What dead game would you resurrect?

[Thomas Shey]

I've mentioned this several times before, but if you look at the list I compiled above, a good chunk of them are where you play regular humans. No magic, no uber technology, and even in some sci-fi settings, it's not much more advanced than what we have today (eg Aliens...not counting androids, who don't get a lot of air time, and FTL star ships).

I really miss the days of games where characters were mundane, though the setting could account for high stakes action and drama (eg, espionage thrillers, post apocalyptic settings, roaring 20's/30s, the warring Sengoku Jidai period, etc etc). What happened to this kind of gaming? And can anyone think of other games that fit this kind of play style?
Bushido,

I'm not sure that entirely matches Aftermath!, Daredevils and Bushido, honestly.

You certainly can play the sort of game you're talking about with BRP, GURPS, EABA or even Hero.

Past that, I think the simple answer is that there just isn't much market for it.

 

[John Dallman]

I really miss the days of games where characters were mundane, though the setting could account for high stakes action and drama (eg, espionage thrillers, post apocalyptic settings, roaring 20's/30s, the warring Sengoku Jidai period, etc etc). What happened to this kind of gaming? And can anyone think of other games that fit this kind of play style?

For it to be escapist enough to be satisfying, it needs quite a lot of historical detail. Researching that detail is much more work than creating conflict scenarios in fantasy worlds. Using lots of detail in play is unattractive to people brought up on action movies.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Some "ordinary people" modern RPGs that look super cool:

• The Job
• Deathmatch Island
• HOSTILE

Broken Compass is also an ordinary people game that was all the hotness a few years ago.

 

[RareBreed]

I'm not sure that entirely matches Aftermath!, Daredevils and Bushido, honestly.

You certainly can play the sort of game you're talking about with BRP, GURPS, EABA or even Hero.

Past that, I think the simple answer is that there just isn't much market for it.

I mean, there were mutants in Aftermath!. And later, they added a magic supplement (really? I guess they were going for a Thundarr the Barbarian apocalypse?). Bushido had a very basic system for Shugenja, and IIRC Sengoku did too. We however didn't play either of those games with magic though. Daredevil I don't recall if it had psychic talents like Justice Inc did, but basically, I feel like all three games were very much grounded in the real world. Aftermath probably was the most open to the fantastic, as they had the possibility of the apocalypse by other means, including Alieans (ala War of the Worlds).

But yeah, sadly, there isn't a market for the mundane anymore. I have some theories why, mostly revolving around the real world becoming less and less something people want to deal with, so they want to escape into the more fantastic. The exception to this is the Horror genre, where characters are supposed to be vulnerable, so very little to no powers and typically grounded in a real Earth setting. In fact, it's typically a historical Earth period before smart phones become a thing and you can either video the horror or call for help (unless you're in the boondockiest of places).

 

[Digdude]

Going deep into the archives. Millenium's End. FasaTrek. Birthright. Earthdawn.

 

[Tonguez]

I've mentioned this several times before, but if you look at the list I compiled above, a good chunk of them are where you play regular humans. No magic, no uber technology, and even in some sci-fi settings, it's not much more advanced than what we have today (eg Aliens...not counting androids, who don't get a lot of air time, and FTL star ships).

I really miss the days of games where characters were mundane, though the setting could account for high stakes action and drama (eg, espionage thrillers, post apocalyptic settings, roaring 20's/30s, the warring Sengoku Jidai period, etc etc). What happened to this kind of gaming? And can anyone think of other games that fit this kind of play style?

the whole Pulp 1930s genre

a revised Spirit of the Century (FATE) would be cool
Savage World did Thrilling Tales
GURPS did Cliffhangers many years ago

Theres also the Swashbuckler, Napoleanic and Victoriana (Steampunk) eras to explore

 

[ART!]

Mercenaries, Spies, & Private Eyes

 

[RareBreed]

For it to be escapist enough to be satisfying, it needs quite a lot of historical detail. Researching that detail is much more work than creating conflict scenarios in fantasy worlds. Using lots of detail in play is unattractive to people brought up on action movies.

You're probably right about the detail. It's too much like homework for a lot of folks.

This is one of the things I liked about the GURPs books. Not too long ago, I bought their Srivijaya PDF that detailed the Sri Vijayan empire in what would today be a part of Indonesia. If there are any Filipinos in the audience, legend has it that the word Visayas came from the Sri Vijayan refugees when they were defeated by the Majapahit empire.

It's kind of sad that other than China and Japan, at least here in America, there is hardly anything known about Asian history and culture. Heck, I bet a lot of under 35 crowd don't even know about the Vietnam War (they missed out on Magnum PI, the A-Team, Tour of Duty, China Beach, Platoon, Rambo, etc) as pop culture, or that the Philippines used to be a Commonwealth of America (like Puerto Rico and Guam are now). We get deluged with Chinese and Japanese period pieces (think Three Kingdoms or Sengoku jidai....or heck, any Wuxia based RPG ot something Legend of the Five Rings). But South East or South Asia? Very very few Americans know anything about the Chola Empire of India, the Champa of Vietnam, the Ayutthaya of Thailand, or the Majapahit/Sri Vijaya of Indonesia.

 

[Reynard]

I've mentioned this several times before, but if you look at the list I compiled above, a good chunk of them are where you play regular humans. No magic, no uber technology, and even in some sci-fi settings, it's not much more advanced than what we have today (eg Aliens...not counting androids, who don't get a lot of air time, and FTL star ships).

I really miss the days of games where characters were mundane, though the setting could account for high stakes action and drama (eg, espionage thrillers, post apocalyptic settings, roaring 20's/30s, the warring Sengoku Jidai period, etc etc). What happened to this kind of gaming? And can anyone think of other games that fit this kind of play style?

I actually forgot to list Boot Hill. I think I played one game, but the genre is something I've always loved. Not just OK Corral or Tombstone gun fights, but the expansion West. For example, Wounded Knee or the flight (and plight) of the Nez Perce Indians. I realize that for some, a Western in this day and age would be a controversial game setting, precisely for the above historical accounts I mentioned...but the day we are afraid to teach (or play in) history, is the day we are lost.

Is this really an era, or just a niche genre that gets a small amount of supported games all the time. I mean, you can go to DTRPG right now and find at least a couple examples of all those mundane genres -- probably more than back in the day because the barrier to entry is lower and people will make a PbtA game for literally anything.

 

[RareBreed]

Is this really an era, or just a niche genre that gets a small amount of supported games all the time. I mean, you can go to DTRPG right now and find at least a couple examples of all those mundane genres -- probably more than back in the day because the barrier to entry is lower and people will make a PbtA game for literally anything.

There probably are a ton on DTRPG, but what kind of exposure do they get and popularity do they have? I just checked DTRPG now, and for the top 20 selling best titles, only one of them is what I would consider mundane: Kids on Bikes (which is a kind of riff on Stranger Things).

My best friend's father back in the day owned a Hobby store. They sold everything from RC cars, HO scale trains, model rockets, military model kits, and games. They sold mostly historical board games like Panzer Leader, historical miniatures like Johnny Reb (ACW) or Fire and Steel (Napoleonics), and lots of RPGs.

One thing I found interesting, was that I was privy to sales numbers, and TSR stuff really didn't fly off the shelves more than some other games. For example, Twilight 2000 sold better than any AD&D stuff. I remember D&D module B9 Castle Caldwell sitting on a shelf literally for years (and I lived in a college town with a lot of students who rotated in and out, so you would have thought someone would have bought it). Perhaps where I lived was unusual, but I always thought that was interesting.

But to get back to the point, back in the day, the mundane genre games were front and center in the store and sold fairly well compared with all the other "fantastic" settings like Champions, Elric, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, etc etc.