-driven drama to make it interesting.
Terminator
War and survival against unstoppable enemies. The time-travel aspect is what makes the IP stand out, but will that be an option in the game? Is the future really fixed?
The Expanse
Don't know enough about this one to give any comments. Haven't seen it but it is as far as I understood the most hard SF of these properties.
Valerian
There is a French game. Not sure if it has come out yet, and it was sadly only in French afaik. The idea of being Space-Temporal agents has a good premise. It is high adventures, and you can send the characters everywhere. What are the consequences of your time-jumps? Is history something you can fix?
Probably forgetting tons of other "big" Science Fiction IP's. So what do you guys think of it?
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