Is there any genre or theme that the TTRPG medium does not work for?

[BookTenTiger]

Are there any TTRPGs that play around in the medium of abstraction or absurdity?

Raymond Queneau's Exercises In Style takes a single short story (about a man riding the bus) and retells it in 99 different ways.

The Boy and the Hero is a recent Studio Ghibli film that I would definitely include in the abstract genre. Its plot is more focused on creating an emotional voyage rather than a clear narrative.

TTRPGs, as a medium, are usually presented as a set of rules. Abstract and absurdist art subverts rules. Are there abstract or absurd TTRPGs? Could there be?

 

[Reynard]

TTRPGs, as a medium, are usually presented as a set of rules. Abstract and absurdist art subverts rules. Are there abstract or absurd TTRPGs? Could there be?

Would TOON and similar more modern games count, where the whole point is 4th wall breaking characters that are not intended to follow the rules of the game?

 

[Theory of Games]

I think some of this is going


There is a solution to this. I made a counter terrorism RPG once and I was able to go to the Boston FBI office and talk with someone who is there for anyone in media (thankfully they considered RPGs media in that case). He explained to me how evidence was gathered in an investigation, how FBI teams were put together. It actually wasn't that hard to make gamble. An FBI team is about the size of an adventuring party, and the evidence thing was easily handled by having evidence gather teams and analysis teams be resources the players can access (so the players don't necessarily comb the scene for clues, though an invidual character might for whatever reason, but rather call in a forensics team----and I just gave the teams different ratings which translated into a dice pool they rolled at the scene). In a lot of ways this works better because the players can focus more on investigation, interviewing, etc than on analyzing blood samples.

That said you often have to juice up or make gameable any genre. Genres based on real life you may want to add more chases with suspects, more harrowing dangers, etc. But I think true crime could be workable (plus it is very easy as the GM can literally rip from the headlines)

Wow you actually went to the office. I guess I'm lazy because I just bought GURPS: Cops (written by a former law-enforcement official). Your method of using NPCs for data gathering & analysis is very good.

 

[Theory of Games]

Oh yeah I forgot: Sports the RPG.

Nobody's roleplaying the Superbowl.

 

[Reynard]

Oh yeah I forgot: Sports the RPG.

Nobody's roleplaying the Superbowl.

There is no reason you could not do sports drama as a TTRPG, though. It should actually work pretty well, in fact, with built in "tactical" situations and the sport taking place of what would typically be combat.

 

[payn]

Oh yeah I forgot: Sports the RPG.

Nobody's roleplaying the Superbowl.

Funny you mention that. I had some sportsball friends growing up. They though D&d was nerdy as hell a straight no go, but got very interested in this Fantasy Football. So, thats what I got into with my friends.

Towards the end of high school Madden brand football video games started adding a team manager mode where you would take a team in the given year, but draft into its future. The game mocked up names, positions, etc.. We had a single cartridge that we would trade as we developed team names and rosters. Id play a game or two of the season and then give the game to another friend who would play a game or two etc.. until we finished the season. It was pretty much roleplaying which at the time im sure they wouldnt admit.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Wow you actually went to the office. I guess I'm lazy because I just bought GURPS: Cops (written by a former law-enforcement official). Your method of using NPCs for data gathering & analysis is very good.

Sometimes it is just a matter of asking. I actually came in right after people from a big Ben Affleck movie had been in, so they really will give you the time of day regardless of your stature in society I found. What I ended up doing was creating a number of teams that players could call in for various things

 

[MGibster]

I mean, the novel is not an ideal medium for, say, the musical.

A musical is a form of a theater, it's an entirely different medium than a novel.

 

[Reynard]

A musical is a form of a theater, it's an entirely different medium than a novel.

That suggests you think TTRPGs and novels are essentially the same medium, which they obviously aren't (and in fact TTRPGs have for in common with theater).

 

[Theory of Games]

Funny you mention that. I had some sportsball friends growing up. They though D&d was nerdy as hell a straight no go, but got very interested in this Fantasy Football. So, thats what I got into with my friends.

Towards the end of high school Madden brand football video games started adding a team manager mode where you would take a team in the given year, but draft into its future. The game mocked up names, positions, etc.. We had a single cartridge that we would trade as we developed team names and rosters. Id play a game or two of the season and then give the game to another friend who would play a game or two etc.. until we finished the season. It was pretty much roleplaying which at the time im sure they wouldnt admit.

There is no reason you could not do sports drama as a TTRPG, though. It should actually work pretty well, in fact, with built in "tactical" situations and the sport taking place of what would typically be combat.

Your both right: sports rpgs can and have been done, as video games. But a tabletop version would be slow and boring.