Modern Games (Cops and reality)

[Tonguez]

So I was going through a friends shed and came across some old GURPS books - in particular GURPS Cops (which had players engage in police procedurals) and GURPS Special Ops (which has a section on counterterrorism missions).As we skimmed through we talked about the US elections and how a game of Cops might role out now.

Then we saw the Vienna news and grimly declared - damn I dont think playing these would be fun anymore.

So do you play in modern settings and has real world news ever made you stop?

 

[Nytmare]

The closest I have ever come to this was an... I think an In Nomine game back in college where the GM based the world off of whatever the current edition of the Weekly World News stated was reality.

Aside from that, I was friends with a lot of miniature wargamers who had a habit of playing out recent armed conflict scenarios based off of things like the Ruby Ridge, and Waco, Texas sieges. The idea of playing in those games always left a bitter taste in my mouth so I'd bow out. I can only imagine that the group continued on through all of the school shootings that have happened over the intervening years, which is upsetting.

 

[Thomas Shey]

If you already understood that some elements of the modern word suck, particular examples of that aren't going to especially discourage you from running games in it if you already were willing to (and if a world sucking in part was enough to discourage everyone from running in it, Shadow of the Demon Lord and Warhammer certainly wouldn't be as popular as they are).

 

[Tonguez]

If you already understood that some elements of the modern word suck, particular examples of that aren't going to especially discourage you from running games in it if you already were willing to (and if a world sucking in part was enough to discourage everyone from running in it, Shadow of the Demon Lord and Warhammer certainly wouldn't be as popular as they are).

I suppose it one of those zeitgeist things, back in the 90s/00s with the inspiration of the Police Procedurals like Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice, NYPD Blue and COPS and the various buddy cop movies a game of 'Cops' was fun. Even Back to the Future uses a Terrorist attack for comedic effect.

The weird thing I suppose is that if it were a Judge Dread Game then the whole approach of a militarized police force putting down terrorist perps wouldnt be so bad -the same scenario set today just seems a bit too sensitive/close to home.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I suppose it one of those zeitgeist things, back in the 90s/00s with the inspiration of the Police Procedurals like Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice, NYPD Blue and COPS and the various buddy cop movies a game of 'Cops' was fun. Even Back to the Future uses a Terrorist attack for comedic effect.

The weird thing I suppose is that if it were a Judge Dread Game then the whole approach of a militarized police force putting down terrorist perps wouldnt be so bad -the same scenario set today just seems a bit too sensitive/close to home.

Well, contextually, I'm a person who's always simultaneously been extremely dubious of police and considered them a necessary evil; I suppose I still feel the same and that current events have simply made it clear my perceptions weren't far off.

That doesn't mean that you can't have a police-centric game that doesn't emphasize the problems with police culture (especially in the U.S.) without making the PCs part of that problem. Its not like its a necessity that every force and every part thereof shares some of the reprehensible attitudes and actions of big parts of it for the things we're seeing to be true.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

So I was going through a friends shed and came across some old GURPS books - in particular GRUPS Cops (which had players engage in police procedurals) and GURPS Special Ops (which has a section on counterterrorism missions).As we skimmed through we talked about the US elections and how a game of Cops might role out now.

Then we saw the Vienna news and grimly declared - damn I dont think playing these would be fun anymore.

So do you play in modern settings and has real world news ever made you stop?

I’ve definitely distanced the Investigator archetype even more from actual cops than I would have a year ago. I haven’t stopped playing, though.

Reading modern fantasy is harder sometimes, like Harry Dresden’s admiration of and faith in cops.

 

[Bayushi_seikuro]

I think this is, again, another great example of 'reading the room', knowing your friends/players, and knowing what story you want to tell. For example, if you were playing WoD, the PCs could be the only mundane members of the precinct and not know it - any abuses other officers are indulging in are clearly covered over by their vampire master. I'm sure there are campaigns or even one-shots that would work fine.

I do think that any game, especially one set in the 'real world', has to have its inner consistency. So, in your game, if the police/fire department/retail worker/doesn't matter doesn't behave the way the players expect that they would, unless there's a reason that gets revealed, you start getting the tabletop version of uncanny valley I think

 

[Ulfgeir]

So do you play in modern settings and has real world news ever made you stop?

Well, it wasn't the only reason that my very dystopian campaign in Daring Comics Rpg failed, but yes, it is one thing to make a fictional dystopia where a racist failed grifter becomes the US president, and causes lots and lots of internal trouble, combined with corrupt law enforcment, tons of gangs and drugs etc. It is another thing when it no longer is fiction...

And yes, I made the plans for that campaign before the previous election.

 

[Nytmare]

I think there's also something to be said about having the option to play out the fantasy.

The wounds are still fresh and there might not be a desire to, but there's no reason why the police in your game couldn't 100% be a shining bulwark of incorruptible decency.

 

[ShinHakkaider]

So I was going through a friends shed and came across some old GURPS books - in particular GURPS Cops (which had players engage in police procedurals) and GURPS Special Ops (which has a section on counterterrorism missions).As we skimmed through we talked about the US elections and how a game of Cops might role out now.

Then we saw the Vienna news and grimly declared - damn I don't think playing these would be fun anymore.

So do you play in modern settings and has real-world news ever made you stop?

I'm a HUGE fan of the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE movies especially GHOST PROTOCOL, ROGUE NATION and FALLOUT. Id love to run or play in a modern game along those lines.

I would never play in or run a game where LE were the primary protagonists.

I'm actually more trusting (and I use the LOOSEST definition of that word) of the military and intelligence communities than I am of local LE. Are there racist bullies in their ranks? I don't doubt it and there always WILL BE. But local police are a different animal altogether and not in a good way. The military at least when they're active have protocols that they are held to and for the most part, follow. They may not like it, but they tend to act like professionals because they are held accountable to their superiors and to each other. Growing up in foster care I knew ALOT of people who left care and joined the military. While I knew that the military wasn't for me it did help a lot of my friends.

Anyway, modern Military game? Sure. Modern espionage game? Sure. Police / LE game? No.